New pair laid eggs in tent.. what do i do

[jewels]

Hi,

I'm hoping I can find the right answers here, I was not expecting to be in this position. I have a pair, that much i know for sure. The female has laid 2 eggs in her sleeping tent. It's the kind that is open on both sides. The one side is against the cage completely. She seems very happy, both of them do. My question is should i be going to get a nesting box and transfer her and the eggs to that? Or should i leave her be? I have no idea what to do. It's winter and i thought I had already been through discouraging them to breed. I just want to make sure she's safe and happy. Any help or advice given would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Jewels

[Hezz]

You have given them something that resembles a nest to them, so their instinct is to fill it. How old are these birds, particularly the hen? Also, a hen can and will, if she wants, lay eggs with or without a male mate, so your other bird doesn't have to be a male.

You need to think about what is best for your hen. If she is outside the age parameters of between 12 months and 2 and 1/2 years, you don't want to encourage her to continue to lay. If you are not wanting to breed, get some dummy eggs and replace the eggs with these. She will normally go through the brooding stage and give up once the eggs don't hatch. Taking the eggs away might work, but does sometimes cause the hen to become a chronic egg layer. It is better not to risk that.

You could try getting a box, moving the eggs/dummies into it. It will depend on how strong her instinct to breed is - some hens won't change over and simply abandon the eggs, others will follow the eggs. Moving eggs is not encouraged if you are looking to breed, but it doesn't sound as though that was your intention.

Once you have worked this all out, remove the tent, please. Budgies don't need anything to roost in and it will continue to be seen as a nesting place by your birds. Besides the nesting factor, you also run the very real risk of the birds nibbling on the fabric and suffering from crop impaction which can be fatal. Fibres are not digested and end up binding up in a lump in the crop.

[jewels]

Thank you for your advice. The pair is in between 2.5 and 3 years old. Her cage mate is most certainly male, which I know doesn't mean they would be successful with their eggs. Should I take out anything in their cage that resembles something they could nest in? How soon after I switch the eggs out do you expect I could remove the dummy eggs and the tent? If they are a mated pair will they try again even without nests? I thought I got 2 females till they grew up and realized that the place I got them had no idea what they were talking about. They are very sweet and happy together. I don't want to do anything that will put them in more harm than I have already unknowingly done.

[jewels]

One other quick question...


Is there a scenario where it would be safe for her to keep them? If they are fertilized? Or does that just create a whole new set of problems?

[Hezz]

Don't keep the tent in the cage at all, because of the problems mentioned above. If you are going to keep her eggs, get her a nest box. It can't be guaranteed that she will be fine or otherwise if she continues to lay. All you can do is make sure she has plenty of calcium substances to chew on - blocks and cuttlebone - and make sure her diet is as varied and healthy as possible.

If you are not going to leave the eggs, but replace them, she should lose interest in them when they don't hatch, about three weeks after laying, then you can safely remove them. Once she has lost interest, mix up the cage furniture, move things around, change feeders, toys etc so that things aren't familiar and in the usual place. shorten her daylight hours. This can all help break that laying cycle; you don't want her to get to that stage as it can be very hard to break and dangerous to her health. Too many eggs can leave a hen calcium depleted.

[jewels]

Update:

The move to the nest box was successful and we now have 3 baby chicks that are currently 2 weeks old. Any advice on weaning would be greatly appreciated. They are being exceptional first time parents.

[clt80]

When the babies leave the nest box which they will do when they are ready to, they'll forage on the cage floor. Sprinkle seeds, including seeds soaked in water so softer, veg, millet etc anything to encourage them to eat for themselves. The dad at this point should start to take over and show them how to fend for themselves.

Take lots of pictures, they grow very quickly and this baby chick stage is very precious.

Also watch out for mum hen being aggressive, if she wants another clutch she will start to attack the chicks and will need to be moved to a separate cage from them.

[Hezz]

clt80 has given good advice there. I would only add that once the oldest (usually) has decided to leave the nest, leave something like a tissue box with an opening cut into it for the chick to retreat to and sleep during the night. They often leave the nest before they are confident perchers. Leave a perch low down to encourage them to try, and once a chick has started perching they generally will sleep on the perch and abandon using the hide.

[tweetiepiesmom]

We'd love to see pictures (hint, hint)!