OK, as you may have seen on another post my paired set of doves had laid two eggs and after 30 days the eggs did not hatch. I disposed of them yesterday not fertile.

Now the big surprise. Today there are two new eggs! They are about 25% bigger than the previous eggs and are light pink in color.

Would the female that laid the other eggs reproduce that quickly?

Did it know that the other eggs were not good?

The pair kisses and all the other functions that appear to go with a male/female pair or have I missed something?

Right now the supposed male is sitting on the eggs.

I guess that I am now trying to ask how do I know they are a male/female pair?

James Adamson
http://www.seam2006.com

Hi James...if they are "kissing" then they are male-female match. That is their 'ritual' for pairing up. You may have fertile eggs this time, and may not. Just wait and see *smile* If the eggs begin to turn a more solid white color, then they are most likey fertile. This will happen over the next week and a half. Since they laid so fast, its questionable, but at the same time, they have no place to put the old eggs out, so you taking them out just helped them. Seeing as how your dove is laying eggs so rapidly, it means you have a healthy set of doves. Yipee!! Good luck, and see what happens...

Hey Mr. Adamson,

I would agree with 1906Alpha1906. It is possible the female laid 2 more so quickly. Is the male sitting on them during the day? And the female sitting on them at night? That is usually a good sign that you have male and female.

Did I mention that I get royalty for any babies that are born?

Also, I heard that one of your doves passed. I'll be down there in a couple of weeks. Would you like another? On me.

Dakota

James, when doves are "in season" (laying time) they'll continue to lay eggs frequently. It's like they see the nest is empty so they have to fill it up.

Congrats, James!

Not to hijack the thread, but...
I've read that because laying eggs is so stressful on the female that, after about 4 clutches, it's healthier for the pair to be separated. Even though this advice is from a breeder, it sounds pretty ridiculous to me. Any thoughts?

It does sound crazy Magis6 about separating the couple, but does make sense when thinking about it. It is a lot of stress on the female to lay a lot (although she will do it anyhow without a male around - not fertilized of course), and like any living animal (including humans), that much delivery has to have some type of effect on the female (health issues - plenty of vitamins). I have had the pleasure of watching my doves lay eggs before. I stayed up late one night because she was acting 'different' so I grabbed my video camera to actually catch the process of laying the eggs. Looks a little difficult, but amazing how it just eases its way out. The doves bounce back like it was nothing...but hey....anyhow.....

I've never heard the 4 clutch rule. One of my main female breeders has laid well over 30 eggs and she is still going. I've never had an infertile egg from her. She isn't as active as she used to be but the laying process doesn't seem to have slowed down at all.

I have no reason to support the 4-clutch rule either. My real observation is that healthy happy doves make lots of more doves. Some go six to eight years. However, my observation is also that once the hen quits raising young even when she lays eggs it is not unlikely that she will quit making the nest a commitment.

Medically, the assumption has always been that eggs are finite. But that is not the limiting factor. Health is a much greater factor. Length of daylight is also a factor. In my real experience, the most likely thing to happen is for one of the pair to die.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander