2nd clutch.. all infertile???

[colorin]

Hi,
one of my gouldian pairs are now incubating their second clutch (first one fledged 2 weeks ago -6 eggs, 4 chicks)
They have bee very good parents, incubating, feeding, etc, but after a week incubating I have candled the 5 eggs and they all seem to be infertile!
Should I toss them or should I wait a few more days?
What could be the reason for this?

[Buzzard-1]

I'd be leaving them 10 days, take a good set of eyes to pick veins at 5 days air cell would be an indicator at an early stage.

[shox]

leave the eggs, perhaps you should let nature take its course, checking eggs at five days seems futlie to me. Just let the birds be they have shown their ability to raise. i think sometimes we cause the problems by to much investigation.

[colorin]

shox, I didn't check at 5 days, I did at about 8 days (5 was the number of eggs)

[finchbreeder]

I always leave them sit the full time cause it's laying and raising that takes it out of mum and sitting that lets her recover.
LML

[dano_68]

Colorin, fertile eggs are normally good for about 10 days before they die. So you should only start checking eggs (if you must) after maybe 12 days. I personally don’t interfere with my Gouldians in any way. I certainly don’t candle their eggs unless they have been abandoned.

I think it is too early to say if they are infertile, however in the case that they are it may be due to several factors including deplete nutritional intake by the hen.

I like to give my breeding pairs a break between nests of about 1-2 weeks. I simply remove the nest boxes, clean and disinfect them – then place them back in a week or two later. Good breeding pairs will not go off breeding because of a break. In fact, you should get better results – ie. more chicks raised to independence. You should also only let them breed a maximum 3 times per season otherwise the chicks will be few, and the hens dying from exhaustion will be high!

[colorin]

I was going to remove nests after the chicks fledged, but I wasn't quick enough with one of the pairs, and the other pair was too quick, as she started laying eggs before the 4th chick had even fledged! Being my first time breeding gouldians I didn't expect them to start laying eggs again that quick!!
But I know better now
This is their second clutch and I will definitely remove nests after this "lot" (whether there are eggs or not)
I haven't changed diet. I provide them with vitamins, charcoal, herbs, iodine, sprouted seeds, eggfood, etc.etc. and both pairs are in the same aviary.
I checked the other pair's nest (they started incubating a few days before the other pair) and there are 7 eggs and even before I candled them I knew they all were fertile as they had that typical "matte" finish, and yes, they all were reddish with veins under the light.

Now why this hen might be undernourished while the other is not is something I can't understand...

[dano_68]

...Now why this hen might be undernourished while the other is not is something I can't understand...

I mention this because some hens become so obsessed with feeding their chicks they do not feed themselves enough! They store all of their food intake in their crops and regurgitate it to their chicks with very little going into their own gut.

[colorin]

Ok, I understand what you say , although I've seen the father feeding chicks more often than she did... however it very well could be that while they were still in the nest, it was she the one feeding more often...
I'll check again on the eggs and toss them if infertile... but shall I remove this pair's nest? The other pair's clutch will be hatching sometime next weekend, so their nest will be still there until they fledge. I don't know whether there could be some "disputes" over this only nest...
I don't know what to do

[Buzzard-1]

If you only leave 1 nest you are asking for trouble.Just leave things be until others have well and truly fledged then remove all nests.