Love bird laying insane amount of eggs?

[Silkiebegins]

It is most likely two females. Birds do that sometimes.

I have seen times when two female chickens were mating. It looked exactly like when a rooster mates with a hen-- except that I knew they were both female, because both of them laid eggs. I have seen that on multiple occasions, with various different pairs of hens.

I've read of such things in other kinds of birds as well.

But they have got them professionally sexed before? They also do it all the time.

 

[Silkiebegins]

Okay, the female does not breed the male. Like with chickens, she squats and lets the male mount. BUT, in the absence of a male you may have them take on a dominant/submissive role. Just like in chickens.

How do you know that they are male and female? Have they produced offspring before?

No this is they're first time laying eggs.

 

[Silkiebegins]

No this is they're first time laying eggs.

They have also gotten in person advice with other love bird breeders.

 

[Silkiebegins]

I'll go double check though next time I go over. She has also been breeding for 4 years now and this gots her stumped. So that is why I did this thread.

 

[Canadian Wind]

But they have got them professionally sexed before? They also do it all the time.

How? Bloodwork is the only surefire way. Even with years of breeding, I was wrong half the time with guessing mine's gender.

 

[fluffycrow]

But they have got them professionally sexed before?

As in, DNA sexing? That's the only way to know for sure with monomorphic parrot species, that I know of

 

[Silkiebegins]

As in, DNA sexing? That's the only way to know for sure with monomorphic parrot species, that I know of

Pretty sure. I'll double check with them and give you guys an update by the end of this week the latest.

 

[NatJ]

But they have got them professionally sexed before? They also do it all the time.

"All the time" doesn't prove anything-- if they do it once, they can do it many times.

As regards professional sexing, I've known professional rabbit breeders to be wrong about the sex of rabbits. I've known experienced chicken-raisers to be wrong about the sex of chickens. I don't know enough about lovebirds to say how often people are wrong there.

If they really are one male and one female, then you have at least three puzzling things:
--more eggs than one female should lay
--infertile eggs from a pair that mates
--wrong roles in mating

If they really are two females, you have a solution to all of it.

Of course, the easy or obvious solution is not always the right one, so they might be a male/female pair that is really mixed up somehow.

Pretty sure. I'll double check with them and give you guys an update by the end of this week the latest.

I will be curious to know what they say. I'm definitely puzzled by now, but interested in whatever turns out to be the actual correct explanation.

 

[Silkiebegins]

We also did end up with 2 fertilized eggs. So did we get the genders mixed up? If so, why so many eggs still? Even if they are two females would she still move her bum up and down when supposedly breeding? If not, she does that.

 

[NatJ]

We also did end up with 2 fertilized eggs. So did we get the genders mixed up? If so, why so many eggs still? Even if they are two females would she still move her bum up and down when supposedly breeding? If not, she does that.

If two eggs were fertilized and started to develop, that is pretty good evidence that you have a male/female pair. (Parthenogenesis in bird eggs can happen but is pretty rare: that would be when an egg starts to develop without being fertilized.)

I don't have a good explanation for why there would be so many eggs if only one bird is female-- maybe she's weird? If both are female, then the egg count is a little bit high but not too surprising.

Yes, she would move her bum around when "mating," regardless of whether her partner is a male or a female.