# Egg Sitting



## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

Well, Amber now has 4 eggs. She layed the the first onr last thursday an she is still not sitting on them. I have thought of fostering the eggs with my other pair, but I'm scared if I do, then it will hinder them from having their eggs. I'm not even sure if the eggs are fertile. Will the other pair still lay even if they already have eggs?


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## clawnz (May 28, 2009)

I do not know to much about breeding.
But from what I am told and read, they tend to start sitting once they get to the end of egg laying. This is so that they all hatch around the same time.
So I would not panic yet.


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

I was just worried, because I read somewhere that by the seventh day, the egg is no longer good. So, I was worried that the egg would be a bad one because of this.


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## clawnz (May 28, 2009)

I did not say that right! I'll try again.

They should start to sit (incubate) towards the end of egg laying. So that they all hatch around the same time, just a few days.
If they incubated from day one, laid 7 eggs two days apart, they would then hatch over a 14day period. This would mean a huge diff in size of babies in the nest. fluff ball to feathers in only 21days.
View Srtiels Watch me Grow to see the difference.
http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/watch-me-grow.html

And I hope I am right about this.
She should start sitting in the next day or two.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The problem is that the first egg is now 7 days old and has not been sat on...its not going to develop because 7 days seems to be the limit the eggs can go without being sat on. I had to foster some of my eggs to another pair and it certainly didn't hinder that hen from laying, so if your other pair will sit on the eggs, it might be a good idea to foster the eggs to them and see what happens.


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

Eggs...yay!!! Yes, I would do as Roxyclover suggested and give the eggs to your other couple...I do not know too much about this kind of stuff...but I have read about the eggs need to be laid on after 5-7 days...good luck


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

Yeah, that's what I thought. I candeled the eggs yesterday, and the rest seem to have a darker vain like stucture forming, although they have not been sat on. However, the first egg now has air bible in it and is very liquidy. I can see the liquid swishing from side to side in the egg, unlike the others.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I think it might not be any good then. Might want to move the others so they will be sat on, since it appears they might be good. Keep us posted!


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

I'm still deciding what I'm going to do. If Amber shows no signs of taking care of those eggs, I will definetly move them to the other pair.


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

Keep us posted


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

Is there any way you can tell whether or not an egg is infertile or not before they sit on them. I candled mine earlier and two out of the four have some kind of striations lining the inside of them. Another one has small little bubbles that move when you turn the egg, and the last one is half filled with air. Does any of this help determine that?


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

did you have any luck with any of them hatching?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

You can give the other paor 1 egg to see if they are interested in sitting on it. If so, move another one or all of them.

I have had eggs that I stored for up to 10 days be good.

Even though your pair is not sitting, are they going in and turning/moving the eggs? if so, this is good, and helps towards longevity till they start sitting. If not then the eggs may not be good even though they were initially fertilized.


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

I had decided a while ago to just throw them out. I was scared that if I were to put these eggs in the other pairs box, it would hinder them from laying their own. It was a "just in case method" for whether or not these eggs were infertile.

But what does it mean when the egg is half filled with air, or increasingly gaining air? Is that good?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The air space shouldn't take up half the egg and it should never get bigger. If it is, then I would guess that the egg is drying out inside.

A newly laid egg will have a large "clear" space which is filled with yolk and albumen (and is not the same as the air space). This clear space will gradually fill up as the embryo grows, so the egg should look dark inside (except for the air space) by the time it's ready to hatch.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

This is what a very fertile egg will look like when candled. All that red is the embryo, the clear space (which isn't visible) would be clear and stand out.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

But what does it mean when the egg is half filled with air, or increasingly gaining air? Is that good?
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It means that the eggs were already dehydrating inside. The air cell should only take up space in the upper 1/4 to 1/5 of the inside of the egg.


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

Oh ok. Thanks. That makes much more sense now.


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