Lovebird lays eggs mate dies

**puamelia** · 03-26-2012, 05:28 AM

I have 2 lovebirds, I noticed that there was an egg in the cage so we put a nesting box in the cage and moved the egg to it. almost immediately both birds went into the box.
a couple days later there were 2 more eggs about a day or two after that the mate was dead. I don't know which one died and why. but to my surprise today about 23 days later 2 of the 3 eggs have hatched. What should I do? Will the single parent take care and feed the hatchlings or kill it? I'm hoping the other egg will hatch soon other wise I take it that, that was the egg we touched.

Any suggestions or experinences in this area?

Thanks
puamelia

**boomer girl** · 03-26-2012, 11:44 AM

I am sorry one of your lovies died

Poor lovie and how sad that the other one is left to take care of the babies. Perhaps it was the Mom who died because by what I hear they have problems with getting the egg stuck in there and sometimes they die. I wished I could help you with your question but I cant and hopefully someone will here that knows will be able to help you out soon.

**puamelia** · 03-26-2012, 03:45 PM

Yes I think you're right it may have been the female, well the other love seems to be doing okay, Is it normal for them to sit on the babies? I'm just worried that they might not be getting enough to eat or it may sufficate the babies. I see the parent come out to eat more often but I can't tell if it's feeding the babies. After losing one bird I sure don't want to lose it's babies too just because I didn't know how to care for them.

Thanks
puamelia

**Marrie** · 03-26-2012, 04:00 PM

Get in contact with a breeder or avian vet and let them show you how to check the babies crops to see if they are full or not. Yes they will "nest" with the babies to keep them warm, that is normal. With only one parent, it is possible he will get overwhelmed at some point and need some help. You need hands on training in hand feeding before that happens. A lot of breeders are willing to help you learn, though it may cost a small fee. You also want to go to youtube and pick up a good book on breeding and try to catch up now that you have the chicks. Do NOT try hand feeding without knowledge and research first, unless it is an emergency, you can easily kill a chick if you do it wrong.

Hope the babies grow up well. Sorry you lost one of the pair. I agree it was likely the hen, egg issues can become fatal.

**Albe** · 03-26-2012, 06:57 PM

I had a single mother bird and she did great until some chicks got old enough to jump out of the nestbox, then the younger one froze in the nestbox

I would suggest hand feeding them once they are a bit bigger, then this wont happen.

**vmorrison** · 03-27-2012, 04:18 AM

Male lovebirds don't incubate so your remaining lovebird is the female. Make sure she has enough food and she will raise her babies, as that's what would happen in the wild should one of the pair not survive. Sorry you lost your male but I'm glad the babies are doing well and mom is caring for them.

**kmbrlyv** · 03-27-2012, 03:18 PM

Your remaining bird is definitely a hen. I would suggest putting some millet at the entrance to the box or even a small piece in so she is able to eat to feed her young. One of my hens killed her mate shortly before laying once :/ All 3 eggs were fertile and eventually hatched. Since I was already feeding 9 other babies I checked to see if she wanted any of the formula after feeding other babies. She would take a bit every time it was offered. So you may want to invest in some handfeeding formula and a pipette or syringe. Essentially you will be acting like her mate would have if he were still alive, the male's job is to feed the hen and the presoftened/ prechewed food from her would be passed on to the baby.

**puamelia** · 03-28-2012, 10:44 PM

Thank You all for your knowledge, I was thinking if the hen had killed her mate but I wasn't sure, I wonder why she would have done that maybe hormones. I have invested in the handfeeding formula and I will take
your advice and try giving it to the hen and see if she takes it. I'll keep you posted as to how things turn out. Thanks again and any more suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Puamelia

**puamelia** · 05-06-2012, 07:45 AM

Well Babies are all grown up, I handfed them in between the mom which they took to it a bit but at times they would refuse and when they went back to the mom they would cry and she would feed them in which they were more content. although the mom is hand tamed she is still very protective of them when ever we try to pick up the babies she will either start pushing them in the corner of the cage or she'll attack us. We actually have to grab her out put her on us then take her babies out. I want the babies to be hand tamed so I want to be able to handle them as much. Is there another way I should be handling this situation? Babies are six weeks Old. I'll try to get pic up.