Ask Lafeber

Question:

April 2, 2020

doesn’t take care of eggs anymore


I have one couple of lovebirds, the female laid eggs. but unfortunately, at night they broke one of the eggs and it rotted inside the cage. after this happened I cleaned the cage and the birds have showered. but, the birds stopped taking care of the remaining egg as if they don’t recognize it anymore. is there something I should do?

the female bird laid 2 eggs that have hatched before all that happened. now they’re two adult birds.


Answer:

Hi,

Birds have to feel like their environment is stable in order to raise chicks. If you do something major during incubation, such as cleaning or changing the cage, the birds will almost always abandon the eggs, or even chicks if they had any.  I understand this was necessary due to the broken egg. It doesn’t sounds like these birds are the best breeders because most lovebirds will hatch 4 chicks. This pair may be young or just not focused on taking care of eggs and chicks. Regarding the grown chicks, do not let them breed with each other if they are male and female, and don’t cage them with the parents or any later chicks because related birds should not be bred.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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