This morning, I noticed the pair is mating again. What is this behavior? Haven’t they already mated? Is the original clutch dead or infertile? When is it a good time to check the nest without stressing the female? If it’s time to remove the box, what about the female? She is still sitting on her eggs faithfully. Does sudden removal affect her future clutches?
Hi Lillium,
Try to check the eggs when the hen of out of the box to eat. The eggs may not be fertile, or they were unable to hatch. It’s possible they were trying to hatch when the hen tried to bathe and carry water back into the nest. If you can tell that the eggs are not good, then remove the eggs and nestbox. As I may have mentioned before, lovebird eggs can hatch 18-23 day from when the hen starts sitting – but this applies to each egg. So if none have hatched within 30 days of the last egg being laid, then you can safely remove them. It’s a good idea to open the eggs to determine if there was any development, in order to have a better idea of what might have happened. Partial development can indicate the hen left the eggs for too long at some point and let the get cold. Fully developed chicks that are dead in the egg usually means they could not hatch. If they just look like eggs from your fridge, then the eggs were never fertile.
Since the male is mating with her again, he is most likely bored. If the eggs do not hatch, take everything away and move the cage to a busy location so they hopefully stop mating. She really needs to rest for at least 6 months after all of her hard work.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
