[j15k31]

I found two of my cockatiels mating in July. I removed them from the others and my female laid 5 eggs in the nesting box. The first egg was laid on 8/1. She continued to lay eggs on 8/3, 8/5, 8/7 and 8/10. My husband and I held a light up to the eggs to see if they were fertilized. We could definitely see blood vessels and an air sac. Since everything looked good, I was expecting the eggs to begin hatching last week, but nothing. I candled the eggs again and 3 of the 5 look like the embryo stopped developing early on. The other 2 look like there is a large embryo, but I can't see any movement. How long should I leave the eggs in the nesting box? This is the first clutch for my birds. Could the parents inexperience lead to the issues?

Thank you for any advise.

 

[tielfan]

Do the eggshells still look white or have they turned grey? If they're still white they're probably still viable. The parents may not have started sitting on them right away. Even if the parents stayed in the nestbox right from the start, they may have been sitting next to the eggs not on them. If the eggshells have turned grey it's DIS.

It's harder to tell what's going on in the last stages of development. The egg is full and not much light gets through, so it looks dark and you can't see much. But it can still be very much alive.

 

[j15k31]

Thank you for your response. They eggs still look white, so hopefully I'll still have babies. I'll just give it more time. Mom and Dad are still sitting on them.

 

[Vickitiel]

Hopefully the eggs are alright and will hatch! Please keep us updated and good luck!

 

[j15k31]

Thank you. I'll keep you posted on the eggs.

 

[j15k31]

It doesn't seem to look good for the eggs. Mom looks like she is abandoning them. She's in the nesting box less and less.

These was defiantly fertile and there was some development in each of them. It seems like they just stopped developing. Any thought? First time parents? Anything that I could do in the future?

 

[Vickitiel]

I'm so sorry unfortunately the risk of things going wrong with first time parents is pretty high, even more so when they are young. How old are your pair?

 

[j15k31]

Mom is about a year old and Dad is older (not sure how old). My first concern when I saw that they were mating was her age. It was not planned.

I brought her to the vet to have her checked out. She did have a yeast infection, so I'm wondering if that could have impacted the eggs. She also defecated in the nesting box a few times. Could bacteria from that damaged the eggs?

 

[Vickitiel]

Your hen is definitely too young to be breeding, as a rule hens should be at least 18 months old. The risk of egg-binding is high in immature females. Cockatiels also mate for fun so if you see them mating again don't be too worried, but definitely check out the thread on hormone control here.

When they are ill they have even less of a chance of successfully hatching eggs and raising chicks, as it is so debilitating on their bodies.

I'm not sure if the poop in the nest box would have affected the eggs. The parents as a rule do not poop in the nest, so that is odd that she did (they normally hold it in and then once out of the box do a massive poop!). It could've had something to do with her being unwell. But the babies poop in the nest and it helps build up their immunity. If a nest box is kept spotlessly clean the young chicks aren't going to have a properly established immunity.

I would advise to take out the nest box and let your hen mature before you try breeding them again. Then your pair will have much more of a chance of having success.

 

[j15k31]

I completely agree about my hen's age. Like I post, I found them mating with my other birds. My vet had advised me that the birds would not mate if there was no place to lay the eggs, which is obviously is not true. I removed the birds from the cage with the nesting box when the eggs were abandon. Thank you for your input.