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Bella had one egg Friday and one Sunday. The one she had Friday she has pushed aside and is only sitting on the most recent. We did put a nest in, which she wants nothing to do with, so she is just sitting on the egg on the metal bottom of the cage. She rolls them around a lot, but hasn't done much with the 1st egg since she laid the 2nd.

One post said you can look at the eggs and tell if they are fertile. How long after they hatch are you able to tell AND is it okay to handle them?

Mr Fester will not stay off of her. How long will she continue to lay eggs?

I keep reading all the posts and learning so much. Thanks everyone for all the great info!

How old is your pair? My girl is, estimating, just over a year and a half... my thought is that your pair, like mine, is just too young to know how to parent properly. Younger birds are like teenagers, jut because they are physically able to have children doesn't mean they should. My girl doesn't really know what to do with eggs either. You can tell if the eggs are firtle after she has finished laying all eggs (there may be more coming that just those two!) and has sat on them for a couple days. At that point you can candle them, looking for veins that show there is a baby bird developing. I can't really help with the details, as I don't know a lot about raising babies, but there are more people here that can help. Know though, that breeding can be very difficult, read up on it, because if the mother or father rejects the chicks, you are going to have to hand feed and raise the chicks. think about the responsability before deciding to allow them to sit on the eggs.

I have found that once a hen lays an egg(s) if not in an actual nestbox, they will refuse to sit on them if moved. After the eggs are about 5 days old, and assuming they have been incubated to some degree, you can candle them for development. Take the egg(s) and shine a very bright flashlight or bulb into them and view the opposite side. If you see colored vein looking structures, then the egg is fertile. While the presence of spider veins would indicate development, that does not automatically mean the egg will fully develop into a chick. I have had eggs that appeared to be fertile, but after candling a second time, they did not fully develop. If you really want to raise chicks, provide a good cardboard nestbox about 12" or so cubed. Put about 2-3" of aspen shavings in the bottom and cut a small hole for them to enlarge to suit their preferences. You can try placing the already laid eggs in the box, but I suspect she will not sit them, but if she lays an egg in the nest, chances are she will incubate them as well as the male.

HTH

Sam