Lovebirds nest ...

Question
I have two lovebirds that were clutchmates.  I have not had them sexed.  Between June 7 and June 14th 7 eggs were laid in the bottom of their cage.  This after they shredded their favorite toy to build a nest ( sorry ... I just wasn't expecting it ).  Today is July 9th and still no birds have hatched.  How long should I wait before I remove the eggs from their cage.  Both birds sit on the nest or take turns sitting on it.  One bird has been regurgitating food to the other.  My friend owns a pet store and want any babies that may result.  I have been trying to read everything I can get my hands on but I can't tell you how evasive all the information I've read online is thus far.  So frustrated.  Please help.

Answer
Hi, Brenda.  Thanks for posting.

I'd say you might have 2 females laying infertile eggs, however, females don't normally feed each other like a bonded pair of birds do.  Normally, a female will lay 1 egg every other day until a full clutch of about 6 eggs are laid.  The laying of 7 eggs should have taken 2 weeks for a single female.  However, I have seen some birds lay an egg or 2 on consecutive days, but this is not the norm, as it takes time for the egg shell to develop around the embryo as it travels down the bird's reproductive system.  Lovebird eggs take approximately 18 days to hatch after the bird starts incubating her eggs.  I'd say these eggs aren't going to hatch, but you might want to leave them where they are for a few more days/week just to be sure the last eggs aren't going to hatch.  You could candle the eggs to see if anything has developed inside them.  Candling is the process of shining a light source (flash light) through the eggs to see what's inside.  Use a chicken egg from your refrigerator for an example of what you might see...the chicken egg is infertile.  If you see something other than what you'd see through the chicken egg, the eggs could be fertile.  Don't handle the eggs with your bare hands...use a glove or tissue or something.  Oil/dirt from your hands can contaminate/penetrate the egg shells.

Come back if you have questions.

Chrys