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Okay... can anyone help a newbie mom of an incubating hen???

I have now seen the biggest poops I have seen in 12 years of having tiels... yes, the infamous big poop. Earlier today, I did not even let the birds out... I was gone all day long, from about 8-6. I came home, and she pooped... twice... she had a lot of poop stored up in that little body of hers. The question is, how often should I let her out of the cage to poop? She really doesn't want to be out of the cage at all, but alas, she has to poo, right? Casey does not have that problem, he seems to be pooing as normal.

She also doesn't seem to be eating, just sitting on the eggs all day... I put some nutraberries by her to chew on, but that is not enough sustinance... I have not seen her eat pellets at all... so, what can I do to make sure she is getting enough food and water? She seemed to let Casey sit by (though he wasn't really on them) the eggs, but apparently she was upset with his job, because she shooed him away. She has to be on the eggs!

How long is this gunna last? How long before she abandons the eggs?

That is all for a now, but more questions may follow.

Thanks,

Jackie

Hi Jackie,

The huge poops start when the hen realizes that she will have to sit on the eggs, and she's preparing the holding of poo because she can't poop on the eggs. I've seen as much as a tablespoon or a little more, and you wonder where they contain all that volume. Apparently, they have a digestive tract that includes a large intestinal volume when it's needed vs. the normal poop that they do. Cockatiels have a rather fast digestive rate that perhaps is as little as 4 hours. With the volume of poop they can hold, it's just another thing we learn about our kids. Jackie, put her on the scales and note her weight. You might want to weigh her every day about the same time, as her weight wil go up about 5 grams with a normaly size egg. As for how often for out of cage time, you should let her out every couple of hours to poop. She can hold it for as much as 12 - 14 hours, at least Missy and Ginger did. The normal routine would be for the male to incubate during daylight and the female incubate at night because she has a larger area fo cover the eggs, plus she's just a tad hotter than the male. I assume she laid the egg in the cage, but either way, if she's got a nestbox or the cage, she just won't poop in the "nest" be it the cage or a box. Everything should go well, but if she continues to not eat, I'd get her to the vet for a checkup, just in case.

HTH

Sam

Thanks Sam.

No, no nestbox here, just in the cage. As for the big poops, would they occur if she is not eating? Today she actually let Casey have some time on the eggs, so she had the opportunity to get some food, so we will see...

Thanks again,

Jackie

Jackie,

If she's not eating at all, she won't be producing any poop. She must be eating something, probably when you aren't around. What you might try, and it might stop her from laying, is to attach a nestbox to the cage, fix it up like you were going to raise chicks and put the egg(s) she's laid already in the box. I did that with Cappy and she stopped laying. If she won't go in the box to sit on the eggs, then she's likely to stop. On the other hand, giving her a box might encourage her to lay a full clutch of eggs. If you decide to give her a box, grab a 13x13x13" box from your local UPS store or wherever and put about 2-3" of aspen shavings in the bottom. Cut a hole about 2" or so in diameter or at least large enough for her to go through and see what happens. Egg laying is something a bird is going to do, but you can control the process to some degree with manipulating where she lays. Again, keep a close eye on her weight and if she starts falling off, then you might look for some problem. Might have to take her to the vet for a checkup. Keep us posted on what she does, but if she continues the huge poops, she's definitely eating.