Aussie Finch Forum

Found this egg under where my gouldians have been nesting. However, it was my female african which was picking at it and I know she either has eggs or they have hatched and her nest is only half a metre away. Can you tell whose it is from the picture.? Also the female gouldian has been pecking her feathers from between her legs/lower chest. She has removed about a 1cm circle. Otherwise she appears happy. Is this normal?

They will all pick at freshly dropped eggs and shells...could be either Gould or Ruddy...they will dispose of broken or hatched pieces of egg remains by removing them from the nest...have seen my Diamonds fly 10 mtrs away before dropping newly hatched egg remains...

Some hen birds clear the feathers of the "brood spot" on their fronts that they put against the eggs. Why some do it and other don;'t is a mystery.
LML