I've got a pair of birds set up to breed but every single round they give me 1 or no fertile eggs. i have no idea why.

they get liquid calcium, eggfood,vegetables, sunligh

they're not related and they're only around 2yrs old.

I have no idea why this happens. they're definitely male and female.

They mate frequently. could it be a genetic problem? Im really stuck...

Hi Mochi,

Welcome to the forum.

Sometimes it may be due to the sperm not making it to where it has to go, on some birds the down is very heavy around the vent area and the theory is that it acts like a sponge and soaks it all up so a lot of show breeders will trim away the down feathers around the vents but not the body feathers as they are used to guide the sperm to where it is supposed to go.

Other problems may be due to incorrect incubation on behalf of the hen or embryos dying at a very early stage.

Try these things or just change males as the problem is usually with them because the hen is laying eggs.

 

Cheers Jenny

Thanks for the tip jenny. i might try that next time

In addition to trimming the vents, cut out the liquid calcium. It is easy to overdose on liquid calcium which can cause infertility. Cuttlefish and shell grit will provide sufficient calcium without any danger of an overdose.

I'd also be looking at the Cock bird, as hen has laid so she sounds okay. Can you try them both with different partners and see what happens. Preferably try Cock with a hen that has bred before as a "test run ".