Breeding lovebirds

[Claireree]

Morning I am wanting some advice on breeding lovebirds. I have 3 pairs of lovebirds on 17th Feb I found 4 eggs in one nest and 5 eggs in another, today I checked the nests and no babies and by the look of the eggs they have died as not properly developed or movement.

My birds are kept inside and have their own cages it seems strange that neither nests have hatched. Any advice would be great to stop this happening in the future.

They have fresh food daily, vegetables and baths. They are let out daily for free flight and are all in good shape.

 

[texsize]

I AM NOT AN EXPERT.
but what I would say is this.
If the parents are no longer sitting/incubating the eggs then it's time to remove them.
IF the parents are still sitting on the eggs give it more time. The birds generally know if the eggs are viable or not.

 

[Claireree]

Yesterday I cleaned the cages out, one pair has got off the nest and her eggs were cold so I have cleaned her cage out and removed the nest box for a little bit. The other pair are still sitting on there's so I will leave them for another week and see what happens.

 

[itzjbean]

Hello! I've bred cockatiels but not lovebirds.

Lovebird eggs will take around 21-24 days to hatch, if properly incubated/sat on by parents. However some birds just never really learn/understand the concept of sitting and let their eggs get cold and lose interest in them.

In this situation if you want them to hatch, you'll have to take them out and incubate them yourself. Then you'll have to handfed them once they hatch, on an hourly basis at first (yes, that includes in the middle of the night when you're trying to sleep). Do you know how to do this? If you don't, I highly advise against breeding your birds, as you'll have to be able to do this if the parents potentially mutilate/neglect their babies once that do hatch. If your other pair is still sitting, you may let them sit, and hopefully you'll see some chicks soon.

Another problem you may have is that the birds may be both females, have you gotten them properly DNA sexed?

You could also have the problem of the male bird not 'hitting the target', not fertilizing the female properly and therefore never having fertile eggs.

How old are these pairs? Age could also be a factor here, as you want to make sure they are sexually mature and able to reproduce. if this is their first clutch, sometimes birds will have a 'practice round' of eggs that aren't fertile but then when allowed to breed again will have fertile eggs.

 

[Claireree]

Thanks for your advice. They are all old enough for breeding but this is the first time, hopefully better results next time..

Today I cleaned all the cages and nests out. I did open one of the eggs and unfortunately a perfectly formed chick but it had died, so dad is definitely hitting the spot.

I have rearranged all the cages so they also now face each other, not sure if it makes a difference but will see.

Maybe Ive tried to hard, I look at greeting cages with a perch and nest and no problems, mine have toys, large cage, baths etc ans it goes wrong. Oh well as long as I know my birds are happy.

Thanks all for the advice.