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Ok, let's try to make a long story as short as possible. ;o) My husband was doing some yard work and he noticed a pair of lovebirds sitting on our fence. It was unusual to see them outside and he figured that they must have escaped their cage at some point or another. They seemed quite curious as to what he was doing and started squeaking when they saw him turn on the sprinklers. He approached them and they didn't seem frightened at all. He grabbed his fishing net and gently placed it over the smaller of the two... Astonished, he caught her on the first attempt. The male jumped in the net within seconds of hearing his mate's command. Any who, that is how Carrie and Mr. Big came to be a part of our family !!

They have been with our family for about 2.5 months now and have grown accustomed to us and our children. Last night I noticed an egg in their bird log. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now. All I do know is that they both have become extremely defensive and want nothing to do with me. ;o( This morning when I gave them their usual breakfast fruits (oranges, grapes, bannana's) Carrie charged my hand !! Poor thing, she seemed aggervated that I had disturbed them.

What my question is, what's next ?? Any and all advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Amber

Welcome to the world of "nesty hens"! I'm sure you will get good advice here. In the meantime, I suggest you go to Lovebirds Plus Community
http://www.lovebirdsplus.com/community/index.php
and ask the same question, and read the back posts in the breeding thread. This is a web site specifically for all things lovebird. I've had a lovebird for nearly 20 years, (not the same one ) & have learned a lot about lovies. From reading the posts there I think you should expect more eggs to follow but they won't start developing until the hen has laid all the eggs she will be laying. She won't start brooding them until she is done laying. What you do with the eggs depends on whether or not you want the eggs to hatch! For details on how to make that decision, head for Lovebirds Plus! Happy eggies

Hi Amber! Welcome to Up At Six.

I'm glad your husband caught these two lovebirds so they did not have to fend for themselves. Since there were two, my first thought was that someone got tired of them and let them out. However, they could have very well just escaped together. Although I'm happy to hear that you are taking good care of them and feeding them well, I do hope that you attempted to find their owners by putting up some fliers and a found bird ad in the classifieds. Their owner could very well be distraught and devastated over losing these two birds. Accidents happen to even the most conscientious owners. There are a few people here who have had an escapee, even though they are very careful.

Hi There,

By all means LindaL from lovebirds plus will have your answer, but if you are not interested in breeding, just simply remove the eggs as they come along, put on a glove and toss them. A breeding box is necessary for them to breed properly, and can be built easily, but thats another story.
Mothers can be VERY protective and will bite you to defend their eggs, just a natural reflex.
Hope this helps, and congrats on capturing the birds, My "spunky" knocked his cage door open once and I had to search for him and found him 50 ft off the ground in a tree, fortunately we had a good rapport and he eventually flew to me as it was getting dark, what a relief!

Cheers,
barry

Hi Amber,
Breeding birds is a huge commitment and it needs to be done responsibly. There are entirely too many birds that find themselves in either abusive situations or with rescues simply because there are more being bred than there is a demand for the available supply. You know you at least have a hen, but the gender of the other bird is still unknown, as this is only the first egg and it can take up to 7 days for anything to begin to develop inside the egg. The temperature of momma lovebird's brood patch needs to drop to 99.5F (from approx 106F) and that can take up to 3 eggs (5 days).

A clutch of lovebird eggs can number anywhere from 4-8 and fertile ones take approx. 23 days each to hatch. Most hens are very protective of their eggs right from egg #1 and will defend those eggs with their very lives if necessary. To put your hand in her cage is to risk injury to whatever part/parts of your hand/fingers momma lovebird can grab. You are an invader in HER home and not welcome! In my breeding career, I've had a few hens that didn't mind the intrusion but you can believe that those hens are far and few between!

Please keep us updated as to what's going on with your pair.