Hi I have a pair of Budgies who are breeding at the moment.

 

The Hen is sitting on 6 eggs, all are fertile but she is not using the concave in the box instead she is using the corner of the box.

 

Will this cause the eggs not to hatch?

 

How do i make her sit on her eggs using the concave?

 

Thanks

That is the way the hen has chosen to sit her egg's.... all mine do the same, it keeps all the warmth in the 1 section corner of the box... instead of having a complete 360 degrees radius around the hen, which can sometimes lead to a egg not being incubated properly which lead's to the embryo dying after 2 hours or so of not being warm.

Is the nestbox level or on a kind of slant ? When nestboxes are not properly level hens do this.

I wouldnt shift the eggs into the concave myself because once they begin to incubate them they have a sequence of rotation of their eggs and you could upset that. If your nest isnt level, make sure they all are in the future.

can that cause it also kaz?...didnt know that... thanks... my box's were completely level when my hen's did this.. so i assumed the hen was more happier bunching the eggs into a corner

Nest Box is definitely level as i have bred many babies in there.

 

Checked box this morning 1st Egg has hatched, but its really the 4th Egg. First three Eggs haven't hatched.

 

Fingers crossed the last 2 eggs hatch.

 

Thanks for the advice.

I would question the position of the entry hole. Hens tend to move toward the darkest area for safety. I always have the entry whole in my boxes far to one side, and the concave far to the OPPOSITE side. So the concave is in the darkest possible part of the nest. I have never had a hen lay or sit anywhere but on the concave and I think that lighting is a good part of the reason why. Hens do not like light in the nest box, especially where eggs are concerned.

In this case Dean the hole is at the opposite end, had no troubles in this box before.

Cannot guarantee a breeding hen will have brains....if theres some stupid thing they can think to do, they will do it :thanks:

One of my hens decided to lay her eggs and sit on them... right next to the door I slide open to check on them... so, if not careful, they'd all roll out when I opened it :thanks: To avoid this, I cut a small piece of timber and sat it in the doorway (sitting inside the door when closed)... this way, I had no worries of anything falling out the door... I originally tried moving some of the eggs into the concave... but apparently this was NOT where she wanted to sit!!! lol

Edited July 15, 200915 yr by maesie