Hi all im way opened tp any help here never struck this before.At the moment i have 11 pairs with eggs of that 11 i have 3 that have Cannabilised there egg one had 6 eggs that i have breed before and was a great mum but all her eggs have been distroyed over a 2 day period. of the other 2 pairs one has eaten 2 eggs and the other one any clues as to why this could happen to so many at the same time. And before its stated i have no signs ofmice at all so any ideas

Hi all im way open to any help here never struck this before.At the moment i have 11 pairs with eggs of that 11 i have 3 that have Cannabilised there egg one had 6 eggs that i have breed before and was a great mum but all her eggs have been distroyed over a 2 day period. of the other 2 pairs one has eaten 2 eggs and the other one any clues as to why this could happen to so many at the same time. And before its stated i have no signs ofmice at all so any ideas

 

I'm so sorry you've had this distressing experience.

 

Sometimes if the eggs are clear the hen will sit on them for a few weeks and when nothing happens (because no little chicks are growing inside) she will toss them out of the nest or smash them.

 

If the eggs were fertile I would look around for mice and go about eliminating them from your breeding room (I know you said there aren't any signs but they are the usual culprits for this kind of behaviour).

 

Another, less likely alternative, is that your breeding pairs are tired of raising babies and have gone on strike (although for it to happen simultaneously in several nests at a time is unusual).

 

I'm sure you'll get some more advice from other members so be patient.

I agree, there could be mice doing the eating.

 

Otherwise there may be a nutritional deficiency in your birds diet.

I agree, there could be mice doing the eating.

 

Otherwise there may be a nutritional deficiency in your birds diet.

 

No I don't think the mice do the eating. Rather they harass the birds to the point that they start acting out and doing strange things.

I have to agree...mice rarely do the eating but they do agitate the birds to the point of them doing silly things to their eggs. Same happened to me when mice were going through nestboxes years ago...hens were eating eggs and eggs with babies in them due to the stress by mice.

Also eating eggs due to a nutritional deficiency is on OLD WIVES TALE.

Birds will throw out eggs too due to being fed up and not wanting to breed. Some budgies know better than us about what the weather will be like when they will have grown chicks in a nestbox and do what they can to sabotage the breeding season.

Edited November 29, 200816 yr by KAZ

I am an old wife

 

*changes mental note about egg eating and nutrition*

If an egg gets broken or cracked in the nest the birds will clean it up by eating it. If your hens are laying eggs that do not have a strong enough shell they will easily be broken. Make sure that they have a good supply of calcium so they produce eggs with strong shells. Once birds get a taste for eggs they can become egg eaters which is a habit that is very hard to break

If an egg gets broken or cracked in the nest the birds will clean it up by eating it. If your hens are laying eggs that do not have a strong enough shell they will easily be broken. Make sure that they have a good supply of calcium so they produce eggs with strong shells. Once birds get a taste for eggs they can become egg eaters which is a habit that is very hard to break

I also agree with Neville

Thanks all ill do a recheck on mice as i said no signs of them but never no with the little devils I dont see lack of Calcium a problem they have catle and blocks thanks for all advice

I also agree with Neville. :ohmygod:

One solution is to make a fake concave and put it in your nest box about a inch higher than the bottom. Drill a hole in this concave big enough for the eggs to fall through but make sure there is something soft underneath to catch the egg like saw dust then foster out the eggs or as she lays them take them away and replace them with marbles.

 

Good luck

Is she a first time mother??? could she be sitting to hard on the eggs?? I read somewhere first time mothers sometimes have this problem...

I also agree with Neville.

One solution is to make a fake concave and put it in your nest box about a inch higher than the bottom. Drill a hole in this concave big enough for the eggs to fall through but make sure there is something soft underneath to catch the egg like saw dust then foster out the eggs or as she lays them take them away and replace them with marbles.

 

Good luck

 

What a cool idea

I hate an Albino that destroyed her nest just before hatching and all the eggs were full and alive she had blood on her beak, so she went down again but I took her eggs off her then I put her out in the aviary for a couple of months and tried her again and she was fine layed 6 eggs and raised them. She 2 years old and had had previous nest the year before so I put it down to not being ready.