Gouldian hen sitting tight??? Maybe...

[cranberry]

Hi folks, when Gouldian hens sit on their eggs, is it normal for them to not come out of the box for hours? I got home tonight to find 1 hen missing. I'm assuming she's in the box as she has been going in and out for the last couple of weeks. I looked again 2 hours later and still no sign. Assuming she has eggs, is this normal for her to dissappear for this long? I don't want to have a look for fear of startling her and possibly abandoning the nest.

[dRAG_jUNKIE]

Yep thats totally normal, i've found with mine the hens do most of the sitting during the day then do the whole night shift aswell.

[FinchFan]

I have a pair with 6 eggs. I am forever counting the pairs and almost always notice that its the male-half that is sitting. I count, notice that Rainbow is missing, and then scower the ground of the aviary, then when he is not sighted, realise he is in the box while Lady is socialising..... I assume Lady does the night shift, in there together.

[cranberry]

Well I couldn't resist...I took a sneak peek and she has 5 eggs. She went straight back to the nest after I left so it's all good. The eggs didn't look too promising though. They didn't have that nice shiny "full" look. They looked rather "yolky". Is this normal for a first timer to have a clear round?

[dRAG_jUNKIE]

yep, i wouldn't worry. My black headed norms had their 1st clutch last month and 5 out of 7 eggs were duds.

[cranberry]

Well I think my other hen is sitting tight also. She's in the box a hell of a lot with her boyfriend "captain grumpy". This guy guards the box like a hawk!

[cranberry]

The other one is sitting tight alright...on 9 eggs!!! Again, I doubt if they are any good but it's a good sign that they are showing interest in each other so quickly. I think the key with these birds is that they were aviary bred and toughened up a bit before I got them. Interestingly, both pairs did not bring any extra nesting material into their boxes. They must have thought that what I already made for them was enough. Is this normal?

[Diane]

Some of mine added more to the nesting material I put in. They seemed to like a roof of nesting material. Others just moved in and laid eggs.

Still waiting for my pairs to start...they are looking at the boxes but thats about all at the moment. This time last year I already had babies fledging. Slow start for me this time

[finchbreeder]

Mine are still at the singing love songs stage, am hoping for progressing to the popping in nests stage soon.
LML