unhatched egg 3/4

[inagabs]

Have a breeding pair of blue indian ringnecks, they laid 2 eggs on march 12 of this year and another 2 eggs on march 15th. The first 2 hatched on april 3rd and the third egg hatched on april 5th. It is now april 10th, the oldest baby is 7 days old now and im wondering at what point i should take the 4th egg out of the nest as the female still moves it and keeps it close to babies / sits on it and i dont want the babies breaking into it if its rotten/infertile but i also dont want to take it out if theres still a chance it will hatch. Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[SilverSage]

Have you candled the egg to see if it is fertile or near hatching?

 

[inagabs]

No i havnt touched the eggs or the babies yet as this is my first time and didnt want to risk upsetting anything going on in the nestbox aside from checking on the babies that have hatched once a day. If you think it would be ok for me to candle the egg at this point i will try .

 

[SilverSage]

Just be sure to read how to do it first, and be sure the mother is out of the nest before you try! Don't pick the egg up, just candle it where it lays.

 

[inagabs]

I have read up on it before but i will give myself a little refresher course before i try tonight. I built the boot shape nestbox so i always just tap on the trap door part and the female calmy walks up to the entrance hole before i open it up. Thankyou very much for the speedy advice and disclaimer about not actually picking the egg up, i was unsure as to whether the female would accept an egg back i had picked up.

 

[inagabs]

Heres a pic

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[inagabs]

Sorry about the delay on a verdict here but since i posted last night the 3 babies have taken to surrounding the egg and laying their heads on it like a pillow so i havnt been able to try candling it but i am going to keep checking throughout today and maybe they will move or the mom will move the egg again so i can check it. Will let you know

 

[Terry57]

Your babies are precious! Good luck with being able to candle the remaining egg

 

[inagabs]

Thankyou terry57 like i said this is a first for me so i couldnt possibly be any more excited!! also they are extra special to me because the first 2 were hatched on good friday and the 3rd on easter day it will be easy to remember birthdays hehe

 

[inagabs]

One baby is going to my grandmother who owns a male blue fronted amazon already, and one is going to an aunt and uncle who love birds of any kind and own several conures already. I am just hoping atleast 2 of them are males as i prefer the look with the prominent black ring around neck.... i know there are people who breed saltwater crocodiles in australia or something who can make every egg turn out to be male simply by controlling the temperature the egg is incubated at. Sure wish that was possible with birds hehe.

 

[SilverSage]

Yes it is possible to manipulate sex in birds, but it is NOT well studied or understood yet, and differs from every species, though there is a general belief among some breeders that if you end up with mostly or all females in a season (across multiple pairs, not just one clutch) that your general care practices leave some thing to be desired. You should be able to touch the egg and have the mother except it back; she may not eve notice you touched it if you put it back just right, and don't be afraid to move the babies. I highly encourage removing each baby to weigh and inspect them each day.

 

[inagabs]

Well isnt that interesting, will be nice the day we know more about how it works. The babies did not want to stop hugging the egg today so i just gently moved one of them to the side and put a light upto the egg , it looked completely clear aside from the air pocket, so i removed it from the nest and took a closer look with the light ... it was definately empty/clear , with no blood vessels or anything so i disposed of it and cracked into it as i did to find what i can only assume was a yellow yolk sitting in a rotten looking liquid. So only 3 babies but im happy to have the 3 that did hatch regardless. Thankyou so much for all your advice i really appreciate it.

 

[inagabs]

I also took the opportunity to take a little video of the babies right after i removed the egg. The squawking is daddy getting mad at me for peeking at the babies. Here it is : [ame="https://youtu.be/0dxePPotGGA"]https://youtu.be/0dxePPotGGA[/ame]

 

[inagabs]

And i guess i will finish with a picture of mom and dad *note* this picture was taken before a nest box and the rest of their things were added, i had just got them home and they were a little ruffled and stressed from the long car ride but they quickly warmed up to their new home a big upgrade from the cage they were living in before.

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[inagabs]

[URL=http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/lycan1988/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20141005_174755_zps8offdu3g.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[gracebowen]

Mishaps did you make that enclosure? If so can you post a pic of the door? I was thinking about making my kids some enclosures similar to that. How did you attach the wire?

 

[gracebowen]

Actually maybe you could make a new thread. I don't want to totally hijack this one.

 

[inagabs]

Actually maybe you could make a new thread. I don't want to totally hijack this one.

No worries my issue is resolved now anyways as the 4th egg turned out to be infertile, and im happy to answer any questions yes i made the enclosure and the wooden frame has a notch running through the middle of all the boards so i just cut the wire to fit so that it just barely can be shoved into place then its drilled into place to make sure it stays. The whole thing is on wheels so it can be moved easily, there is one large door on the right side of the cage in that pic, a smaller one up high on the left side to access food and water and nestbox and then a big long door at the very bottom for changing the papers in bottom of cage. I will try and get some pics for you.

 

[inagabs]

Well sorry about the wait there but i was having issues uploading onto app here , and ontop of that i had already put all my birds to bed when you had asked and the large door on the right side of the cage is up against the wall so i have to slide the whole cage over to open it (i only use it when i have to take the adults out of the cage, which is seldom since they are breeders and not tame) and the male was just not having it so you will have to wait until morning for a picture of the main door , its big enough to walk right into the cage and sweep up hehe. But i did get some pics of the small door on the right side of cage(in pic i posted b4) and how the wire sits in the wooden frame.

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[inagabs]

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