Eggs not hatched

[Rainman]

Hey peeps, just looking for a little advice please.

My pair have laid 4 eggs and have been sitting on them for two and a half weeks now. They are in a nest box and when I take the lid off, I can't see the eggs except through the door opening. They have built a very solid roof of grass so I don't really want to try and get to the eggs.

It's been 18 days now and they are still sitting on them. I fear that these were infertile or have died in the heat. Only first time for them (and me). My question is what happens now? When do the parents realise and give up incubating them? Do they dump the eggs themselves or should I tear the nest out completely? How do they toss the eggs themselves? Will they just abandon the nest?

My plan at this stage is to give it another week then pull box out and clean before returning.

Meanwhile my obs have chick's, no idea how many but can hear them being fed and parents going through so many termites I can't keep up. Lol

Any advice will be appreciated.

Paul

[POLAR GOULDIANS]

Hi Rainman,

Some of the so called experts( very rarely people who actually breed gouldians) will tell you not to do nest inspections with gouldians, and they couldn't be more wrong.

I inspect most of my nests daily and have zero trouble with birds abandoning eggs or chicks.
You can also find problems before they get out of hand. Yesterday I checked in a nest to discover a Blue hen who had got grass wrapped through her leg ring, one more day in there and she would have been in the bin.

If you have infertile eggs you would have been able to see this at about 7 days and would have been able to throw the eggs out, saving your birds wasting their time sitting on them.
If you look at the eggs they will appear clear initially, but will turn a chalky white after about seven days of sitting maybe sooner.

In answer to some of your questions:

Yes the birds will realise the eggs are infertile and give up.
They will usually just cover over the eggs with more grass and start again in a couple of weeks.
Just throw the eggs out, no need to clean the nest box.

Just pull the grass over the top of the nest to one side to enable you to view the eggs.
Don't be concerned about touching the eggs if you need to, gouldians won't abandon a nest even if the eggs have been touched.
When the chicks have hatched you sometimes need to push the hen or cock aside or lift them out to inspect the chicks, every bird is different, some are flighty.
After the babies have fledged I usually just turn the nest box upside down and shake out the loose droppings and then put the nest box back in place.

Hope some of this helps.

[Mr Tino]

I totally agree with polar gouldian is saying.

[Rainman]

Thanks for the reply.

I only enter the aviary once a week. All eggs look white. Will use my phone light to candle them before I toss them. Never done it before so should be interesting.

Will do it tomorrow I guess. Thanks again

[starman]

Rainman,

I always open any ? infertile eggs shortly after removal and check for any signs of embryonic development. If there are signs of this it gives you reassurance that both parent birds are fertile.... but conversely you should NOT conclude that the parents are infertile if the eggs are clear as there are other possibilities for this. Going by the stage of any arrested embryonic development gives you a rough time frame of when the chick died....you may be able to trace this back to a weather event or in some circumstances abandonment the by the parents.

Sm.

[Rainman]

Just took eggs out. Whole nes was pulled out of shape to get to them. They had built a great nest inside the box.

Canceled all eggs in aviary, all yellow, mainly at one end. Broke eggs open to check once I removed them from aviary, no signs of life. No blood at all.

Bit disappointed but hopefully next time the get it right.

Thanks for advice guys.

[starman]

Only first time for them (and me).
Paul

It's not unusual for first time nesters to not quite get it right....they'll most likely come good in future rounds.

Sm.

[finchbird2015]

Yes agree with Starman young first time birds rarely get things right the first time, ive just had a pair cordon fledge chicks for the first time has taken them a year to get it right lol.