KeetCrazy

How can you tell if a once fertile egg has been addled? My hen is SOOOOOOOOOOO active in the nest box, I am concerned. I have candled the eggs and so far 3 are fertile (veining) They have however become all red on the inside when I shine the light thru them. I am guessing that is NOT a good sign. Has she scrambled them? Any thoughts would be appreciated

I sooooooooooooooooooo feel your excitement!!!! Congrats!! I hope all the little eggies ( if there are more) hatch into sweet little bubs. Just a bit more on the mating egg laying thing. After egg 3, she has been chasing him off. No more mating..........guess what?........She had a heck of a time passing egg 4. It was about 12 hours late (day 3) and passed some blood with it. Was just getting ready to cart her off to the vet when she finally laid the egg. Waiting to see if there is a 5th, we shall see. I am still concerned with how active she is in the box. I constantly hear her moving the eggs around. I am afraid she is going to addle them.sheeeesh, silly hen! GOOD LUCk WITH YOUR PAIR, I hope we both have some cute little pink blobs soon........ Yipppeeeeee

She is due to lay egg #4 today. I have noticed that her behavior is a bit different today than on her laying days in the past. Question is, she still has large nasty poops today, does that mean she is going to continue to lay? Or better way to ask is: When do they stop having such HUGE poops? As soon as they are done laying, or does it last for a bit after?

Very impressive results. Congratulations!!

Same here. BeakAppetit is a daily food for my birds. I use exact pellets and mixed seed as well.

I have 1 pair thats been successful in mating and laying eggs. Hen is in the process of laying egg #3 as I post this. I have been very keen to watch and learn as much as possible through the whole process. This is my first try at breeding, so it's a learning experience for me. I have noticed something about my breeding pair, that I have not seen discussed on the forum yet. About an hour or so before each egg has been laid, my keets have engaged in a lengthy mating session. I mean like 10 to 15 minutes non stop. Mating then on the non laying days is almost non existent. The male will hop down when he loses his balance, but the hen stays put and lets him right back on. ie: she stays crouched on the perch for the whole time. So, I have wondered.......is this mating session to stimulate the hen to contract and aid is the expulsion of the egg? It seems to me that is a pretty fair deduction. OR.... is this mating to fertilize the next egg coming? I know that the hen can store the sperm for many days. Just wondering if anyone has any information on this or if it has in fact been written about. I would be interested in doing some research on the subject. Thoughts?

All the above posts are straight on. Is the bell reflective ie: shiney? He could be getting friendly with himself and not realize it's only his reflection. He yells when you remove it as you are to him taking his mate away.

My hen who has had previous clutches did the same. While the other 2 who are currently laying waited until egg no 2. Just like human mummies, they are all different. Feathers. Perfect then you can answer this. Do I then count 18 days from date that she layed. Since she started sitting right off? I am guessing I do.

All that fret and worry over nothing, I am so relieved!!! Thank you all so much for listening to the ratings of a mad woman...(Laughing out loud) I think your reassurances and calming advice is what kept me from going totally looney while I watched and waited for eggs. Star seems to have settled into her role as mother hen quite nicely. She is already sitting the eggs. In fact she has been sitting the nest since she laid egg 1. Which according to all I have read can be a bit unusual. Anyway, all is good. now to just wait for more eggs and babies. :hap: :budgiedance: :budgiedance:

Thank you so much for all the advice!!! SORRY about the picture!! I sized it for another board and forgot in my excitement to change it before I posted....opppps, Thank you for the effort to change it :budgiedance: I have what is called here in the states *Timothy Hay* It is in fact a dried grass. Good for bedding and they can nibble it too. I used it mostly so she could feel like she was hollowing out her nest (instinctive I think) She chucked it all out and snacked along the way. (vet recommended it for nesting box) I have read the facts section on this board repeatedly. In fact I find myself there daily, as to not bother the vets office 15 times a day.....(Laughing out loud) Being new to all this I am always second guessing myself, so I am on a constant quest for information to confirm what as it turns out....I really already knew from reading it previously. I am so very excited to see what comes from this nest. The first egg looks to be a good one, as it has a very slight blush to the color. I believe that is a good sign that its fertile. I have watched a wonderful set of videos about candling eggs ( posted on this site I believe) So in a few days time I will know if my first opinion was correct. THANK YOU all again!!!! Wonderful to know such greatl advice and support are just a few key strokes away. :ausb:

Thank you for your reply. I am pleased to say my stress is somewhat over. Here is why: click here thankfully for my sanity, she FINALLLLLLLLLY layed her first egg. Sometime between 2 and 4 this afternoon. Whew what a wait. Please tell me this gets easier with experience. I was so stressed that I would miss something critical and end up with an emergency. Well, now my journey really begins. Wish me luck that I have all fertile eggs and lots of healthy babies!

Thank You so very much!! I am a worrier and I just wasn't sure. I am a bit more reassured. I will give them another week and see what happens.

ACKKKKKKKKK, I am so frustrated!! I put up my first 2 pair several weeks ago. One pair went straight to it and started mating constantly. The other pair although showing signs of mating behavior, did not progress to the mating stage. I returned them to the aviary for a weeks break and tried again for a few days..........No such luck, hen has decided she wants nothing to do with the male. I have again returned them to the aviary. I watched for several days to see if the hen may like another male, but she is chasing all of them away........Sigh so frustrating. I guess although in condition, she just isn't a breeder, so I am resigned to enjoying her as a pet. Now my second pair. Everything has been going along wonderfully, or so I thought. I am now worried after reading a post about a hen in nest box being stressed. The advice was to remove the pair from the breeding cage immediately............................ACKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!! My hen has been in the nest box for the last 3 days, only coming out to eat and for a stretch. She is out just minutes before she returns to the box. While she is out however, the male is all over her. Constantly trying to mate. She is every so often receptive and they are still mating, although not as much as before. Her vent is pink and plump looking, and the feathers around it are thinned out. This thin patch extends about 1/4 of an inch in a straight line up. I have been watching her dropping for the descriptive tell tale signs of a hen being ready to lay. So far nothing. My concern now is, could she be stressed? How long should I wait for her to start laying eggs before I know she needs rest? Is she hiding from the male or is she preparing to lay......I just don't know as this is my first attempt at breeding. I know I am stresses, just not sure about my hen. Any comments or advice is greatly appreciated.

(Laughing out loud).........thank you ladies. Nothing Dastardly or revolting going on in there yet.

This is in fact a straight line right in the middle above her vent. Does that sound right to you? Maybe 1/4 inch in length.

Dumb question I know, but where exactly is it? Down low by the hens vent or up higher on her tummy? My Hen and cockbird have been mating like mad for about 2 weeks now. The feathers just above her vent are gone in a small patch. I am * ASSUMING * This is the brood patch I have read about. If my info is correct I should be expecting eggs at any time. Comments?

Thank You. No I dont think I have posted a picture of him before. I do have a female very similar to him, but not as much color. She is almost all white with a faint splash of blue on her chest. Fainter still, gray on her wings just at the shoulder area. She is young, so no breeding until next season for her. But oh I can't wait to see what they produce when the time is right.

I am still so stumped on the sub mutations. What would a suggested breeding be to enhance his markings in the babies? Thanks in advance.

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is about 14 months. The vet checked all 4 before I put them together. Actually, all 8 went for a well check. I will watch more closely today to be sure that I am seeing what *I THINK* I am seeing......(Laughing out loud) Maybe he is feeding her, just doing it backwards. Silly birds, gravity does work..hehe Now if my blues would just get busy. I so want babies from them!!!

Exciting to see such beautiful babies. The parents look very much like the blue pair I just put up.........Makes me very excited to see babies from tham!!

I put my first two pairs together last friday. Almost immediately one of my pairs started mating. They have been doing so, on and off since. What puzzles me is the hens behavior. She is feeding the male, not the other way around. She is doing all of the preening.....and she even tried this evening to mount the male??!!????? She also has in the last days s topped entering the nest box. Prior she was a bird obsessed with it ( it was in the main cage for a week before I put them together) Something tells me this is probably not normal. The feeding of the male is what troubles me most. Is this something I should be worried about? My concern is, when it's time for the male to feed the female and the chicks, he will be the one waiting to get fed. I will add that yes I am certain they are male and female pair. Neither are pied so have normal blue/tan ceres. Any thoughts?

Very nice!!! WTG! I think you did a fantastic job!!

Go bless you and David. He will now finish his life in a loving enviroment.

Thank you Karen. My inexperience makes me a bit nervous. Thanks for the positive response and affirmation that I am doing things correctly. 8 days.........how exciting!!!!!!!!