-=> Quoting KATHY JOHNSON to SUE TURO <=-
 ST> KJ> How long do you leave the eggs before you take them away from her? 
f
 ST>       I let her have them for 21 days...then pull them...I put duds in
 ST>       the last time and it took her all of two minutes to throw them
 ST>       out of her little box...;)
 KJ> Oh yeah, they KNOW. Leave the eggs for 30 days or longer next time.
 KJ> Let HER decide when she's through incubating.
       Dang wish I had known that...already pulled them...and she is 
       terrorizing the tiels already...she found the budgie today...I 
       left the door open on the budgie cage and left the room for a few
       minutes and the female came out...I didn't know where she 
       was...but GT knew...she was on her mess catcher and tilting her 
       head when I was calling Juilet....looked down on the bookcase 
       next to her cage and there was Juilet...hehehe These dang birds 
       are smart...;)  So I went to get her...she ran under a chair so 
       had to send Scooby (tiel) under to get her...caught her in a net 
       and put her back in her cage...her mate Romeo gave her a good 
       lecture....;)
 ST> I'm getting another lovebrat next
 ST>       week and it will be in quarantine for a month in my
 ST>       bedroom...then will start to introduce them to each other...;)
 KJ> Good luck! Yet another entrant into the wonderful world of bird
 KJ> breeding! You're in trouble now...I can see you not being able to part
 KJ> with the babies! 
       I never wanted to breed...but I can't keep letting her have these
       eggs..it is so sad...and she would be a good mommy...and I can't
       get rid of her...I love her too much even though she thinks my
       hands are to be eaten...;)
       If they would be tiel babies I'm sure I would have trouble 
       parting with them...but Lovebrats aren't on my list of nice 
       birds...so I don't think I'm going to have a problem parting with
       her babies...;)
 ST>       Hopefully she will accept him...and this will end the dud
 ST>       eggs...she is so precious sitting on her little kids...and she
 ST>       talks to them...;)    She hasn't gotten bored yet...I think she
 ST>       is a little confused...;)  I didn't drop her on her head...;)
 KJ> They can be quite insistant that THIS IS the way it's supposed to work
 KJ> some times. If you leave the eggs long enough, she WILL get bored. 21
 KJ> days is just barely over the natural incubation period. They need to
 KJ> stay in there much longer so she KNOWS instinctively that nothing is
 KJ> going to happen with them. When my Rio (jenday conure) laid her first
 KJ> clutch (mate-less), I left them in for 45 days(!) before she finally
 KJ> stopped incubating them (normal incubation period is 23 days).
       OOops...well miss informed me didn't know...if she lays anymore
       before I can get her and her mate together...I'll leave them..but
       I can't clean her cage or anything while she is sitting on her 
       eggs...she is a vicious beast...;(  I took her paper away from 
       her...but she is making soup in her water with some strips she 
       had hidden somewhere...;)
... Scooby Doo, Cry Baby, GT (Witchypoo), Romeo, and Juilet...The Flock!!!  
--- Blue Wave/Opus v2.12 [NR]
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