Larry laid eggs, not sure what to do

[LarryThelovie]

Larry is a year and 8 months old and today she’s laid her first ever eggs and I’m not sure what to do , I doubt they’ll be fertilised because I’ve never seen Larry and blu mating but I’ve seen her try and get him to ? Do I take the eggs out or leave them in ? I’m just very unsure

 

[fashionfobie]

I am not a lovebird expert in the least, but until someone with more experience answers. Try substituting her eggs with dummy eggs. If you take the eggs away she may continue to lay. So let her have her fake clutch and she will abandon them when she is ready.

Not sure where you live but something like the link.

Robot Check

Edit::
You could also boil her egg. And give it back once it is cooled.

Make sure she has a super healthy diet during this time.

 

[Leih]

If you are unsure if they are fertilized I would definitely boil and put them back once cool, otherwise you may end up with chicks on your hands. Does Larry fly? Eat fresh veggies? You'll want to make sure she doesn't sit for too long, she needs to get some exercise everyday and if she will eat veggies, some kale is a good idea. Hens need the calcium while laying. Like Natalie said, if you just take them away she may continue to lay. How many does she have now?

 

[Leih]

@Zara will stop by, she has a lot of experience with eggs.

 

[Zara]

EGGS!! ........... I´m just kidding It´s the season for it

If you are unsure if they are fertilized I would definitely boil and put them back once cool

100%
Get the water boiling, then drop the egg in. 2 minutes is plenty, then pull it out, sit it on the side and let it cool before giving it back to Larry. Put it exactly where you found it.
Leave it for a few days and observe. Are the birds tending the egg? Or are they ignoring it?
If they made a nest, or tried to make a nest, then put the egg nicely in the nest. It is better the hen broods her egg, because that is the time in which the hen recovers.
If a few days pass and they have not gone near the egg, and there is no nest, and no second egg, then just remove it.
Eggs are laid every other day usually.

Knowing Larry is a hen, dummey eggs / fake eggs are super handy, especially as you have a pair, once they lay eggs that they tend to, you will find they get stressed when you take the egg, having a dummy egg to quickly switch, cuts down on the stress: Dummy eggs / Fake eggs

 

[LarryThelovie]

Hi , thanks everyone for the help . Larry has attempted to make a nest and she is tending to the egg but won’t let blu anywhere near it . I’ve got some veggies in and she has been eating them and also eating her calcium block and getting water and getting excercjse but not for too long without wanting to be back with the egg . I’m gonna boil the eggs and get some dummy eggs as soon as possible . I’ve also been thinking about letting the eggs hatch ? What should I be taking into consideration while considering letting them hatch

 

[tka]

Honestly, breeding is complicated and a lot can go wrong. Parents can attack or abandon their chicks, chicks can fail to thrive, chicks can get sick, older chicks can crowd out the younger ones... It's not a case of just letting the eggs hatch and expecting that the parents will be great at looking after their babies. First time parents are not always very good at raising their young and you may have to intervene. You have to be prepared for the worst to happen.

This means that you need to know about emergency care for a sick, injured or abandoned chick, need to have an appropriate brooder to keep them warm, need to be a skilled handfeeder (and therefore know about temperatures, preparing food, how much to feed, how to get food into a chick and how to wean) and you need space for all the babies as they grow. You will also need an avian vet on hand for both emergencies and for routine care.

@Zara had to handraise one of her birds for around 5-6 months if I remember correctly. Adelie would have starved and died otherwise, but it meant that Zara had to put her life on hold while she raised a chick who didn't want to wean.

 

[Zara]

but won’t let blu anywhere near it

I would recommend you bring the food bowl and the water closer to the nest. Or have two food and water bowls, one near the nest and one further away. You can also put nice chunks of millet in the nest to snack on and use the stems as nesting material

I’ve also been thinking about letting the eggs hatch ? What should I be taking into consideration while considering letting them hatch

Bad start. Best chance of success is when both parents work together. Dad will feed the mum and the chicks, they will brood together and when it´s warm enough, dad usually stands guard.
If your hen won´t let the cock near, she will struggle to find the balance between incubating her eggs and feeding herself.
It´s good that you birds are on a healthy diet and have had a vet check up before breeding, just to make sure they are in good health.

Is Blu actually a male? Is he DNA'ed? Because if Blu is a hen, that would explain why Larry doesn´t want Blu around the nest.

@Zara had to handraise one of her birds for around 5-6 months if I remember correctly. Adelie would have starved and died otherwise, but it meant that Zara had to put her life on hold while she raised a chick who didn't want to wean.

Correct. From 5 days old, I fed Adelie for 150 days. I live alone with no family, and my parents flew out to see me twice, my nephew came out to see me, I had to cancel all sorts of days out with them because I had to feed my chick. At first I fed her every 2 hours +/- but I was checking on her hourly because she was so small. I honestly don´t know how people who work normal jobs or go to school full time can do it, I am only assuming they don´t because it would be impossible.

 

[Zara]

I’m gonna boil the eggs and get some dummy eggs as soon as possible

How old is this egg now?
Boil it as soon as possible, ideally within the first couple of days.
You will find the fake eggs to be so handy, saves time and stress

 

[LarryThelovie]

Larry has millet in her nest with her and her food and water is on the same level of the cage as the nest so everything’s easy to get to , Larry is now coming to the edge of the nest and blu is feeding her so that’s good ? And blu isn’t dna tested so really I’m just assuming he’s a boy . His behaviour is so different to her and he’s just a lot more chilled so I’ve always assumed he’s a boy . And also the egg is not a day old yet so I’ll boil it . Eventually I want them to have little chicks if blu is a male but that’s for another time when I’m more prepared

 

[Zara]

Larry is now coming to the edge of the nest and blu is feeding her so that’s good ?

Yes that is good
Boil her egg, be sure it is cooled to room temp/lightly warm before giving it back. Take a note of when the egg was laid. If you get another in a day or two, boil it also and jot down the date. Once the clutch is complete (no eggs after a 3 day gap) count 22 days from the last egg laid and use this as your guide. It is likely she will lose interest before that time is up.

 

[Leih]

Keeping track of the days she lays is really important, that way if something is awry you know exactly when the last day she layed was. When my girl, Aoife, was laying, she wasn't very interested in coming out of her cage or flying, but she came out a little and flew short distances,and that's enough. She did seem tired but exercise os always good.

 

[LarryThelovie]

Thanks everyone for the help , it’s helped a lot . I’m gonna put down the date In my notes now

 

[Chase Hein]

Larry is a year and 8 months old and today she’s laid her first ever eggs and I’m not sure what to do , I doubt they’ll be fertilised because I’ve never seen Larry and blu mating but I’ve seen her try and get him to ? Do I take the eggs out or leave them in ? I’m just very unsure

It is all up to you but I will add that my birds Honey and Kiwi had a clutch a few months ago and I decided to hand raise the chicks. I kept one of the chicks after they all grew up and he is watching me type this right now! As long as you do your research, talk to your vet and know exactly what your doing. Those eggs could grow up to be your favorite birds. If you do decide to raise them, it is a lot of work but an incredible experience, Good Luck!

 

[fashionfobie]

I will say that it is very nice that @WilderNerd had a good experience with his chicks. Please keep in mind that this will not always be the case.

Things can get very bad, very fast. It is important not to rush into breeding. Are your birds good candidates, do they carry any genetic illnesses, are they related? Sometimes birds that are our pets have faults that would make them poor choices for breeding. It is important to do you research and to know you have a good match before you dive into breeding. Depending on your location a lot of birds could be coming from the same lineage. You wouldn't want your birds to be a related pair. Not to mention that parrots don't always get it right when they are raising their first clutches.

I do not have experience hand feeding parrots. I have raised many ducklings, goslings, and chicks. I have picked up some reject chicks last year and did my best to give them a peaceful life. When a chick dies from a genetic illness or failure to thrive it is heart breaking. One of my chicks didn't grow properly at all, she ate well, played with the other chicks, but at 6 weeks she was still the size of a 3 week old and she ended up passing away. I have 1 chick from that batch, she has scoliosis, though she is living a very full life. Keep in mind I knowingly took on these reject chicks, but you can't guarantee that you won't have any issue. I would consider William lucky! I think @Zara 's story is a good one. Bad things can happen, do you have months to give to the birds if you have a problem?

 

[LarryThelovie]

Yeah I understand, but if I were to let the eggs hatch I’d have plenty of time to meet all the requirements as I’m home a lot and only attend college one day a week . so there’s always someone in the house that knows what they’re doing that’d be able to care for them

 

[fashionfobie]

only attend college one day a week . so there’s always someone in the house that knows what they’re doing that’d be able to care for them

Who would be there during that day? A little bird could go down hill in a short span of time.

 

[Beasley]

so there’s always someone in the house that knows what they’re doing that’d be able to care for them

How do you define “someone who knows what they’re doing?”

 

[fashionfobie]

Please know @LarryThelovie I am coming from a warm place. I am hoping to give the uncomfortable advice, and the painful truths. We also get a lot of people through the forum and threads that may not be members. So advice can help a wide audience.

I just hope you know that all the advice here is coming from a place of love. Larry is such a lovely little lady! I had a chicken named Rodger, so I can relate to mistaken names

 

[LarryThelovie]

Who would be there during that day? A little bird could go down hill in a short span of time.

im not planning on letting them hatch this time but when the time does come my mother would be there to do the things that I would do while I’m at college