Female laying infertile eggs

Question
My lovebird just had her first egg in her food dish. She has never been with a male bird, so I know the egg must be infertile. BUt what should I do with the egg? I am worried if I leave it in there she will be expecting it to hatch? But if I take it out will she get depressed? What should I do?

thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi, Angela.  Thanks for posting your questions.

You are correct, the egg isn't fertile.  And unpaired female birds laying eggs is also common.  Breeding season is starting and the hormones are active!

I would recommend removing the egg and see if she lays any more.  Hens don't normally start incubating eggs until 2-3 are laid, but since she laid in her food dish, I don't assume there is enough room for her to sit on the egg anyway.  If she had laid it in the bottom of the cage, then I would recommend you leave it there until she abandons it on her own.  

If a bird lays eggs on the bottom of the cage, and they are removed as they are laid, the hen will continue to lay until she has a full clutch under her (usually 6 eggs).  This means she could continue to lay and lay because she doesn't have a full clutch yet, which would not be very healthy for her.  Therefore, leaving them in the cage, even though unfertile, she would stop laying after about 6 are laid, and then eventually abandom them (she knows when that time has come).  Once she abandoms them, then they should be removed.  

Since she laid in the food dish, you could leave that food dish there with the egg in it if the dish is big enough and see what she does (use another dish for her feed).  However, lovebirds are one of the parrots who build elaborate nests, so she may not lay any more eggs at all without the nest (they cut paper with their beaks, tuck the paper under their wings, and carry the paper under their wings to their nestbox to build a nest about 3-4 inches deep).  Egg laying is triggered by hormonal activity, especially this time of year.  Normally, a pair of birds can lay a full clutch with one mating, so she may not lay any more eggs.  However, this depends on her hormonal activity and what may be triggering it.    

Either way would be OK as long as you are aware of what I've explained above.  See what she does and react accordingly.  Sometimes a hen will lay out of control (more than a clutch), which requires an injection from an avian veterinarian to stop her.  Be sure she has a cuttlebone available in her cage to replace some of her calcium loss from egg laying.

Visit my website for other information if you'd like:
http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Come back if you have more questions or need additional help.  Thanks.

Chrys