7 eggs down to 3

salina · Member Joined: Aug 08, 2005 Posts: 14

Hi all

my female Kakariki Calcifer had laid 7 eggs.

The first one broke because she burried it under the nesting material i bought from the pet shop and it rubbed against the hard box making the egg leak.

So i went to the petshop and bought some dust free sawdust and paper. and she laid the other 6 all fine. Which have lasted for a while now, without any breaking.

but yesterday she decided to burry them all under the sawdust and paper and ended up breaking one more egg in the same manner as before

I have just checked the box again and she has now broken another two by burying them. wall

with the last three eggs i have no choice, and have covered them over with kitchen paper towel and put them on the soft surface in the hope she will not burry them any further.

Can someome help with what i could use to stop the eggs being burried and broken. This is only her first clutch of eggs. duno

Wiccawolf · Foundation Member Joined: Apr 24, 2005 Posts: 45

Hi. I'm Wolf and altho I can not tell you too much from experience yet, I have just read that this behaviour is not uncommon in Parrot types. I will be watching this topic with great interest as my hen Lucy just laid her first egg this afternoon and this is my first experience as well, so my mind is so full of questions... I think I'll start another thread on that line.
Good Luck with the remaining eggs....

Wolf devil

Kaka-riki · Site Admin Joined: May 30, 2005 Posts: 363

Based on our experience, there are several factors that influence the hen to bury her eggs. I have listed these in no particular order:

Security - If the hen feels threatened she will try to "hide" her eggs from that threat. This could be anything from too many "nest inspections" by over curious breeders to a noisey environment. In the wild birds adapt to their surroundings and will eventually do the same in captivity. First time breeding hens can be very nervous until they realise their clutch is safe.

Nest box - Kakariki will breed in just about anything. But, if the box is too large inexperienced hens will sometimes scatter their eggs. To compensate for this we use 4 pieces of timber. This timber is cut to size and placed inside the box around the 4 edges, thus reducing the internal dimensions of the box. The hens are forced to lay their eggs in the middle of the box and this is packed tight with nesting material to prevent the hen from burying the eggs. Once the eggs hatch and the chicks grow the timber infill is removed and the chicks have more room to move around.

Nesting Material - This is without doubt one of the most crucial items to successful results. We use dust free sawdust but, this material on it's own presents a problem in that the hens will bury their eggs. To compensate we add a small amount of peat moss to the box. This helps bind the sawdust and stops the hens from digging. It is also a more natural nesting material. We dont use all peat moss as we have found it can cause respitory problems in the chicks when they get older. All nesting material should be compacted into the bottom of the box. We place the box on the ground and gently pat the material down with a piece of timber. This will usually be sufficient.

Partners - We have in a few instances found the problem to be in the cock bird. An aggressive cock bird will frighten the hen into staying in the box and she will "hide" her eggs in fear of the dominant male. Careful observation is required to determine whether the cock bird is merely being inquisitive when he checks the box or is he in fact threatening the hen. Our first experience with this behaviour cost us a valuable hen. She died in the nest box actually defending the nest from an aggressive cock bird. Mating and courting is one thing but sometimes males think their duty stops there and get very upset with hens that are brooding in the box all day every day.

Nest box location - This is also a very important consideration. As breeders we go to great lengths to build nice aviaries and give our birds the best possible home. Then we go out and buy the best available fruit and veg and all the supplements to encourage our birds to breed. BUT, how many breeders consider the location of where to put that nest box. Sure it looks great hanging on the wall and it is not above seed trays or water dishes. The height is perfect and everything is set. The hen is sitting and away we go. So, why did she leave the eggs/chicks. Do you remember the mildly warm day or even that sudden cloud burst the other day. Well, if you have ever heard rain on a tin roof or worse still walked into your tin garage on a mild day you will quickly understand why the birds have moved camp. The noise and or heat when it appears suddenly sets off alarm bells for your birds. Sometimes the hen will go back and finish the job but often the fright has been enough for her to decide the risks are far too great. Similar situations will occur if you happen to get one of those big furry 8 legged visitors in the box as well. In the warmer months these visitors are a constant threat and why it is advisable to check behind the box as well. They tend to always find their way into the aviary that has eggs about to hatch or young chicks in the nest.

Hope these ideas are of some value to the members here. Over time we have worked out what works best for us. Every situation is unique, just as every pair of birds are unique. Observation and trial and error have always worked well for us. Good luck with your breeding and continued
learning.

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

Welcome to our Community.

How hot/cold is the enviroment, inside or in an aviary, sheltered from prevailing winds?

Nesting material....Dont buy it.
We use old 1/2 composted leaf material from the forrest and out of our gardens...dry it out in the sun then dampen with 50/50 soln of vinigar and water.
If havnt any of that, we have a wood turner down the road, and use the turnings from the bowels and stuff he makes or mix the 2.
Intially the nesting material is about 3 inches deep, the birds move and pack it down to about 3 inches.

read the section on nesting boxes and u may like to use the "quick search " block to the left for more info.

We havnt experianced serious burying of eggs, thu occasionally the 1st eggs maybe just under the surface just visable.
Kaka-riki describes We have in a few instances found the problem to be in the cock bird.

salina · Member Joined: Aug 08, 2005 Posts: 14

Thanks guys this is very helpful.

salina

kakasa · Regular Member Joined: Jun 23, 2005 Posts: 24

I have noticed one of my hens always buries her eggs on a hot day then "digs them up" as the temperature cools. Egg burying also occurs when the hen senses the eggs are no good. When this happens she will often start to lay again within a week or two.

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

I took out eggs from a nest yesterday from yellow crowns that where not fertile...she had done just that, scattered and buried them