Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 1/15/2008

Question
I have  a male and female diamond dove.  They lay eggs yet the eggs never hatch. They are several years old(3-4) Any reasons why?  I think I'm giving them everything they need nutritionally, but don't know for sure.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi, Carolyn,

I found your question(s) in the question pool this morning.  Evidently, the person you sent your question(s) to originally could not answer for some reason.

Are you sure you have a male and female?  Female birds can lay infertile eggs without a male.  There can be many reasons why eggs don't hatch.  Perhaps they were infertile to begin with, maybe they aren't being incubated properly, perhaps the parents aren't healthy enough, embryos can develop illness/disease through the egg shell, etc., etc.  Have you candled any eggs to see if they are fertile or not?  Candling is the process of shining a light source through an egg to see what you can see inside.  An infertile egg will look like a chicken egg from your refrigerator.  A fertile egg, candled when it has been incubated for at least 7-10 days, will have red veins running through it and you should be able to see a dark spot inside the egg the veins are running to/from, may be dark so you can't see through it (depending on when you candle it).  This process will at least tell you if they are fertile or not.  If they are fertile but don't hatch, you would need to take them (the eggs) to a certified avian vet to find out exactly why they aren't hatching.

Chrys