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Before I go to the vet, I would like to know if anybody has
had this problem. For several years, I have had a pair
of cockatiels whose babies have trouble hatching. Out of
4 eggs, I usually get one to hatch normally. Instead of a
line around the egg, they make a big hole on the side of
the egg. They can't get out, and they dry out and die.
I try to help them out if I catch it in time. Sometimes, they
are okay. Other times, the chick still has a yolk sac and
was not really ready to hatch. None of the other pairs of
cockatiels had the problem, so I decided that it was a
genetic defect.
Now I'm breeding lovebirds, too. I have had several pairs
on eggs. Two of the pairs are having the same thing
happen with their eggs. I have lost 4 chicks so far. Two
others that I helped hatch are fine, and 2 hatched normally
on their own.
Does anyone know what this is? It's hard for me to believe
that this is a nutritional deficiency. My birds eat Kaytee
seed, ZuPreem pellets, and now some pressed pellets.
They all have cuttlebone. I'm also giving them some
fresh veggies, too. The only other thing I can think of is
a virus or bacteria. If so, why haven't my other cockatiels
had the same problem for the past 3 years?
Has anyone ever had this problem before? This is very
frustrating.

This has been happening for several years and you've never asked an avian vet what might be causing it? I'm stunned. Please talk to a good avian vet right away.

My first thoughts are humidity is too low... and increasing the humidity may help...

Veggies fed daily (and a variety) but only left in the cage for no more than 2-4 hours... as well as brown/wild rice, cooked 15 bean soup (without spice packet), and the occasional cooked egg.

Also, try and keep food dyes out of the diet... this is in seeds and pellets.... choose dye-free seeds and pellets instead.


That and try asking several avian vets and breeders for advice.

Humidity is the answer here. Not enough humidity in the nest box. You can offset this by adding humidity to the room or if they are outside, move them in during breeding season. The lack of humidity causes the inside to dry up when the shell exterior is dry, remember this pourious.

For expressly arid climates I have used an Oxygen Condensor hooked through a water bottle and hosed directly into the nest box with a "bulkhead fitting." This not only adds the needed humidity but also beefs up the O2 level in the box.

Color dyes used in pellets are not toxic to birds anymore, they use natural colors. This is an old wives tale. I have made several comments about the manufacture of pellets relating to what is currently used. Check my history of posts for further information about this. Trouble with the internet is that these "old wives tales" seem new again when reposted without current information.

PurpleHeart wrote:Trouble with the internet is that these "old wives tales" seem new again when reposted without current information.

So very true and frustrating. I hope you're right about the dyes. I'm sure those you personally researched are exactly as you say, but wonder how widespread this use of natural dyes is, and whether it extends to toys and, if so, whose toys. It's very hard to be sure they're safe, so it has been easier for me to simply assume they are NOT and go for no color instead.

Any chance you've researched newspaper inks too? I heard long ago that the Consumer Product Safety Comm had forced printers to make their products safe for babies who insist on putting everything in their mouths. Yet I still see many online cautions about not lining cages in color pages. I've used color pages for all these years with no apparent ill effects, but I'm always reluctant to recommend their use for fear my local newspaper's ink is safer than others'. Apologies for going off on a tangent, but your comment sent my thoughts off in this direction.

TIA!

Color dyes used in pellets are not toxic to birds anymore, they use natural colors. This is an old wives tale. I have made several comments about the manufacture of pellets relating to what is currently used. Check my history of posts for further information about this. Trouble with the internet is that these "old wives tales" seem new again when reposted without current information.

I'm glad to hear the colored pellets are okay. I've always used them. My pet Greys and Cockatoo prefer and eat Pretty Bird. My breeder conures prefer and eat Zupreem. I have tried to add the natural pellets to their bowls along with their regular pellets, but they wouldn't eat them. I've tried the Zupreem natural, Roudybush, and Harrison's. The conures came to me eating a primarily seed diet so I was very happy to get them converted to pellets, even if they were colored.

I make all of my own toys. I purchase precut "safe" wood pieces and string them with a stainless steel cord (wire) in order to replace them when they are destroyed. I dye them myself with natural food dye purchased in an art supply store reading all the information from the manufacture.

When it comes to newspapers, or other print, I first let it stand for several weeks by rotating the stack and taking from the oldest first! Less fumes exposed to the birds as possible. Ink can give off fumes when used right away like in daily newspapers.

Then never do I expose my birds "directly" to newspapers. I use them but only to line the pan that is below the grate so it is safely away from the bird so they can not chew them or inhale them (air circulates below the birds.) Since we are quickly coming up to "election season" I also have available to me all sorts of political messages from the mailbox, that I happily line my bird pans with. If they knew what I was doing with their propaganda I'm sure the Democrats would be happy (about my recycling effort) and the Republicans would be also (as I add to the economy by raising healthy birds for happy customers.)

Finally I do not take anything for granted when it comes to feeding my beloved feathered friends. Always stay on guard for yourself, your birds, and those of us who frequent up at six for the latest information. If you find anything wrong, pass the word.

PurpleHeart wrote:I make all of my own toys. I purchase precut "safe" wood pieces and string them with a stainless steel cord (wire) in order to replace them when they are destroyed.

Another question, if you're willing. I paid a lot (to me) for a large boing on a SS wire. My new grey loves it! And chewed it to bits So I've replaced it for her, but saved the naked wire in hopes of putting it to good use, but I've not tried yet. Is it possible to bend the SS "loop" at the end so I can "restring" it with my own pieces of wood, which I bought years ago but have never pulled out of the box? I don't have a lot of strength in my hands, so I've presumed it's too daunting a task, but your post gives me new hope. Might pliers do the trick? Is heat needed? Obviously, I've never worked with wire. But I sew and keep a lovely lawn

TIA again.

I did ask 2 different vets about the chicks not hatching out okay
when it first happened. They had no clue what caused it. I have
a new vet now that I can ask about it.
It's hard for me to believe that it can be humidity. We don't have
air conditioning, and the summer weather is pretty humid. Other
bird's eggs in the same room are hatching just fine. Nevertheless,
I will measure the humidity to see what the level is.

The easiest way to know if its the humidity is if the shells are brittle when you try to help with chick out of the egg. An egg gets brittle if the humidity gets to low as hatching day nears and the sack dries up. I had this problem with a pair of Scarlet Macaws. I am in Florida and we run the AC at 72 degrees everyday. She doesnt like showers when she is on the nest but he does every few days, we spray the top and front of the box weekly and let the moisture soak in.

Dr. Matthew M. Vriends PH.D Ornithologist-Zoologist suggests humidity inside the nest box to be a steady 56% and the only way to measure that is to have a psychrometer or hygrometer.

Humid air is less dense than dry air because a molecule of water weighs less than molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. To balance humidity you must consider the amount of oxygen in the air, as more water has a tendancy to squeeze out oxygen.

Like I mentioned above I use an oxygen condensor machine (looks like a portable air conditioner) which concentrates oxygen in the ambient room air, and condenses it to flow through a tube (regulator) in the setting you establish. I use one machine (with several "y" connectors) for as many as four nest boxes. And I place a humidity bottle right on the condensor (using pure spring water.) In each nest box I have a Hygrometer that measures the humidity inside the boxes and adjust the flow out of the condensor (from 1 to 5 liters) to balance the 56% humidity.

Care has to be taken as soon as the last baby is hatched out, I start to lower the humidity in each box 2% a day (to dry out the chicks slowly) by again lowering the liter flow from the condensor. I like to arrive and stay about 40% humidity untill they are fuzzy and removed from the nest box.

As always if you are not familuar with the proper use, care and conditions when "using Oxygen" please do not try this technique. However, if you do feel safe, this is a great way to start out healthy happy chicks, and it does great things for mom and dad too! This works well in very warm states and of course if you live in high altitudes. If you live in very humid climate you can do without the water bottle but make sure you use the hygrometer so you can safely monitor the amount of humidity available in the nest box. The use of a O2 condensor without the waterbottle can remove excess humidity, just adjust the flow acording to your readings.

Lastly, as my personal rule of thumb, and not to cross anybodies wires here but, I do not assist in the natural hatching of my babies. The mother will always do what is best for her chicks. If they do not survive the hatching this might be what is best. Mom will naturally "select" only those babies which she feels will survive in the world and she has her own ways of sending them over the "rainbow bridge" if she feels that is what she wants to do. I know it is hard for us to sit and let her do this but this "IS" natures way of selecting only those birds which have the best chance of survival (she knows how to do these things with instinct) and can pick out birds which have defects and spares us from making this heart wrenching decision.

Dutch

P.S.- I would think a table vise holding the wire end and bending it would suit your purpose of re-stringing wood blocks on that wire you were talking about.

I agree it's the lack of humidity. I thought may be that the parents were breaking the egg prematurely but since the problem is repeating with different pairs it is most probably not enough moisture. I make sure my birds have a bath available and mist them when it is warm. They always seem to love it! I hope you solve this! Hey boil some water!

The humidity level is about 60%. I'm willing to get a
humidifier. Will it hurt if the humidity is higher than
60%? I also like the idea of spraying the nest box
to get moisture inside.

What about your humidity? Has to be high. Give parents a bowl of water to bathe in daily from the first day they lay eggs. Also spray the nest box with water. Just sounds like low humidity to me. I seldom had any luck helping them hatch. You can only peel a small portion at a time. Usually if they can breathe and they are not too dry they will finish hatching. Good luck! Ace