Constant Egg Laying w/o a mate--HELP!

[2keetsandalovie]

My LB is constantly laying eggs...HELP! She laid 5 eggs in November, 3 eggs in December, and 3 eggs in January. I've moved things around in her cage, removed anything she could make a nest, and limited her daylight hours and she still lays eggs. She thinks of me as her mate b/c everytime I go near her, she spreads her wings, ready to do the do!! Does anyone have any ideas on how to stop her from laying eggs? And when is it too much?

[expressmailtome]

Hi! Just a few ideas. I have owned lovebirds as pets as well as having bred them for several years. One of my pets was a female who would lay eggs frequently. Moving her cage's location every now and then helped for a while. Also, I am sure that you have noticed the comical behavior that they have of shredding things and sticking them in their rump feathers. They do this with what they consider nesting material to make nests. They will use paper, cardboard and especially millet seed sticks. They love to use those! Thry to avoid giving her these things as she may see them as a way of making a nest which could get her into a laying cycle.

I hope that this is helpful. Sorry that it is long!

Matt

[Flappuccino]

Do you remove the eggs when she lays them? If so, that may be causing her to keep laying to complete her "clutch".
Many times, if you let them lay as many as they feel is her optimal clutch size, and let them incubate the eggs (say, 23-25 days), she'll give them up on her own when she realizes they won't hatch. I'd give her a nest box or a coconut, or something to lay inhe next time she starts showing her "torpedo butt". Let her keep her eggs, and remove it after 25 days or so.
My girl is obsessed with jingle balls, and will "mate" with it non-stop and then lays eggs. She shreds up a storm, tries to do the dirty with my hand, etc.
I have to keep all balls away and not give her anything she could shred. Don't let her do the swishy at all.
You're already doing a good thing by changing the cage often etc.
Make sure she gets lots of dark green veggies- anything with tons of calcium.
Good luck!

[expressmailtome]

Originally Posted by Flappuccino

Do you remove the eggs when she lays them? If so, that may be causing her to keep laying to complete her "clutch".
Many times, if you let them lay as many as they feel is her optimal clutch size, and let them incubate the eggs (say, 23-25 days), she'll give them up on her own when she realizes they won't hatch. I'd give her a nest box or a coconut, or something to lay inhe next time she starts showing her "torpedo butt". Let her keep her eggs, and remove it after 25 days or so.
My girl is obsessed with jingle balls, and will "mate" with it non-stop and then lays eggs. She shreds up a storm, tries to do the dirty with my hand, etc.
I have to keep all balls away and not give her anything she could shred. Don't let her do the swishy at all.
You're already doing a good thing by changing the cage often etc.
Make sure she gets lots of dark green veggies- anything with tons of calcium.
Good luck!

I agree with Flappuccino's advice. As for the calcium dark green veggies are great. However if your bird is not use to them or refuses try egg food. It is powdered and my birds always loved them. I am not so sure about giving a nest box. I have read both sides of this argument. One side is that you are only encouraging the egg laying. On the other hand, I have read that it is not good for them to lay on a cage's grating. Is she laying in the food dish? Definately leave the eggs for her to sit on. Otherwise she will keep laying to replace the "lost" eggs. Do this until she gets bored with them and leaves them alone. Some people replace the eggs with artifical ones that you can buy on the internet. I have never done this but some people do. As a side note she will definately be very protective of her cage or nestbox (if you go that way) while she has eggs. Female lovebirds that are protecting eggs can and do bite VERY hard.

[Flappuccino]

For me, it's not so much that it's not good for them to lay eggs on the grate (although uncomfortable).

It's more the fact that if Jack doesn't have a specific place to lay, she's more likely to play soccer with the eggs, break them, or lay them in many places rather than thinking she's completed her clutch.

I mentioned a nest box, as a possibility, but Jack uses her coconut hut that hangs from the top of the cage- if I catch her in time. Sometimes she lays one on the grate and destroys it before I get the coconut in. LOL

[mayaexquisite]

If you try everything possible, which it looks like you are, and she still lays, there's nothing you can really do about it. Some females will just lay, lay, lay!! Moving the actual cage around to another location, like stated above, is another good idea... but in the end, if she still lays despite the shortened daylight hours and no nesting/shreddable materials and all that jazz, then all you can really do is provide her with calcium and vitamin D rich foods as well as other fresh foods to try and prevent problems due to chronic egg laying. Your vet can give you an oral liquid calcium supplement (powdered vitamins don't really work) if you want.

[expressmailtome]

I was reading the thread "Macaw hen won't stop laying eggs" in the Macaw section. There wildirish said that there is a shot, Lupron, to help with stopping cronic egg laying. Maybe you could ask wildirish about it and then your vet.

[shosh]

Hey guys, quite question on this.
My lovebird, Bindi, has been busy with the egg laying again...5 this time around. Thing is, until I get her cagemate Bam-Bam dna'd, I'm not sure I'm dealing with 2 females or a male and female.
Bam-Bam exhibits both male/female behaviour as does Bindi (although I KNOW she did the laying..or most of it.) I have seen HER mount him and both nest build although Bindi tucks in her rump and bam-bam in the wing.
She has laid the eggs on the cage bottom...no grate..made a nest underneath the newspaper. It's a pain because I HAVE to clean it out every couple of days or it gets disgusting....She doesn't seem to mind, mind you, so maybe she just trusts me. She is sitting on her eggs ( and Bam-Bam is right there under the paper with her..think he might be sitting too...) but since I wasn't sure as to their sex, I boiled the eggs and put them back since I do not want babies..
Except for the newsprint on her and the eggs, I don't think there is anything wrong with the eggs being on the cage bottom, is there? She doesn't seem to mind, and they seem to like the cave thing. There is no grate because I have always found that grates make a mess...they NEVER poo in between the bars!! When I clean it out, I leave a lot of the nesting material...she doesn't seem to care that I handle the eggs and just pushes them back where she wants them to go..since they are hard, no danger of breaking. Mind you, she will attack like a mommy when she sees my hand!
I figured on doing what has been suggested...leaving the eggs there till she gets fed up of sitting on them.....last egg was laid a couple of days ago and I'm hoping for no more....this is first time she has laid and shown any interest....but she was quite young before...this is her 3rd time...once when she was 6 months old....another at a year ( that was 3 months ago.)
Also, is it possible for bam-bam to be a girl and NOT lay eggs even though bindi is and they both are obviously...well...INTO each other??? Do some females just not LAY?
I'm waiting for the weather to warm up before taking him in for a dna test....not worth the risk in this frigid temperature for something that isn't life or death.

[expressmailtome]

Shosh, firstly laying at six months! That is not unheard of but is not good for such a young bird. Especially because of egg binding. Next to make things easier than boiling eggs or worrying if they will crack and cause a mess, you could buy the fake ones and switch them for the real ones. They are made for a few reasons and this is one of them. Also, just so you know allowing her direct access to paper plus a cave (under the newspaper as you described) actually encourages her egg laying. As for the number of eggs, 5 is not uncommon. I have had two pairs that would lay six eggs. However, that was the most that I ever had from one female at a time. All birds will lay at different ages. I have heard of some that never lay. So yes it is possible that you have two females. I have also heard of pairs of two females displaying the baviors that you described then laying (however this was a pair of cockatiels). Finally, if you find 8, 9 or even ten eggs then you definately have two females!

Hope this helps. If you need more info you can just PM me.

Matt

[shosh]

Hi Matt...well, I've had 7 eggs now....two since yesterday...one I found this morning and another this evening....this leads me to believe I may have two females....the one this evening was odd, though..it didn't look good...kind of rough and smaller than the others have been...and cracked. I don't know if one bird can lay two eggs in less than 24 hours...?????
The boiling process is actually quite clean....they don't crack ( unlike when I tried freezing) and it is fairly quick and she's been laying on them so I imagine she doesn't know the difference.
About the paper, though...what do I do??? I have to line the cage with something...I keep taking the paper out and replacing it....and she doesn't have any happy huts or anything. Is there anything you can suggest to replace the newspaper with??? Maybe less paper??? Paper towels but nothing she can really crawl under??? Both birds are under there....Sigh..
Yes, she did have her first egg at 6 months..she laid it in her food bowl and completely disregarded it...there was nothing again till she turned a year old and now again, 3 months later. I guess until I get Bam-Bam dna'd, I won't know for sure whether I have one or two culprits.