Crimsons - Suspected Clear Eggs - Remove or Not

Black Bellied & White Bellied.
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Boma
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Joined: 02 Jul 2017, 15:38
Location: Far North Coast, NSW

I have a pair of Crimsons that have been sitting on eggs for way too long - about 4 weeks. I suspect that they are clear eggs as there is absolutely no cheeping from any little chicks. I have not looked in or touched the nest at all since it was built. This is my first season with crimsons and it is the birds second clutch of eggs - the first one failed due to abandonment in a different nest. Should I remove the nest completely OR remove the eggs OR simply wait for the birds to work out that the eggs will no be hatching? I ask this because I do not want to upset the birds for fear they will not go back to nest again in the short term. Advice would be appreciated.
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mr skeeter
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Location: Melbourne Vic

boma id remove the nest they will go back and make a new one, but i would not encourage them as it is to cold you might lose the hen if your in melbourne, in the warmer states it will be alright. cheers mick
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Shane Gowland
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As mr skeeter said, you probably don't want them to start breeding in the beginning of winter, so remove the nest and let them start again in spring.
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arthur
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Don' think the weather will be a problem where you are
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Craig52
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Location: victoria

Be very careful with crimsons, they take ages for the young to fledge if your weather is a little on the cool side. I have checked nests that gone way over time just to be hit in the face by the young when i touched the box to check it.
I might be getting hard of hearing but i rarely hear young crimsons being fed in the nest,maybe because they are very well insulated by Emu feathers.
The best way to tell if they have young is that the parents are always at the live food container, if they aren't then they wont have young in the nest. Adults tails straighten out about a week before the young fledge as they don't sleep with them. Craig
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Boma
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Joined: 02 Jul 2017, 15:38
Location: Far North Coast, NSW

Thanks for the advice. Yes the pair are into the live food - they love it and eat heaps. But there is not a sound from the nest. The hen still sits all night on the eggs (presumably they are still eggs and not chicks) and the male and the hen take turns in the day. Craig - I take your point re the adult tail feathers straightening out and will look out for it. I think the best thing is to wait a little longer (maybe another week), after all the pair probably won't go to nest immediately anyway as it is getting quite cold here now.

On a side note I was hoping to have some success with these Crimsons, but this pair seems to be throwing duds and the other pair, although they built nests, just can't go that one step further and lay a clutch of eggs. A bit disappointing, but that's the challenge or finch breeding - well there is always next season. At least my Gouldians are going great guns and producing plenty of young.
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CathyCraftz
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Joined: 14 Apr 2018, 12:21
Location: Sydney, NSW

Remove their nests. The Finches will just think that their eggs are going to hatch and keep sitting on them so I would remove them. Buy a new nest too, in case they think that you are disturbing it too much and abandon it. You should shine a torch on the eggs to determine whether they are clear or not. An egg with no blood vessels or tiny wiggly lines is a clear egg. If there are blood vessels, then the embryo have died in the egg, and you should check if the parents are not sitting on the eggs for enough time. Try not to distract them too much when you give them their treats like fruit and vegetables. Or it is just too cold. If they keep laying clear eggs, you should give them new partners.
EDIT: I don’t think the temperature is too much of a problem in your area.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
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Craig52
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Boma, crimsons breeding season is very similar to gouldian's season, they breed during or just after the wet season so the cold won't effect them much. Craig
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