When to remove infertile eggs.

[Deleted]

My hen laid 5 eggs in the end, all infertile. The first would have been due to hatch on the 18th and the last on the 26th. When should I remove the eggs and what will she do? I hate to think of her being upset, she is such a good little egg sitter and she obviously thinks she will have chicks any time soon. I want to try removing her and a male and putting them into a breeding cage. She has bonded with Tweedle but he doesn't seem to know what to do hence non fertile eggs. Would he be better in a breeding cage or should I try another male?

[nat]

I think if I was certain they were infertile I would set up a breeding cage with nestbox and move them in right away while shes still in the mood. To disturb her as little as possible I would try and make the move swift by having everthing ready and just take her off the eggs and pop her in the new cage. I would put the male in first. Easier to do if you have 2 nestboxes :-)


Hard to say about the partner change. Most of my past hens have been upset when I have attempted to do this, but a couple have been so keen to breed as has the new introduced cock it hasn't bothered them and they've started straight away.
Have you noticed any very jiggy cocks in the aviary lately? The jiggier he is the more likely he'll manage to woo her ;)If you choose another cock you could put him in the breeding cage a couple of days before adding the hen to let him have a good snoop at the box.
I think I'd be tempted to let Tweedle have another chance though. It took Freddie and Randy ages before they sussed out how to do it properly. She kept laying down in the misionary position lol which completely flummoxed Freddie!
She might be a bit cross about the egg loss and going into a breeding cage so maybe keeping Tweedle with her will lessen the blow?

[Deleted]

I don't know if the other 2 males I would choose from would be any good as since Phoebe has been in the nest box Tweedle has been very dominant towards the others. When phoebe comes out of the box he chases the other boys away and the are generally keeping their distance and keeping a low profile. Another reason for removing them both to a breeding cage.
I think I will give Tweedle another go. I don't know how this will work out as I have never handled the aviary birds, goodness only knows how I'm going to catch them. Oh the trauma.

[nat]

Oh dear lol. Have you got a net? You can make one out of an old pillow case and some coat hanger wire and a piece of thick dowel about 18 inches long. Just cover the wire with some foam and stitch the pillow case around it, then drill a hole in the end of the dowel deep enough to take the 2 wire ends :-)

[Hezz]

LOL Oh Nat, you crack me up! Missionary position indeed! What on earth was Randy thinking???

[Deleted]

May 15, 2013 19:57:07 GMT nat said:

Oh dear lol. Have you got a net? You can make one out of an old pillow case and some coat hanger wire and a piece of thick dowel about 18 inches long. Just cover the wire with some foam and stitch the pillow case around it, then drill a hole in the end of the dowel deep enough to take the 2 wire ends :-)

I have a childs fishing net that I can adapt with some fabric if I take out the net part. It's bigger than the normal small childs one.

[nat]

Hehe Hezz, somewhere I have a video of their antics which I posted on the old forum

That sounds ideal Starlingqueen

[Deleted]

I've just ordered a large breeding cage. I wasn't happy with the one I've got, wasn't big enough in my opinion, and a new nest box. As soon as they arrive I'm going in, armed with a net and a crash helmet.
I'll have one last check to see if the eggs are fertile, I'm pretty certain they're not but I'll make sure anyway. One looks like it's drying up as it's only half full now.

[nat]

I have thought alot of breeding cages very small as well. Especially if they go and have 7 chicks so you end up with 9 birds in there! Now I just use a big wire cage
Lol, crash helmet Now I have a pic in my head of a lady wearing a motor bike helmet waving a pillow case round a load of flapping birds Good luck!
I've always been too scared to throw out any eggs incase theres a wee chick in there! But I never managed to do the candling thing so was just relying on the whiteness

[Deleted]

I had been looking at some wooden ones on ebay for a while but then read the description and realised they are made with some MDF. I have bought a wire one too Nat, I can attach it to the outside of the aviary under the full spectrum light so they get the benefit of that too.

[nat]

I wonder why they would use MDF? Surely thats not good for them, especially with chewy breeding hens :/
Thats good with the UVB light. I'm sure it makes a difference. Since I got my UVB lights all my birds have been at it like crazy!

[Deleted]

That was my thoughts Nat, hens chew when breeding. They even had an MDF concave in the breeding box. Such a shame as they are really nice cages. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RH-Budgie-Breeding-Cage-29-x15x12-with-nesting-box-WHITE-FRONTS-/370759555315?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Birds&hash=item5652fdd8f3

I would be worried the egg would absorb the chemicals from the wood and be doomed before they had even hatched.

[nat]

Absolutely!
The other reason I stick to wire cages was because even though I was breeding indoors I found that redmite still got into the nestboxes. Although they still get into the nestboxes sometimes at least they are easy to eradicate with a wire cage as they're not living inbetween the plywood of the cage and only the nestbox. I ended up always having 2 nestboxes for each cage so I could alternate nest boxes every week while cleaning them out and give them a good anti mite spray.
The redmite only appeared as the chicks got bigger and the heat in the box got higher due to the amount of bodies in there! By that time they were old enough to whip the box off and transfer everyone to a new box while the hen was out feeding :-)
Luckily it only happened one year and never since then. It was a particulary hot summer.