thanks nubbly its a learning curve i guess. just an update, pair 4 was sitting on 11eggs all were clear including the 3eggs from the deceased grey green hen in pair 3. pair two never laid a single egg the cock is good to go because i had succesful rounds with him earlier this year with other hens, had similar problems with this hen last year. the replacement hen for pair three had four fertile eggs which i decided to move to pair four so that she could keep laying but the hen in pair four went rogue and gobbled the whole lot. a decidedly bad season so far, have decided to return the birds back to the aviary for a break before having another crack. hopefully ill have some better luck with the next round. will keep everyone posted on how i go but for now there is no progress. sorry