Egg has been laid!!!!

[Rennagade]

Hi there. I have a male Alex, (Zeus) who is three and a female Alex, (Gretchen) who is four. Last year i got Gretchen a nest box as she was being very "nesty". She had laid three eggs (all of which broke on the bottom of their "bedroom" (which is their inside cage for sleeping) so i removed them immediately. She was very mopey for a few weeks but perked up when i got her a box of her own which is attached to their bedroom. During the day they both go outside to their aviary but come in when the sun is going down as it gets very cold and frosty here at night! Gretchen runs straight into her box and spends the night in there with Zeus going in and out checking on her (he is such a loving sweet boy!).
Last night Gretchen laid an egg in her box so I left them BOTH inside while i went to work. (Zeus gets very worried if he is seperated from Gretchen for too long) when i got home they both came out to greet me and Gretchen spent quite a long time out of the box eating and just hanging out. I am wondering how long she can leave the egg for. it's probably not even fertilised (i'm not to sure Zeus has the hang of what he's supposed to do yet!) but this is all new to me so i'm not sure what to expect! She is a very proud mummy and very territorial of the entire bedroom (always has been which is the opposite of Zeus who loves to share). I dont want to take the eggs that she lays this year off her but I also dont want to have them locked in a cage all day and night. Should i put the box out in the aviary and let them spend the night outside or is it too cold for that??(it gets down to 2 degrees centigrade here as it is the middle of winter) Sorry this is so long-winded. Just want to provide as much info as possible! Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MikeyTN]

Practice makes it better!!! My newly parent tiels tried 5 times before they got it right. I did NOT want them to have babies but they kept persisting and lay on the bottom of the aviary and chase everyone off. So I broke down and got them a nest box instead. Instead of moving them right now, I would just let them be in the cage while she is nesting. When it gets to be spring time, then bring the nest box out into the aviary instead. I would suggest in providing them with extra calcium supplement while she is laying eggs. Then check the eggs for fertility after a week using the candle method, flash light works great!!! I would discourage them to laying too many times, no more then 3 batch per year, should remove nest in between laying time to give her a break to rest.

 

[Rennagade]

Thanks Mikey. That's really helped me and put my mind at rest!

 

[MikeyTN]

Your very welcome!!!

 

[Rennagade]

Just letting you all know. Gretchen ended up laying FOUR eggs. ALL of which were fertilised!!! we now have two 7 day old and two 4 day old chicks in the box!!!!!! Gretchen is an awesome mummy and she is sooooo proud of her babies. I am feeding her a probiotic baby food and she gives it to the babies. we make a great team! She is so happy to show off her babies to me and Zeus is a very proud daddy. I will post pics soon!

 

[birdybabies]

Congrats to the new grandma, you sound very proud. And you doubted Zues's "ability" Boys seem to know what to do LOL. Well done mum and dad - quads first time, very exciting. And they are little Aussies

 

[merlinsmom13]

Wow, thats great. I love baby birdies, good luck w/them.

 

[Rio Mom]

Awwww! looking forward to the baby pics! And btw, love the name Gretchen (it's my name too!) Nice to have a bird with the same name as me, usually I hear "oh! I had/have a dog named Gretchen!" lol

 

[MikeyTN]

That's great news!!!! Can't wait to see their pictures. Are you going to attempt handfeeding or let the parents rear the chicks? I wonder how they accomplish 2-7 days old and 2-4 days old chicks. Do the 2-7 days old chicks have any size differences? Same with the 4 days old chicks.

My baby tiels are flying everywhere driving me nuts right now....Can't even post new pics of them cause they won't stay still....lol

 

[Rennagade]

Yes there is quite a size difference between the two older chicks and the two younger chicks. I am feeding Gretchen a Vetafarm probiotic chickrearing food which she then takes into the babies...we make a great team! I was really concerned that the two older chicks would be getting all the food so I pulled them all out yesterday to have a good look at them and saw that ALL of them have a good deal of food in their crops so it seems that Gretchen is an excellent mummy. I was really stressed those few days between the two hatching and the next two and then woirying about the two little ones but it all seems well. They have grown so much in one week! Amazing!
I should never have doubted Zeus! He's my little MAN now...not my little boy! he's a very proud daddy and they both love to show off the babies to me.