# Doves laying 4 infertile eggs once every month...



## B_Apple1987 (Jun 29, 2013)

Hello.

I had two pairs of ringdoves put in the same cage for a while. They are marked so I know which one is which.

Some months ago, I have seen a couple trying to mate but the male could not get on top of the female no matter how many times they tried. Sure, they were kissing and preening on their feathers like a couple would usually do before mating, but the mating process itself was never really completed, the male was always falling off during the act. The other couple didn't even mate at all.

Back then, the female dove who was trying to mate started laying eggs but since the cage was not properly set up, they always were dropping the eggs from their roosting spot. She was only laying one egg, after she found a spot to lay eggs properly, she started laying two. All of them broke however.

So, we provided them with better conditions, I put in a basket with hay in it, they sleep in it at night and lay their eggs there. I got a new cage with 2 separate partitions. Now, I have 2 couples in two cages. I know that I put the couples properly in their cages, with their matching mates, and I am sure that there is a male and a female in one cage.

The problem applies to both pairs. I have never seen them mate, the only thing I have seen is that the female egging on the male by 'bending over' I guess, but the male never really gets on top of the female.

Even though they never mate, they started laying 4 eggs every month and brood on the eggs for weeks until I take the eggs away from them. Both females lay 4 egss with a total of 8 eggs a month.. The eggs are always infertile. I have also seen the birds take turns brooding the eggs. At night, both the male and the female sits in the basket. I know that only one bird in a pair lays all the 4 eggs, because after laying one egg, she gets extremely tired and rests for some hours, since they are marked, I can tell who laid the egg afterwards.

Is there anything that I can do to have babies? Anything at all?
Another thing is that a bird laid an egg that is the size of a pea recently. Why?

Thanks in advance.


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## loftkeeper (Sep 21, 2010)

you have four hens doves and pigeons only lay two eggs per clutch you have all hens mated


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

I agree - male / female dove pairs lay 2 eggs - if you have a pair laying 4 eggs (or 2 pairs laying 8 eggs), it sounds like you have all females! Female pairs will "act out" the mating rituals, just like a male / female pair. If you want to breed them, you need to trade some of your female birds for males.


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