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Has anyone ever had to transport eggs? I've never transported farther than from the nest box to the incubator on the same propriety, so I am looking for some tips, suggestions.
I was contacted by a person who has a pair of ekkies that lay fertile, but do not sit because of their insecurity in the house. She's relocated them within the house, given less daylight, but nothing will get them out of breeding mode. When the box is down, they will lay off the perch. The longest she has incubated was 2 weeks. Relocating them is not an option, I've tried to convince her. This, in my opinion, would be best solution for the birds so the hen can fulfill her mother instinct with a hatched baby.
With this said, I offered to incubate her next pair of eggs, but the pair is half an hour away from me. What is the best way to transport them, and when? I do not have a portable incubator, I do have a portable brooder. I know letting the hen incubate as much as possible is best, but with the distance, will transporting before she begins incubation be better? If she does begin to incubate, will keeping them warm in the brooder help keep them alive? What is the best way to secure them on the trip? Please share what you have done, and with what success. These eggs will be waisted if nothing is done, so I'm just trying to salvage the effort of laying an egg.

I don't know about the specific needs of eclectus eggs, but if the weather is till mild-to-warm,
freshly laid eggs will remain viable for at least 3 days (not incubated), and once incubation starts,
a 1/2 day (about 6 hours) without incubation is still safe. Be sure that the carrying case is has enough
packing material, and that the eggs do not get exposed to extreme temperatures.

alhee wrote:I don't know about the specific needs of eclectus eggs, but if the weather is till mild-to-warm,
freshly laid eggs will remain viable for at least 3 days (not incubated), and once incubation starts,
a 1/2 day (about 6 hours) without incubation is still safe. Be sure that the carrying case is has enough
packing material, and that the eggs do not get exposed to extreme temperatures.

Perfect reply!

You know in the old days (before CITES and everything) we use to get "freshly laid" eggs before incubation started and ship them all over the world. Yes I know all this is considered blasphemy now with infections and diseases and not to mention terrorists.

Also most hens will allow for a cooling off period just after laying and prior to incubation and this actually seals the egg lining better and increases hatch success. But I will mention for a side note, please use a good egg wash prior to re-incubation so that infections and diseases are not allowed to go unchecked from one aviary to another. I personally use Brinsea but there are many commercially available.

Good luck!

Dutch

Thank you alhee, PurpleHeart.
Eggs were transported, washed, and placed in incubation at proper temp/humidity level. Still too early to know for sure, but after 3 days, one is showing veins, and the other not sure yet.

What I did for transport was bury each egg half way in a bowl filled with rice, to help support them, and made the trip late in the evening to avoid traffic. No major bumps, no major hang ups. Trip took 20 mins, and the egg temp never droped below 80 degs. The hen had was not sitting tigth so I don't believe the incubation process had begun. It had been right around 24 hrs from the last egg laid, 24-36hrs from the 1st, My hopes are high.

I like the rice, can I use that in the future?

You should have patented it.... ha ha ha. We used good Ole straw but I can see where the rice would be better as a conduit or thermal protector. Good job!

That is what this is all about, common sense. Using your ingenuity and theory and placing it in motion with hopes of a successful outcome. Yes there is always that thought there might be a mishap or clear egg outcome, but we do our best for the hopes of having a positive product.

I would say anything is better than letting the clutch go bad. Good luck with the incubator remember the temp settings and moisture must be exact and don't forget the turning! Unless you have all automatic settings, then kick back and relax, but don't candle them too much!

Dutch

"I like the rice, can I use that in the future?"

Knock yourself out, no patent on it. I wish I could take credit for it but, a good breeder friend of mine gave me the idea. These type of things/ideas is what makes breeding fun, Learning. But remember, if the rice doesn't work, you didn't hear it from me lol.

You get one Kudo

In the Marine Corps we use to say 10,000 Kudos makes you a leader of men.

One Aha Sh*t clears the board.

This might get me in trouble with folks who freakout about potential diseases,
but I also believe in "any port in a storm", and "whatever gets you through the night."
I have had success with using ringneck doves and toy pigeons for incubating just a couple of eggs.

At first, I thought that doves were better, because they are cleaner,
but they quit brooding after about 14 days, so you need 2 sets of doves.
I am totally sold on using one of my small owl (pigeon) pairs now. They will incubate between
16 - 18 days, and give the eggs a protective coating.
Of course, the pair of doves (or pigeons) need to be in their own pen, with a clean nest.
The doves/pigeons will not be upset if they cannot feed the baby parrots for the first 2 days,
and the babies are easy to transfer to a brooder afterwards.

I have always had great luck with all my Eckies. In fact if any problem usually arises from my other parrots it is my momma Eckies that I turn too. I have had success using them to incubate CAG and even some of my Mini Macaw problem clutches. In fact my Grand Hen is step momma to one of my best hen CAGs in the colony right now. But if any species needs special care and favoritism it is the Eclectus. I will go over board in helping an Eclectus clutch survive. But then again I have three pure bred pairs (one each- S.I., Grand and Red Sided) for some time now. They have adapted quite well to my home and indoor breeding cycle and outside of a couple "drops" they usually don't go into breeding or nesting mode unless I have their box up and change over their feeding regime. This fall marks the second cycle that I have not put up any of their boxes and so far no mishaps. This will also complete a full year with no babies for any of them. I gave them the complete year off so to speak and they are enjoying it. Their colors are much brighter and their plumage is filling out nicely. Most of them are in a rough molt and instead of caring for young-ens they are paying more attention to each other and talking more. So I guess there is something good to say about our horrible economy (why I decided not to produce this year) on a good note!