buy a water based maker pen and number the eggs as they are laid so you know when they are due to hatch make sure it is water and not oil based

Edited January 21, 200520 yr by Rainbow

Do You have to mark the eggs? im new at this, have got 10 pairs laying, first batch of crested budgies due to start hatching next couple of days, and i have not yet marked any eggs as dont know if i should. could u please explain to us newbies why it is nessersary? Thanks, Miriam :bluebudgie:

i mark my eggs so that i know in what order they are going to hatch you dont have to

do you number your eggs?

I don't, I know when the one is layed and therefore when I should expect one to hatch, if that day passes with no chick I can assume that egg is DIS, if there is any doubt about which order the eggs should have hatched in then I can always candle them.

I don't mark my eggs at all. I keep a log on each mating pair. I log the date they were put down, the date each egg was laid and then the dates each egg hatches and what mutations and sexes they are. I used a Microsoft Diagram Chart and keep track that way. If the date passes that the last egg should have hatched then I investigate (candle, wait, toss, etc...) I look at it this way. The less I handle the eggs the less chance I have of doing something wrong or causing harm to the unborn chick (if not kill it and end up DIS or something). If you like the computer... it can be good for charting... I use it all the time. Each time I learn something new on here about one of my birds I log it on the computer under a genetics chart I made for each of my birds. To me the only thing that marking eggs is good for is if a chick was ready to hatch but just couldn't break through the shell... and you can assist, but other than that for me it's just more room for error.

I dont mark eggs at all. I note down date eggs are laid and I just dont freak out if an egg doesnt hatch.

Crissy, candling eggs doesnt involve holding them or handling at all. Just use a flexible shaft torch and do them in nest.

I dont mark eggs at all. I note down date eggs are laid and I just dont freak out if an egg doesnt hatch.

Crissy, candling eggs doesnt involve holding them or handling at all. Just use a flexible shaft torch and do them in nest.

 

 

I know that KAZ, but unfortunaytely that type of candling stick is not easy to come by here and if it is, I have't been able to find them. ALong with crop needles and cc syringes for hand feeding. I finally had to go to a pet shop of all places and ask them if they could some how order me syringes... and I have to pay out the butt for them and shipping. The closest I have found to a candling stick is a lazer light, not gonna work. I use a card with a hole in it over a flashlight. Again, I work with what I have available to me. So for me, unfortunately, candling does require me to handle the eggs.

I dont mark eggs at all. I note down date eggs are laid and I just dont freak out if an egg doesnt hatch.

Crissy, candling eggs doesnt involve holding them or handling at all. Just use a flexible shaft torch and do them in nest.

 

 

I know that KAZ, but unfortunaytely that type of candling stick is not easy to come by here and if it is, I have't been able to find them. ALong with crop needles and cc syringes for hand feeding. I finally had to go to a pet shop of all places and ask them if they could some how order me syringes... and I have to pay out the butt for them and shipping. The closest I have found to a candling stick is a lazer light, not gonna work. I use a card with a hole in it over a flashlight. Again, I work with what I have available to me. So for me, unfortunately, candling does require me to handle the eggs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LABOR-SAVING-DEVICES-F...p3286.m20.l1116

 

flexible shaft candling torch USA

Edited December 17, 200816 yr by KAZ

Hey chrissy I don't know if you have a mobile phonewith a light on it but that's what I use. I pop the phone in the nest box and then just gently hold each egg over the light, I onlyhave to lift them less than 1cm to do them and it works really well. Any small cheap LED torch will work too, one of the mini mag-lights would probably work well too.

 

 

Oh and for crop feeding I use rubber valve tubing available from any bicycle shop, costs about 30 cents a metre here, I cut it to lenth and put it onto a standard plastic syringe that any pharmacy will stock.

Edited December 17, 200816 yr by melbournebudgies

I mark every egg. I use a pencil and mark both sides. This way I only touch the egg when I mark it. It has 6 days to colour up (8 - 10 if the first one) before it is thrown out.

 

I mark a nest card the day it was laid and if it was fertile or not. This way I can check at a glance if the pairing is working out. It is easy to work out then when they should hatch.

I mark every egg. I use a pencil and mark both sides. This way I only touch the egg when I mark it. It has 6 days to colour up (8 - 10 if the first one) before it is thrown out.

 

I mark a nest card the day it was laid and if it was fertile or not. This way I can check at a glance if the pairing is working out. It is easy to work out then when they should hatch.

 

 

A pencil isn't to sharp? I would've thought it would crack the egg... ahh well you learn something new everyday...

A soft pencil like a 6B is the best bet if you choose to mark them

Well I won't be marking these ones MB maybe when I grow up and get the intestinal fortitude to breed solo...

I use a pacer pencil. I've had no problems in the last year. Just be gentle

I don't mark eggs yet, but i think i plan to when i have more pairs down, especially if i need to foster eggs etc.

I don't touch eggs either (unless i have to foster) and i candle eggs in the nest using a little LED key chain light

I mark fostered eggs

marking fostered eggs would be good expecially when you are breeding with birds that you are unsure of their genetic makeup, that way you will know what cock/hen is hiding certain genes...

thats the only time i have ever marked eggs jb when i have had more than one diffrent birds fostered eggs

I believe that marking eggs is good too for the beginner breeding so they can have a time line on when the next one may hatch and know which is which.

YOu don't need to mark them but it is helpful especialy if you are community breeding. don't use a permanant marker but a pencil or regular pe is okay.

It is also helpful so you know if no.2 hatches first then no.1 is infertile.

 

well thats my veiw.

 

GL

so would any of you guys use textas (e.g Faber casteell one),are they safe because i have noticed that they can be quite watery and i wonder whether if the ink can go through(it would be good to have red babies!!)...also do any of you gys colour code for each nest e.g how do you organise eggs when forstering between nests eg.

I never mark eggs........dont want to risk the egg. I have the records of date of being laid, date of hatching etc on the nestboxes. If I foster eggs, I make sure the likely colour of fostered babies from those eggs are not going to be what pops up in the foster nest, so the chicks are easily identifies once they feather up. For instance grey chicks or eggs that will be grey chicks go into a nest that I will only get green chicks from.

I really dont see the point in marking eggs to be honest

I never mark eggs........dont want to risk the egg. I have the records of date of being laid, date of hatching etc on the nestboxes. If I foster eggs, I make sure the likely colour of fostered babies from those eggs are not going to be what pops up in the foster nest, so the chicks are easily identifies once they feather up. For instance grey chicks or eggs that will be grey chicks go into a nest that I will only get green chicks from.

I really dont see the point in marking eggs to be honest

 

kaz is write besides one the egg hatches the chicks if are fostered sometime hatch on same day so....defeats purpus puting in a totally diffrent birds genetic make up seems much smarter

is for that fact