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Happyflockmom · by **Happyflockmom** on Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:00 pm

Hello,

I have a Male and female pair of cockatiels (i know for a fact they are male and female!) they laid their first egg June 13th, their second June 15, third june 17, and fourth june 19th. the female began sitting on the eggs and guarding her nest right away but i have yet to see the male sit (even thought most sites about tiel breeding suggest the male sits on the eggs during the day) she has done an excellent job sitting on her eggs and i expected the first one to hatch either tuesday july 4th (18days) or today (21days) but nothing has happened??? so my questions are

A) does the male HAVE to help sit on the eggs for them to hatch??

B) does the fact that they did not hatch before today indicate they are infertile or should i leave them a bit longer?

C) why has the female stopped sitting on them today? i mean she has not all together stopped but has been on the eggs only a couple hours total today and is sleeping outside the nest box now......

thank you for any advice you can give, im so hoping for babies and have my vets office on standby to help me learn to handfeed if for some reason the parents reject the babies.

thanks :-)

Happyflockmom · by **Happyflockmom** on Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:16 pm

sorry for the duplicate posts, i didnt mean to do that :roll:

im still trying to learn this forum......i think i got the duplicates deleted.....

chibi-tori · by **chibi-tori** on Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:31 am

I suspect the hen quit incubating them because they are likely infertile. The chicks should have hatched right around day 18, and while it's still possible they could hatch, your best bet is to candle the eggs and see if they are clear, or if they have a chick developing. Normally the male will incubate during the day and the hen at night, because she is warmer, and better able to keep the eggs at the right temp and moisture levels during the colder nights. I'm not 100% positive, but I do believe the birds can tell if the eggs are fertile and developing. Should the eggs in fact be fertile and have a developing chick, chances are they will die in the shell from temperature loss.

Is this your first clutch from them? Did you candle the eggs at any time after they were laid?

HTH

Sam

Happyflockmom · by **Happyflockmom** on Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:15 pm

Hello, this is thier first clutch together but not thier first clutch in general. the eggs did turn out to be infertile so i threw them out. we will try again soon (how long should i wait before putting the nest box in?) thanks for your reply!! :wink:

christie · by **christie** on Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:54 pm

I would wait 6 months. Let them replenish their nutritional stores and rest, then try again.

chibi-tori · by **chibi-tori** on Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:23 am

Wait at least 6 months. Chances are, she might attempt to lay before then, but don't give them a nestbox. It takes quite a while for the hen to rebuild her calcium levels, and for her reproductive organs to normalize. Sorry they were clear, but that does happen quite often with young parents.

Sam

Happyflockmom · by **Happyflockmom** on Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:44 pm

Thanks for your replys, we will be waiting at least 6 months to try again. i took the nestbox out and i have not seen them "doing it" so hopefully she will take this chance to get some R & R....lol.....

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M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

Re: M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

Re: M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

Re: M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

Re: M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

Re: M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

Re: M/F pair layed eggs, incubate 21 days, now stop sitting????

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