In my opinion,if she has 7eggs & say 5are fertile, she will cover the 5

better if the 2 clear are removed,as you can see in the photo,one is fertile

& the other is not,now the clear one may be last egg layed.If you get my drift.

But if it is 3day since she last layed it is clear.

 

this is true macka

but id wait at least a week before removing any unfertile ones incase they are late bloomers

In my opinion,if she has 7eggs & say 5are fertile, she will cover the 5

better if the 2 clear are removed,as you can see in the photo,one is fertile

& the other is not,now the clear one may be last egg layed.If you get my drift.

But if it is 3day since she last layed it is clear.

 

this is true macka

but id wait at least a week before removing any unfertile ones incase they are late bloomers

 

 

 

Actually, she's been laying an egg every other day, and hasn't stopped, so I think it's likely that some may not show up as fertile yet, right?

Plus, I thought I saw veins in some of the pink ones and some of the white ones, so I think I better leave them alone, in case I were to take out the wrong one.

 

Sean, the father, has been spending a lot of time in the box with Colleen, so maybe he is helping her sit on them.

 

I can try candling them again tomorrow during my check. Maybe something more will show up. At least I can count which ones are pink and how many are white.

I was kind of busy, yesterday (Happy New Year, everyone) so I finally have an update on the candling, and the number of eggs.

 

Thursday, Dec. 31 a.m. check:

 

Box 1, Finnie and Patrick:

 

 

 

One of Finnie's eggs is clear and 4 have visible veins and or air bubble. The clear one could be the newest one laid, so for now I am going to assume that all are viable.

 

Box 2, Phoebe and Bailey:

 

 

 

 

 

Both of Phoebe's eggs look clear, but she isn't sitting yet, so I will wait to candle them again until later.

 

 

Box 3, Colleen and Sean:

 

 

 

 

 

Colleen's were hard to see, so I couldn't get a good count of clear vs fertile. There was at least 1 clear one, and at least 4 fertile ones. So she gets to keep them all for now. I was thinking I would probably not foster any eggs away, but wait and see if there are babies that need to be fostered after they hatch, depending on how big the older ones are when the younger ones hatch. (Also depending on whether Finnie and Phoebe have too many of their own by then.)

 

 

Thursday, Dec 31 p.m. check:

 

Finnie and Pheobe each have one more egg, and Colleen still has only 7! Maybe she is reading this thread and has decided to quit!

 

Finnie's 6:

 

 

Phoebe's 3:

 

 

 

Phoebe seems to be spending only half her time in the box, so it's hard for me to tell if she's started sitting or not. But I'm not worried about it. In a few days I will candle hers again, and see if there are any developements.

Latest update- Colleen is still holding at 7, Finnie has caught up to her, and Phoebe now has 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping that line on Phoebe's egg is not a crack. We don't think it is, but short of picking it up, we can't get a closer view.

Tonight I decided to candle eggs again, since Phoebe has been sitting for a while.

 

Finnie has 5 fertile eggs, and 2 clear, however, I need to wait to see if the clear ones were the last ones laid. I know one of them is only 24 hours old.

 

Phoebe has 2 fertile and 2 clear. So same thing, wait and see.

 

When I opened Colleen's box, I was dismayed to see that she had broken one of her eggs.

 

It was dried out and hollow, not gooey, so I figured, well, it must not have had a chick in it anyway. Sigh.

 

Then I looked at the pile of other eggs and...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a baby chick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :baby:

I can't believe it!! I wasn't expecting it to hatch until the 8th!

 

I suppose that if it is too premature, there is no hope that it will survive. :bye: But I checked the date that the 1st one was laid, and that was Dec. 17. I guess there is the possibility that Colleen was brooding from the 1st one, and in that case, the chick is only one day early. So there is some hope

 

Oh, and the real bummer is, I had my camera turned on and ready to take pictures while I was candling, and when I went to snap a picture of the newborn, my camera said "Change the Battery Pack" and shut off!!

So I can't get any pictures until tomorrow morning! :hurryup:

 

Matthew did run for me and find my cell phone, and I got two tiny pics on there, but I don't know if my plan allows me to send them to my computer.

 

So I noticed that the chick had no food in it's crop. I understand that for now, that is okay, but if it still hasn't been fed my morning, then I may have a problem, right? 9am for me is about 11 hours away. Should I be worried before then?

 

Also, I saw Colleen stepping on it's neck. That's okay, right? Chicks are rubbery and strong, no?

 

And I forgot to look at the color of it's eyes, but Matt said they were purpley-black. Plenty of time to look at eye color later, besides, I'm not expecting anything other than normal from this nest.

 

Wow! I can't believe one hatched already! I hope it will be okay. :budgiedance:

 

I'm so excited!!! :bliss:

Edited March 22, 201411 yr by Finnie

ooh ooh how exciting and what a surprise for you that must have been!

 

I don't know enough about chicks, feeding and rubber necks to comment but just wanted to congratulate you. I hope it all goes well for you

Thank you, Amy S!

 

I'm hoping someone will come on and tell me whether I should be setting my alarm for a middle of the night check

Edited March 22, 201411 yr by Finnie

Really good news about the chick.....if hatched too early there is usually evidence of an "umbilical" and eggsac often still attached for awhile. I hazard a guess that it isnt premmie. Is it loudly asking for food ? If its squwarking it will be fed assuming Mum knows what she's doing. Being stood on is a cross baby budgies have to bear but they are very resilient and can cope with that.

I wouldnt disturb them during the night as she may get off and not go back in.

Edited March 22, 201411 yr by Finnie

Really good news about the chick.....if hatched too early there is usually evidence of an "umbilical" and eggsac often still attached for awhile. I hazard a guess that it isnt premmie. Is it loudly asking for food ? If its squwarking it will be fed assuming Mum knows what she's doing. Being stood on it s cross baby budgies have to bear but they are very resilient and can cope with that.

I wouldnt disturb them during the night as she may get off and not go back in.

 

 

Great, thanks Kaz.

 

I will check in the morning then. Fortunately, I didn't wait until the last minute to get hand rearing powder, so if it isn't fed by morning, I guess I can feed it myself. Here's hoping Colleen will be up to the job, and all I will have to do is watch and enjoy the ride! :fingerscrossed:

Edited March 22, 201411 yr by Finnie

Really good news about the chick.....if hatched too early there is usually evidence of an "umbilical" and eggsac often still attached for awhile. I hazard a guess that it isnt premmie. Is it loudly asking for food ? If its squwarking it will be fed assuming Mum knows what she's doing. Being stood on it s cross baby budgies have to bear but they are very resilient and can cope with that.

I wouldnt disturb them during the night as she may get off and not go back in.

 

 

Great, thanks Kaz.

 

I will check in the morning then. Fortunately, I didn't wait until the last minute to get hand rearing powder, so if it isn't fed by morning, I guess I can feed it myself. Here's hoping Colleen will be up to the job, and all I will have to do it watch and enjoy the ride!

Is it calling out....a quiet baby budgie wont get fed.

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by KAZ

That is good to know. I do have Kaytee hand rearing formula, though. I also have little plastic pipettes with tiny openings to fit in a tiny beak.

 

Do baby chicks suck it in, or will I be squeezing a couple of drops into it's mouth for it to swallow?

That is good to know. I do have Kaytee hand rearing formula, though. I also have little plastic pipettes with tiny openings to fit in a tiny beak.

 

Do baby chicks suck it in, or will I be squeezing a couple of drops into it's mouth for it to swallow?

As soon as they feel the food at their beak they suck it straight in. No need to open their beak at all. Newly hatched will only take in enough to equal the size of a grain of rice.

That's a tiny amount!

 

Good thing I know that, so I don't try to drown it! And I should see the food in it's crop, once it's eaten it, right?

 

Well, I can't wait until morning. It's almost midnight here, and the rest of the family has just finished a movie and gone to bed. I better go too. Hope I can sleep!

 

Thanks again, Kaz

Just checked on your thread and it is all happening at your place! LOL!

 

Congratulations on your first little chickie. Kaz is quite right: the peeping stimulates the mother hen into producing crop milk and feeding the little ones.

 

I note you've had a bit of difficulty identifying the fertile eggs, though you've got the hang of it I see. As a rule of thumb I think that eggs with bubbles are infertile and any egg that looks a glossy white after a few days are also infertile. Of course candling is the best way of knowing for sure.

Just checked on your thread and it is all happening at your place! LOL!

 

Congratulations on your first little chickie. Kaz is quite right: the peeping stimulates the mother hen into producing crop milk and feeding the little ones.

 

I note you've had a bit of difficulty identifying the fertile eggs, though you've got the hang of it I see. As a rule of thumb I think that eggs with bubbles are infertile and any egg that looks a glossy white after a few days are also infertile. Of course candling is the best way of knowing for sure.

glossy white eggs are FERTILE EGGS Renee. Its the peachy pink ones that arent Hope you havent been throwing out the glossy white ones

 

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...=fertile%20eggs

 

fertile on the left....non fertile on the right.

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by KAZ

Just checked on your thread and it is all happening at your place! LOL!

 

Congratulations on your first little chickie. Kaz is quite right: the peeping stimulates the mother hen into producing crop milk and feeding the little ones.

 

I note you've had a bit of difficulty identifying the fertile eggs, though you've got the hang of it I see. As a rule of thumb I think that eggs with bubbles are infertile and any egg that looks a glossy white after a few days are also infertile. Of course candling is the best way of knowing for sure.

glossy white eggs are FERTILE EGGS Renee. Its the peachy pink ones that arent Hope you havent been throwing out the glossy white ones

 

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...=fertile%20eggs

 

fertile on the left....non fertile on the right.

 

Ha ha TYPICAL! Got it the wrong way round. Just as well you're on the ball Kaz

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by renee

YEA A BABY CHICKIE

how exiting i love the baby chickie stage

im sure colleen will feed it

Just checked on your thread and it is all happening at your place! LOL!

 

Congratulations on your first little chickie. Kaz is quite right: the peeping stimulates the mother hen into producing crop milk and feeding the little ones.

 

I note you've had a bit of difficulty identifying the fertile eggs, though you've got the hang of it I see. As a rule of thumb I think that eggs with bubbles are infertile and any egg that looks a glossy white after a few days are also infertile. Of course candling is the best way of knowing for sure.

glossy white eggs are FERTILE EGGS Renee. Its the peachy pink ones that arent Hope you havent been throwing out the glossy white ones

 

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...=fertile%20eggs

 

fertile on the left....non fertile on the right.

 

Ha ha TYPICAL! Got it the wrong way round. Just as well you're on the ball Kaz

 

Thank you, Kaz and Renee. So far I've only been able to tell a difference in the eggs when the light is shining behind them. The difference in their shade of white when I just look at them straight on is very subtle. But next time I candle, I will look and see if I can tell.

Air bubble means infertile, does it? Well! I've been counting those as alive! Two of the nests have at least one like that. When I shine the light through the eggs, if I see just translucent yellow, I've been calling it clear, and if I see pinkish color, or anything at all (such as the air bubble) I've been calling that fertile.

It just confirms that I was right to decide to leave them all in there.

 

YEA A BABY CHICKIE

how exiting i love the baby chickie stage

im sure colleen will feed it

 

 

Thank you for your encouraging words, GB. I like your faith in the pet types!

 

Still have to wait 2 more hours before I can check on the little one. Camera battery is charged and ready, and the kids want me to wake them up so they can take a peek while the door is open. It's their last day to sleep in before Christmas break is over. Tomorrow they go back to school.

 

Thank you for your encouraging words, GB. I like your faith in the pet types!

We all start off with Pet types Finnie ... just that some of decided to make things more difficult for ourselves and have a go at Show types

air bubble means infertile, does it? Well! I've been counting those as alive! :

no...Air bubble does not mean infertile

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by KAZ

Thank you for your encouraging words, GB. I like your faith in the pet types!

We all start off with Pet types Finnie ... just that some of decided to make things more difficult for ourselves and have a go at Show types

 

 

I'm sure I would be tempted to do that if there were any shows around here. I think you have to be in one of the southern states to find budgie shows in the U.S.

air bubble means infertile, does it? Well! I've been counting those as alive! :

no...Air bubble does not mean infertile

Oh well, the ones I've had with air bubbles have inevitably been infertile .... evidently not a conclusive sign though

 

I should add that all eggs have an air sac that sits on the rounded end of the egg ... I'm talking about additional bubbles to this ....

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by renee

air bubble means infertile, does it? Well! I've been counting those as alive! :

no...Air bubble does not mean infertile

Oh well, the ones I've had with air bubbles have inevitably been infertile .... evidently not a conclusive sign though

 

I should add that all eggs have an air sac that sits on the rounded end of the egg ... I'm talking about additional bubbles to this ....

 

 

okay, thanks, that makes a lot of sense. The "air bubbles" I've been seeing are definitely in the end of the egg, and they do look like they are sacs.

How is the baby ?

How is the baby ?

 

 

Still 1 1/2 hours to go till checking time. I suppose I could cheat and go early, but I at least want to wait until daylight.