problems help needed please

[freda]

Hi everyone, need help please, I will briefly outline the situation, I have 4 lovebirds, the parents and two youngsters by different sitting. I removed the nesting box as advised by the group as mum and dad kept producing, recently i found mum had laid an egg in the bottm of the cage and I put the nesting box back in its original place, since this she has laid 5 in all, last night i found another egg on the bottom and saw the youngster sitting on it, so i now know i have two couples, we fitted up another box and put the egg in it but this is the problem, Number mum has left her 5 eggs to keep guard over the other one, she won't let anyone in the box, the daughter the layer of the egg is rather upset obviously, what should i do, should i put this little lonely egg in with number 1 mums other eggs and hopefully the little daughter can get on with her other laying? it would be very difficult to seperate them as they are all so alike, it is just mum who has a ring, quick advice would be most appreciated
many thanks freda

[LauraO]

You need to separate the two females. They each need a cage where they can have their boxes and sit on their eggs. If you don't, there could be serious fights, bloodshed and even death.

Do you want more babies. If not, I would advise you boil the eggs as they're laid. With the five eggs, I would candle them and boil the ones that have not started to develop.

Good luck

[Janie]

I didn't reply to this the first time I read it because I don't have hens but my first and only thought because of all that I've read here was that they should be separated. Laura would know and I think that's the best advice. :)

[freda]

thanksfor the reply, last nite due to internet problems and not knowing what else to do, I removed the solitary egg and put it with the other 5, but strangely number 1 mum has stopped in the empty box, its really weird, I think I will take it away?

[linda040899]

I agree with Laura about separating the 2 females. With 4 lovebirds in the cage, you know you have the parents and you know one of the other 2 is a hen. You don't know the sex of the last bird, as you don't know if the single egg is fertile. If you keep giving all the eggs to the hen with the larger clutch, there's no way she's going to be able to sit on them all, let alone feed all the chicks that might hatch!

If you separate the 2 hens, I would also suggest that you remove the other extra lovebird so that you have 2 birds in each cage.

[freda]

I have actually seen the couple of youngsters mating so I think i deffinately have two pairs but it still doesn't solve the problem as number 1 mum even when I blocked off the nesting box which was empty, she still didn't go back to the eggs, since this i have removed the nesting box, I shall when and if I see the younger female lay another egg remove her but its going to be difficult it wasn't as I wanted to have loads of cages. Would this have to a permanent arrangement?