Lovebird Complications

[charlie01]

I have 4 fisher lovebirds and out of the 4 I know that I have 1 female because every now and then I find a clutch of 3-4 eggs. However, they aren't fertile. Im pretty sure that their not all females as I do provide another nest box at which no bird uses for some reason.
In the box with the eggs there are 2 birds that sleep in their and the other two sleep on the top.
Im not sure what is going on. They seem happy and have a whole aviary to themselves.

Do you have any thoughts on what I should do? I have thought about introducing some new birds to the mix.

Thanks

[wagga]

Lovebirds are well know to have a community nest, that is non breeding age birds or surplus male/females will share a nest. Even though a hen has laid eggs does not mean she has mated with a suitable male partner.

Before introducing any more to the aviary, I would catch them all and visually/physically check each bird. Pending the birds ages I have used the Pelvis bone method to help Identify breeding age and condition of my lovebirds. This is normally used inconjunction with the physical size and behavioural characteristics of the bird in the colony. For example most hens are slightly larger in body size, pelvis bones have larger gap between (hard to explain in so few words & not 100% accurate) and more aggressive/dominate then the cockbirds. This will be apparent when you catch them and physical hold each bird in the hand. If not sure how to catch and hold these little parrots correctly ask someone who has 'handled' parrots to show you. Saves your fingers from being bitten and the bird from any possible handling injuries.

[elferoz777]

I was told that some love birds will hide in the nest if scared or if the environment is stressful.

Not sure how true it is but I did have 6 in a small log nest once

[charlie01]

Ok. I think their of breeding age. I believe that they are 2-3 years of age. Not sure on what the breeding age is but.

[Finchman1]

I used to breed mask love birds in the 90s .The cock bird you have may be a dud,give them palm tree leaves to nest with.
Give them plenty of greens and corn on the cob.
They could be lacking a few nutrients in their diet also.

[jusdeb]

Learn to catch and hold first and foremost . These and rainbow lorikeets bite like pit bulls .
They are quite easy to hold once you know how .

I keep 1 pair per aviary , no hassles or stress then . 1 boy 1 girl and 1 box and they will breed prolifically year round .

Shavings in the nest and leave wild oat scraps for them to decorate nest with .

Mine love all fruit / veg but go ape over celery . Wholegrain bread soaked in milk gives big healthy babies and helps the hen keep the food / calcium up to herself and bubs ) yeah yeah "milk" old european conure breeder feeds it to his high end conures , good enough for them good enough for mine .

Corn too is a fav food . Thistle , wild oats .

They breed well under 1 year old here , do you know the ages of the birds ? Could they be old ? I would be tempted to DNA them and then pair them up yourself in cages until they bond then either as a pair or colony but I prefer pairs alone .

[finchbreeder]

Casting the mind back to when Dad was breeding them in the 70's. You are doing the right thing if you give them more nests than there are pairs, in a comunal avairy. And if you introduce new birds, you should first remove the existing birds, then put the new ones and the existing ones into a new avairy at the same time, so the existing pecking order does not murder the intruders. If you can not do this due to insufficient avairys. Remove the existing ones to a cage for a couple of days, put the new birds into the avairy then put the existing ones back. Just enough confusion to diffuse the pecking order.
LML