Tainted Love?

[howie]

Hi
Need info. Have ringneck parakeet pair in mixed aviary. Noticed she was sitting on 3 eggs 17th August. She's barely left the box since then but no sign of babies yet. How long is incubation? Also, the male parakeet loves being fed by the (male, i think) lovebird. Loverbird regurgitates and feeds parakeet. How normal is that? Other than being fed by lovebird, he spends most of his time with the female in their box. Any info would be appreciated.

[Flash]

The incubation period for ringnecks is 23 days - ringnecks hens are very loyal to there eggs and once they have laid will normally stay in the box until they hatch just sitting there, so if you haven't seen her out much that is perfectly normal.

As far as your lovebird feeding your male ringie goes, I would definitely say that is not a normal thing, but it isn't a bad thing either. If they are doing it willingly then they just might really like each other and enjoy feeding. Maybe someone else will come along who knows more about this and can be more detailed.

[howie]

Thanx Flash. Appreciate reply. Wondering... If incubation is 23 days and she's been on them for 26 days (approx), do I leave them or remove them after certain period? Will she stay in her nest box till they hatch / are removed? Kinda miss watching her keep her "subordinates" in check in the aviary.

[Flash]

If it has been 26 days and there have been no signs of hatching then the eggs are probably infertile. Some people would say remove them and other would say leave them until she gets board with them, however I used to breed ringnecks and have to say they can be tricky. I had a couple hens that would not leave the box no matter how long they were sitting on the eggs and others that would leave them after some time. Your hen might get board with them and leave the eggs or she might be one of those hens that will just sit and sit - I just can't say which she is.

If she was my bird - I would leave the eggs with her for another week and then take one egg away, wait another week and take another egg. Keep taking one egg away each week until the clutch is removed.

When I was breeding and I had infertile eggs I did it this way with my hens with no problems and it seemed to work the best.

I know what you mean - Ringnecks are so fun to watch and I always looked forward to the breeding season, but started to really miss seeing the hens quickly.

[catschair]