# Cinnamon and Fuzzy's breeding journal!



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Well I got home from work today and I got quite a lovely surprise...Cinnamon was in the nest box with an egg. Although I'm a little worried about the egg already...I think this one might have a chip in it. I don't know if it came out like that or if she caused it herself on accident (Mudflap coulda been curious and scared her) so I don't know. I took some pix (which she wasn't too happy about but tolerated because she's used to the camera) so let me know what you guys think. I just don't want any issues, I want this to go as smoothly as possible. If there is a chip in it is there anything I can do about it or should I just leave it as is? I mean it could just be the lighting but I'm not gonna pick up the egg to find out!!!


----------



## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

You will have to repair the crack or as the egg is incubated, it will lose too much moisture and there will be complications. To repair the crack, simply take some formaldehyde free nail polish (clear coat) and paint over the crack completely. Before the clear coat dries, place a small piece of toilet paper over the crack and the polish so that it adheres to the egg and seals the crack. Wait for it to dry before returning the egg to the nest to prevent any bedding or feathers from sticking to it and you're done! I have had several successful hatches after using this method for repairing cracks. Do it early though, preferrably before incubation begins so that too much moisture isn't lost from inside the egg. Good luck!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ok so should I wear gloves or does that not matter? I'm gonna try to do it tonight if I have the nail polish if not I'll do it tomorrow after work...I just don't want to upset Momma anymore than she already is lol. I don't think she appreciated the pictures very much lol. Thank you!!!


----------



## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

As long as you wash your hands really well before touching the egg it should be fine. I think it would be too hard to repair the egg with gloves on, but that's just me. Cockatiel eggs have very thin shells and are extremely fragile as you probably already know so be very gentle with it. The hen may seem aggravated with you messing with the egg, but she will get over it once you put the egg back. It is a good thing you inspect your eggs so closely or you may not have found the crack. You have probably just saved a chick's little life! Congrats! lol


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm doing everything I can to make sure everything is ok...I love little babies and if she can have even just one I would be so proud and happy for her!!! besides, I think she'll make cute babies lol. OK, so I'm gonna go fix the egg and I will put up so pix...wish me luck!!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ok, mission accomplished...clear nail polish and piece of toilet paper applied. Cinnamon not happy but egg is safely back in box with her, she didn't even leave the box while I did it, silly little girl. Here's the pictures I took of it...


----------



## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Glad to hear the mission was a success! Now let's hope the egg is fertile! lol

What mutation is the cock you have her with?


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

a normal pearl...lost most of his pretty yellow feathers and is mostly gray now. I had bought him because he was a pearl but it didn't stick lol. Hopefully I get a couple of cute females that will hang onto their pearling!!!


----------



## kfelton0002 (Mar 12, 2010)

Well your hen looks whiteface pearl, so all of your offspring will be pearls if your cock is a pearl. The male offspring may or may not retain some of their pearling, but the females definitely will!! Your hen is lovely by the way! Can't wait to see the babies!!


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

roxy culver said:


> Ok, mission accomplished...clear nail polish and piece of toilet paper applied. Cinnamon not happy but egg is safely back in box with her, she didn't even leave the box while I did it, silly little girl. Here's the pictures I took of it...


Looks good! fingers crossed it's fertile.


----------



## dee10 (May 27, 2010)

goodluck with these you did a great job with the egg


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Thanks guys...fingers crossed it's fertile, Fuzzy seemed like he was getting it right so let's hope so. Cinnamon is a WF Cinnamon pearl hence her name (the lady in the petstore called her a cinnamon to tell her apart from the others and it stuck) and I think she's the best looking one I got!!! Plus she tends to think she's a people but she's been so protective of just this one egg I think she'll make a good mommy too!!! I can't wait to see what happens...


----------



## BLESSED'S_WINGS (Apr 14, 2010)

I* can't wait to see the babies! I'm following your story! Is awsome!*


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Just a quick update...Cinnamon came out to eat today (good!!!!) and laid a huge poopy which means more eggs to come I'm thinking. The egg is fine, she barely leaves the box but when she does she watches it all the time, such a protective Mommy I have...keeping fingers crossed!!!


----------



## Jynxstorm (May 15, 2010)

Cinnamon is very adorable.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

She's my sweetie...she's on my shoulder right now, was helping me eat my breakfast lol. She should lay another one today so we'll see...


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So I checked today when I got home and egg #2 is in the nesting box right next to egg #1 and as far as I can tell, no cracks in this one!!! Here are the pictures I took of the eggs, mommy and daddy, and then mommy with the eggs lol.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Egg #3 arrived sometime early in the morning. Hopefully we're getting close to the end of the egg laying lol.


----------



## dee10 (May 27, 2010)

ooooh congrats very bonny birds hopefully some gorgeous babies


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

We got egg #4...and Mommy is spending lots more time with the eggs. Although she still comes out for food and such and the occasional scritches. But otherwise she is with the eggs and Fuzzy will stand at the door to the nest box and sing to her it's so cute.


----------



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Oh bless- i would love to see a chick from hatchling to adult growing- you lucky duck.

Your hen is beautiful by the way. There was one in a local pet store just like her but i wasnt aloud to get her


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

AW...thank u! She was my first pick. I was looking for a normal pearl and found her at the first bird store we went to. they called her a cinnamon hence her name!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Aren't little bird parents and little eggs adorable? My birds have 8 eggs right now- at least 2 are fertile and they should hatch around the same time as yours  When are you going to candle the eggs?


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I get back from my underway on Friday so I'm going to candle them then, I'm hoping she has laid all eggs by then and I don't get any surprises!!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Well I got back early and hubby and I candled the eggs...four out of the five are fertile so far!!! (#5 was laid about a day or so ago so I can't tell yet.) I'm so excited, this makes me so happy!!! Four little fuzzballs (hubby calls them cinnamon balls lol) so far, possibly five, now the wait is on. One question, is it 21 days from when they were laid or from when they started to get incubated? Will post pix tomorrow...


----------



## jeffm1967 (May 21, 2010)

18 to 21 days


----------



## Cheryl (Dec 27, 2008)

It is generally once they are started to become incubated. I know some cockatiels don't start incubating until all of the eggs are laid. Those chicks generally hatch close to or on the same day.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ok then that means I got about 16-17 more days seeing as how Cinnamon started sitting on them all the time around Sunday time frame. Fuzzy is helping out now too, I was a little worried that he wouldn't know what to do and would leave Cinnamon with all the work but he seems to like the day time and she the night. So he's got them right now while she's out and about. This makes me soooo excited!!! Here are some pictures I took, I'm going to candle egg #5 on Sunday to see if it's good. I can write on them in pencil correct? Even the egg I had to fix was good, which makes me so happy because I was worried that one might not make it. But it seems like they're doing everything right which is a relief so I should start seeing babies around the 26th of June...YAY!!!

The first pic is of one of the eggs, you can't really tell, but there are veins in there. The light is a special candling light I bought for this reason, it doesn't put off as much heat as other lights. The 2nd pic is Daddy doing his thing...so cute!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Haha look at protective Daddy! Too cute! Arthur is the same way  I love how tiel dads are good parents. It's so interesting how they (more or less) know what to do even though they aren't the ones who lay the eggs. When Poppet first started laying, Arthur's actually the one who sat on them. Poppet didn't seem to have a clue what the heck the eggs were. Thankfully, things have changed!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one counting down the days until BABIES  Funny that we both have 5 eggs, 4 fertile and 1 probably fertile but too early to tell. I think my birds' first fertile egg was laid on June 2nd, and assuming 21 days, we have 13 days left! I'm not trying to hijack your thread, but I've read in some places that it takes 21 days and some places 18-21. Why such the big range? Is it more likely for the first egg to be more towards 21 than 18 since it was the only egg when it was laid and may not have been incubated immediately? I'm so curious.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I think that's what it is...and funnily enough, if you only have 13 days left then so do I because my first one was laid on the 2nd as well!!! I wasn't sure whether it was 21 days from the first egg or from when they were first incubated. I think the reason its that range is because the first egg doesn't get incubated until there are a few more so it's 21 for that one and 18 for the others...its just a guess but that's what I'm assuming. Cinnamon knew what to do right off it was Fuzzy I worried about until hubby told me last night he's been sharing nest duties. And now Cinnamon is taking a bath (we have two water bowls and they tend to use the higher one as a bird bath lol) so I guess she's getting all moist for the babies lol.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Btw I just did the breeder calculator and this is what my babies might be:


Mother:Whiteface Cinnamon Pearl
Fatherearl

male offspring:
100% Pearl Split To Whiteface {X2: Cinnamon}

female offspring:
100% Pearl Split To Whiteface


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

I figure the thing to do is be ready for them to hatch on day 18, but don't be surprised if it's not until day 23 or something in case the parents didn't start incubating them until the second egg was laid. I don't know at all if that's actually valid, but it makes sense to me 

Oh and have you seen the little heartbeats? I've seen the heartbeat in two of the eggs. One of the coolest things ever! For both eggs, it was the first day that I could actually tell the egg was fertile- the more developed ones have too many veins and stuff for me to see the heart.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Ooh that's cool about the breeder calculator! I'll have to go find that. Is it on the site? I read about the genetics though and I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up with all normal greys. The dad is normal grey (and not split to anything as far as I know), while the mom is Lutino. Lutino is a sex linked recessive gene so unless Arthur's split to Lutino, all the little ones will look like him  That's okay, I think the greys are purdy too


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*Why such the big range?*
*-----------------------------------*

Environmental temps also play a role. If it is very warm/hot in the room this can speed up development, with hatches as early as 16-17 days. If it is too cool/cold it can slow down development with hatches as late as 21-22 days. 

One summer it was so hot that a pair did not have to incubate the eggs. They just went into the nest to turn the eggs, and they all hatched.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> One summer it was so hot that a pair did not have to incubate the eggs. They just went into the nest to turn the eggs, and they all hatched.


That made they're job easier didn't it? I think mom and dad have split up egg sitting duties...mom seems to like nights and Fuzzy's been in the box all day so I'm assuming he likes days. Which is fine, I'm glad Cinnamon gets a break every now and then.



> Ooh that's cool about the breeder calculator! I'll have to go find that. Is it on the site?


No but here's the website you can find it at:
http://www.kirstenmunson.com/cockatiels/blue.html
I had to use it, I'm not very good at the whole genetics thing yet. But I love all the different mutations. I haven't looked closely enough to see a heartbeat, I'm so afraid I'm going to mess something up that I barely handle the eggs but I do peak at them all the time!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Thanks for the link! I can't get it to install, I'll have to get my fiance to do it. He fixes computers for a living, so he will know!

I'm willing to bet my babies will all be gray. There's actually probably a decent chance that Arthur is split to something because at the pet store he came from (a very good birds only pet store that bred their own birds), they had a whole lot of cockatiel mutations. Arthur was actually in the minority as a normal grey. If I recall, there were about 8 baby tiels for me to pick from and he may have been the only grey? Or maybe 1 other? Can't remember, it was 11 years ago! Figures that I picked the only "plain" bird there, but I couldn't help it- he was such a cute little thing  I picked a cinnamon pearl as his friend a couple weeks later though. She was so pretty. I love cinnamon pearls.

Anyway, enough about my birds. What are you going to do with the chicks? Keep them or sell them? I think we're going to end up keeping all of ours, depending on how many we end up with! It wasn't my idea to breed anyway and I think I'll have a hard time parting with the little ones, especially if they end up being as sweet as I hope they'll be!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm going to sell mine...I would love to keep them, don't get me wrong, but I don't have the room right now. I've got 7 birds as it is (one is for my sister for Christmas) and 5 more (if all were to hatch and survive) would make it 12 and I just don't have the room. I already have someone interested in two of them so it's not like I wont be able to sell them! 

And there is nothing wrong with picking the "plain" cockatiel! Mudflap is plain but I love him all the same. I actually want to eventually breed the plain ones full time, once I have a house and bird room. It'll be fun!!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So I candled all five eggs today and all are developing quite nicely. Egg #5 is the least developed and I could see a heartbeat!!! That was so cool! And now the wait begins...


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ok hubby came home and wanted to take some pictures...It looks like #5 has a heartbeat and #2 was moving...is that possible? I mean to be able to see it moving when you candle it. I coulda been imagining but I could swear it was moving. This makes me so excited!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Your little mommy bird is so cute! Is it the same egg in all those pictures? I've seen the heartbeat in a couple of my eggs. It's so cool. Last night I could see the baby in my most developed eggs (about 11 days old) moving  Unfortunately, the embryo in one of the eggs died so we're to 4 fertile eggs now.

I know this is silly, but... I'm already trying to think of names for the chicks. Even if some of them don't survive after hatching, I want them to have names.


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Wow, that last egg is very fertile, lol!

I'm not sure about the movement though. You have a gorgeous and very good mummy there.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Each picture is of a different egg. I only took pictures of three of them although we checked all of them. She is a very good mommy...she has taken to sitting on them at night and Fuzzy has them during the day and he is ultra protective of daddy duties. I think naming them is a good idea, whether they survived or not, they were real to you right? Come up with any good ones yet?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The eggs look great. Yes, you can see the embryo moving/swimming


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Then that is really really cool!!!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So I finally saw mom and dad in the nest box together...normally its one or the other so I took the chance to take some quick photos of them together.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Cute! Look at them together! Fuzzy looks downright menacing in the first one  We're now at the point where I won't open the nest box if Arthur's in it. He freaks out. Even if he hears me and thinks I'm coming over, I can hear him hissing. I hope he's as good at feeding the babies as he is at hissing!

I have a little list of birdy names going  Trying to pick gender neutral ones since I'm probably going to name them once they hatch and won't know what they are. Trying to decide if I should send off their egg shells for DNA sexing or just wait until they're a bit bigger and get a blood sample!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I didn't know you could send in their egg shells. That's really cool. You'd have to mark them right after they hatch! What names have you come up with?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Yes...http://avianbiotech.com/SexingCenter.htm does sexing from shells.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

That's really cool!!! Will help me out a lot because I'm getting all pearls lol. Although we candled the eggs today and I think one died. I think it was egg #5. The parents keep separating it from the other eggs and it's not anywhere as developed as the others are (it is the last egg, but it was laid over a week and a half ago) and there doesn't seem to be any movement either. The pink color that surrounds all the other eggs that the other babies are moving around in isn't there with this one, so I think it somehow died. I'll find out when they hatch but still its very sad already.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Sorry to hear you lost one. I did too. Kind of weird how our birds both have 5 fertile eggs and one died... mine are still pretty intent on sitting on the dead one though. I'm a little worried about leaving the dead ones in the nest box. What if they break open and spill on the good eggs? Think of all the bacteria!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Oh no they use the dead eggs for heat. That's why I haven't removed it yet. There's really no fear of it breaking from what I know, they moved it back into the pack last night. It's a good source of heat for the other eggs.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*I'm a little worried about leaving the dead ones in the nest box. What if they break open and spill on the good eggs? Think of all the bacteria!*
*------------------------------------*

If you are sure it was fertile and died then remove it, because the embryo will decomose in the egg, which is a source of bacteria. 

I have learned that the *only* eggs you should leave in the nest are any that are infertile. They are sterile inside, and there is nothing that can decompose. Infertile eggs will, over time, lose moisture and dehydrate. But they are useful for the small hatchlings to prop up against/around and are a source of heat.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Great to know about removing the dead eggs, Susanne! I'll do that tonight. Now I'm all worried that I was wrong about the dead chick and I'll be killing it  How exactly do we know for sure when a chick has died? I know Roxy lost an egg to so I figure she'd like to know as well. I read about blood banding, which I'm pretty sure has happened in my egg, and the egg looks different inside but what if I'm wrong?


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

A DIS (dead in shell) egg will be a gray cast color and really dark inside. 

If there is indeed a blood ring, then it's safe to remove it because it's obviously not gonna hatch hence you won't be killing it.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Candle the egg. If the embryo has started to develope there will be very visable veins radiating form the center/yolk. When the chick has died they veins will turn brown...or may no longer be visable.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Roxy- I'm really sorry to be taking over your thread- just want to thank Susanne for the pictures and description, I went ahead and removed the eggs.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Berdnerd I was worried about the same thing because its the last egg that I'll have to remove and I was afraid that I too would be removing a live egg and killing it. I'm going to candle it tomorrow (I have duty today and can't come home till the morning) and remove it if it is indeed dead. It's sad but I also don't want it to crack and hurt my other babies because the shells are thin. Thank you Susanne for all the advice!!! What would us newbies do without you?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*It's sad but I also don't want it to crack and hurt my other babies because the shells are thin.
----------------------------------------*
Roxy, you are welcome  The closer to hatch the thinner the shells, because the chick will also be drawing from the calcium for the rapid bone growth. 

If you ever have to open an egg always remove just a tiny bit from the aircell end. This can be used to veiw inside the egg when you are unsure if it is alive or dead. If still alive you can patch the hole with a piece of eggshell or tissue and glue.

If candling, and unsure of if it is good mark the top of the egg with a marker, and then check in a day to see if there is any changes, etc. I use Sharpie Markers for marking eggs.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

That's exactly what we did because we weren't sure if it was actually bad or not, so we marked it with a sharpie on top and are going to check it tomorrow. If it is bad, then I'll remove it, I want as many to survive as possible and I know every little bit helps. It's getting so close and I'm getting so excited!!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Well I took out the last egg because it wasn't developing or moving and I cracked it open where the air sack was just to be sure and it didn't move or anything so I opened it all the way. It hadn't even developed a beak or eyes yet the poor little thing. We candled the others and it looks like one more might've died. It was pressed up against the side of the egg and had lost the reddish-orange color the others have. We marked it and put it back, I'm going to check it this afternoon and if it's died I'm going to remove it and open it up. The others looked really good, the babies moving and such, so close to hatching I hope we don't loose any more!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

I hope you don't lose anymore, either! I haven't candled mine in a couple of days because I read that you can disorient a chick that's close to hatching and it won't hatch properly. Today is Day 18 for us (you too, right?) so hatching could happen any time...


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yep we are so close!!! I'm not going to candle the others, but I'm going to check the one that we marked because if it did die I want to remove it before the babies hatch just to be safe. I'm pretty sure it was dead but I kinda hoped not. It looked like it had an eye at least the poor little guy. I took pictures of the other one too but didn't post them, I thought they would be too sad. Looked just like what Susanne posted about it being about two weeks along. I'll take pictures of this one too, just so I have proof it existed you know? I'm documenting everything, trying to learn as much as I can. Even if I only have one baby I will be happy you know? I hope you don't loose any more either Berdnerd...keeping my fingers crossed for the both of us!!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Roxy, as you know, our first little eggo is hatching right now  I'm guessing he'll come out completely tomorrow? The pipping was just beginning. Before I heard him chirp (what a surprise! Cutest sound ever!), I candled him and was worried because the egg looked completely opaque. I was moving the flashlight around so I could try to see the air cell when he chirped. I stopped looking (since he was obviously alive) and put him back in the nest box ASAP, being careful so he was put back in the way he was taken out! So I guess maybe they look opaque right before they hatch since the baby is so big and not really see through anymore!

Also, what do you mean you can see the eye? I couldn't see any eyes when I candled my eggs! Interesting!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The baby was pressed against the side of the egg and I could make out a dark circle which I interpreted to be the eye. I candled it again but I'm still not sure so I'm just going to leave it alone for now. I'm so afraid that they wont hatch, I don't even want to touch them!!!! That is the cutest thing, I'm so glad you are hearing it! Yes, it should be fully hatched by tomorrow. I can't wait to see the pictures!!!!


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

_*Also, what do you mean you can see the eye? I couldn't see any eyes when I candled my eggs! Interesting!*_
_*---------------------------------------*_

At 4-5 days into incubation you can see a speck where the eye is. If dark it is a dark colored chick. If you do not see any dark specks where the head should be then it is going to be a red eyed chick.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

well it was def a dark colored chick but I think it died. I'm just afraid to mess with the eggs so close to hatching...


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

As to the eggs. When a chick is getting ready to turn in the egg to get into the pipping position the pair will move it off to the side a couple times a day to let it cool down. This cool down is needed for the chick to move in the egg, get blood flow going and get into position.

When you see an egg off to the side it is best to leave it. many years ago I did not know this and I'd put the egg back under the patrent. Sometimes this egg didn't hatch, or was a malpositioned hatch.


----------



## AlbyPepper (Apr 3, 2010)

I have my fingers crossed that you and Berdnerd have successful hatches. And can't wait to see pics of your little ones.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm crossing my fingers and toes too!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Hey Roxy, how are mama and papa and egglings doing? Any sign of hatching yet?


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

No piping as of yet...I did have to remove that one that I thought was dead because it most def was. The others all look good, all look like they're getting close, can't even see into the first one its so dark so now we're just playing the waiting game. Mom and Dad haven't give up and neither will I!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

I hope you get some pipping soon! I can't believe that my eggs have begun to hatch so much sooner than yours. It's been in the 60s-70s here so it's not like our house is really warm. Maybe your birds started incubating the eggs later than mine!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I think so, they really weren't sitting on them till about the third egg, I kind of figured the first one would hatch around Thursday so we shall see!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Oh, good! Yeah, it makes sense they'd be hatching later then. Arthur and Poppet almost completely neglected their first clutch of eggs (only sat on them for about an hour a day), so Fuzzy and Cinnamon are ahead of them as far as that goes! Thankfully Arthur and Poppet figured things out the second time around. I wonder what changed! There was like a week long gap between when the last egg of the first clutch and the first egg of this clutch. The last egg of the first clutch even developed a teeny tiny bit before dying.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Well Cinnamon has always been pretty dedicated. She's the one that laid her first clutch kind of young when we were really new to all this. And she sat on them but none of them developed at all. Fuzzy picked it up from her but then he's always been pretty protective lol.


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

If she didn't start incubating 'til the third egg you still have a little bit of a wait. 

You'll have some bubs very soon though, at least you've got something to look forward to.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm waiting as patiently as possible, if she waited till the third egg then that's either today or tomorrow (because the third egg was laid a little sooner than I had expected.) She's still very dedicated to sitting on them, my hours are long so I'm only here when she's in the box not Fuzzy but we shall see.


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

I will keep my fingers crossed for you that you will have some little fuzz balls soon, lol

Jenny


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Thank you!!! I'm crossing fingers, toes, eyes...anything and everything I can. Its the waiting that is killing me!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, too! Come on, little eggs! Have you checked to see if they're still alive and been spraying the parents with water so there's enough humidity? It's really dry here and I've sprayed both parents from a spray bottle once a day, which seems to be doing the trick since we have 3 chickies now.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

AAHAHAHHAHAHHAAA!!! I checked the eggs about 5min ago and guess what I found? Egg #1 that I had to fix is PIPING and trying to hatch!!!! And chirping like a little champ. OMG I'm so happy!!! I was sooooo worried about them and here they go making me the proudest grandma in California. Will post pictures once I find my camera!!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ok I was wrong he hatched in like half an hour!!! He is sooo tiny...


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

YAY!!! Congrats, grandma! Your little baby is so cute and itty bitty! Hooray for baby birds  How is he doing?


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Congrats..


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Congratulations! Is the male split to cinnamon? The eyes on the chick look like they have a slight plum color rather than a dark charcoal color. If so the chick may be a cinnamon mutation.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Srtiels, you're really good to notice that! The eyes just look black to me  Roxy's birds are I think a whiteface cinnamon pearl (mama) and pearl (daddy), so maybe dad carries the cinnamon gene too! That's so cool. I can't wait until I can tell if any of my babies are anything other than normal grey. I guess we know none of mine are cinnamon or lutino because of their eye color!


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Congratulation’s on your little beautiful fluff ball

Jenny


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Well he is doing just fine, hiding under mama right now but chirping some and moving. She's being ultra protective which is cute. As far as I know dad is only a normal pearl but he could be split to something I bought him from a bird store.


----------



## liltweets (Oct 31, 2008)

Congratulations! Adorable.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So I was a little worried this morning because I didn't know if they were feeding him or not until hubby came into the room to tell me that the baby was being fed and you can hear it. He chirps really fast when they're feeding him. And it was Fuzzy that figured it out first!!!  It seems like they are doing it a lot but in short amounts so I guess everything is going good. He's such a cutie I took some more pictures too. Hubby went to look at him earlier and Cinnamon was hiding him under her and when she moved, she'd drag him with her, its so funny. I think the next baby is supposed to hatch tomorrow...


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Awww, look at that handsome little baby! And isn't the fast chirping when they're being fed cute? I didn't know they did that until my first hatched! I've only got to see the babies being fed once, and it was actually when I discovered the first baby in the nest  Mama fed him right then so I got to see and realized what the sound was! I like that they make a sound so I know when they're being fed. Enjoy the cute baby chirps while it last- my oldest is now 5 days old and figuring out how to make that static baby cockatiel sound


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Haha I'm used to that sound, my sister's tiel still makes it and she's over 12 weeks old now. And yes its a relief to be able to hear them be fed, I was worried I wouldn't know! But I did discover something last night that makes me kinda sad. The egg that hatched wasn't egg #1 like I thought, but #2. Which means #1 might not have made it. It was late when I thought to look at them closer (I just assumed it was #1) so I didn't candle them, I'll do that tomorrow after work. It would be so sad if it didn't make it, it was so big the last time I checked it!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Aw maybe the first one is just developing a little slower? How is the little guy you do have? How many eggs are left? My last egg hatched today. 4 little squawkers! And my oldest's eyes opened today  They grow so fast! I'd love to see another picture of your baby bird. Did you name him?


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

We have two eggs left...I hope he's only developing slower but I don't know. The hubby checked them last night (I had duty) and says he thinks the other two eggs are DIS but I want to check for myself when I get home. Meatball (my brother-in-law named him) is doing really good. He's being fed (I love to just sit and listen to him) and has been leaning against the other two eggs for support. I do want to know when should I remove the other eggs? Would I be able to tell that they're not going to hatch? Should I crack them open at the air cell to check?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Before you do anything candle them with as strong of a light as possible to check for presence of live veins or movement. If none, to be on the safe side just open a little of the shell at the top center of the air cell to veiw inside.

If DIS it is quite possible that the coco fiber drew moisture from the eggs enough to trap them in the shell if they are fully developed inside.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I bought a candling light a while back and that's what I've been using so I'm going to check them when I get home. Is there a possibility that first one got trapped because I had to repair the egg and it couldn't break through the repair I did?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

_* Is there a possibility that first one got trapped because I had to repair the egg and it couldn't break through the repair I did?*_
_*--------------------------*_

That would depend on where the repair was. If the repair was located in the area where the air cell meets the egg contents, it might be harder for the chick to start piping *if* it choses that area to start piping.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Aw  I hope the other chicks are just taking their time in hatching!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Well I took some pictures of Meatball and the eggs so tell me what you think. Candling the first one I'm pretty sure its DIS  only because it hasn't drawn in the veins yet (I can see them when candling still) while the other one is totally full like Meatball's used to be before he hatched. I'm thinking about taking out egg #1 but leaving #2 to see if it'll hatch by Friday. I just don't want to get rid of a good egg and loose a baby needlessly so here are the pictures I took plus the new ones of Meatball!!! He so cute and eating so well.

p.s. the first egg is egg #1 the 2nd egg is egg #2 let me know what you think!


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Roxy...I can not tell from your pix. The red glow looks like it is live, BUT I can't see where the air cell is at. It is the air cell you want to see. Forstly to see if it has tilted to one side (lower) and if you see movement. If it looks like the 2nd pix, which your do not have that cloro, then it is DIS.

I would wait a day or so...


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Then both might be DIS, because the air cell is at the bottom and hasn't moved. Although that's where Meatball's was and that's where he hatched out of, he popped the top off. The first one I'm pretty sure is DIS because none of the veins or anything. Still not sure about the 2nd.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Roxy, if it helps at all, here's a video of Phoenix in his egg about 2 hours before he finally hatched. The video's not very good but you can kind of see the tilted air cell and you can see him moving.



Maybe you can only really see them moving once they've gone into the air cell though? I don't know  Sorry, trying to be helpful but failing I think. How is Meatball?


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

He has a full crop and is doing beautifully! and yes that is very helpful!!! It doesn't look like the air cell has tipped it could be that this was egg #4 or #5 (I could've gotten them mixed up) and we have a few more days. But I'm pretty sure egg #1 is DIS. So sad...


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Sorry to hear you think egg 1 is DIS, it must so sad to get this far and then think it has died.

Jenny


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Its tough, I checked egg #2 again and it looks like the air cell has moved so I'm going to leave that one for a few more days just to be sure. I said at the beginning of this that if I only got one I would be happy because I would have one of Cinnamon's babies. And so if Meatball is all I get, then I am happy.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

So I pulled egg #1 last night. When I opened it up, I was right, it had died. It had almost fully developed but never pulled in the yoke sac or the veins. Poor little guy, he had a little eye and everything. So sad, but I couldn't chance something happening and Meatball getting sick. I'm going to give the last egg a few more days and then pull it as well. I do have another question...if I change the bedding, what kind of wood chips do I use? I've read not to use pine but then what else is there? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Roxy, I'm sorry  It's so sad. I wonder what happened to him. I remember breaking open Arthur and Michaela's 6 eggs several years ago and it was incredibly sad seeing all those dead chicks (they died when Michaela died and Arthur abandoned them). Did it look like he'd tried to get out but was stopped because of the patch job? Hopefully the last egg will hatch!! 

I'm using aspen shavings in my nest box. It seems to be working fine so far. I'm a little worried about the parents feeding the shavings to the chicks, but it seems like every single nesting material has some draw back so ya just kind of have to pick one and hope for the best.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Leave the bedding you have in there. Just sprinkle a thin layer of either some pine or aspen shavings on top of it. I have always used coarse pine chips from the feedstore, which are sold in plastic bales, used for bedding in horse stalls. If you have a Petsmart close by you can also find some shredded aspen and use it.

((((HUGS)))) for the loss of the egg.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

_*I'm a little worried about the parents feeding the shavings to the chicks*_
*------------------------------------------------*

Parents *do not* feed bedding to the babies. How this occurs is if the parents are sloppy feeders and there is food matter stuck to the babies beak or face. When the baby sleeps it will have it's head bowed down, and a piece of bedding can get adherred to the gunk on the beak. The next time the parents feed the chick this gets shoved into the baby along with food as the baby feeds. I have learned that for the first 7-10 days to make sure that the babies beak/face is kept clean which eliminates bedding or foreign matter (small feathers) in the crop, and other health problems.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

That's good to know, Susanne! I was just going off of things I'd read  I was wondering how that worked since the parents don't just pick up food and cram it down the babies throats, they eat it themselves first. What you wrote makes sense. Good thing everyone gets their faces and bodies cleaned at least twice a day!

How is Meatball? I want to see more pictures!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Hahaha, I'll take more pictures of him when I get home on friday unless hubby will be nice and send me some more. He is getting so big and I'm so glad I have him at least. It doesn't look like the chick even got to make the attempt. He hadn't even pulled in the yoke or the veins yet. So close and he just couldn't do it. I'm hoping the last one makes it, keeping my fingers crossed. Hubby wants to keep Meatball if he's the only one but I don't want parents breeding with babies so I'm probably going to give him to my brother-in-law if he wants him. I keep calling him a boy so I wont be disappointed when he looses all his beautiful pearling.  I'm taking pictures of everything and learning what I can. I didn't use pine to start off with because I read somewhere not to and the bird store I went to only had the coconut stuff by all the breeding supplies. But now I know and I will be using that in the future ! We used it with our guinea pigs and they never had a problem but I was just worried about something affecting these babies. I mean guinea pigs are born with hair and open eyes, baby tiels aren't. I can't wait till Meatball opens his eyes!!!


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ok I couldn't get it to load the other way so I'm trying this. Hubby sent me some pictures of him and he is sooo cute!!! I love the one with his mouth open, he's just so adorable. What do you think? Does he look like what a 6 day old chick is supposed to look like?

ok pix couldn't load will try again later.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Ok the first three are from today at 7 days old...does he look like he's supposed to? The last two are from two days ago at 5 days old. His crop is full, he's pooping good as evidenced by the nest box lol. I'm going to add another post to this with pix of the egg that's still left, I don't know if its still good or not. It doesn't appear to have any veins anymore but the air cell is very apparent. I tried to take a picture of it but its not very good, pls let me know what you think I should do. I don't mind if he's the only one, I just don't want to endanger his health any...


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

This is the last egg, I don't know if you can see the air cell very well or not but if its no good I want to remove it, I don't want to possibly hurt Meatball in any way. But I also don't want to get rid of it if it is still good...


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Your little chick is adorable, congratulations, I would leave the other egg for the time being until you are sure it isn’t good.


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Ah...look at that little sweetie. it looks like the parents are doing a good job feeding him, and the crop contents look good. Soon you should start seeing color come in on the top of his head andcoloring the flight feather area of the wings.

I don't think egg is good. Try candling from the air cell end. Here is a page that I'm working on for my mousebirds that shows candling: http://www.mousebirds.com/candling-eggs.html


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I was worried little Meatball was behind in development though he has been eating well and his crop emptying as it should. He hasn't opened his eyes yet but I guess they all develop at their own rate. The hubby and I opened the last egg and sure enough it was DIS. Poor little guy but its ok, we have Meatball and he is doing just fine. Def going to pick up some pine chips today (didn't get off work in time yesterday, everything was closed.) Hubby complained because Meatball pooped on him but that's a good thing lol.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I don't think Meatball is going to make it. And I feel like a horrible person because of it. We had to move the birds this weekend because both the hubby and I are going underway for two weeks and so we took them to his brothers. That wouldn't have been a problem except there was Meatball. And I kept telling him that they would abandon Meatball if we moved them but he wouldn't listen to me. They fed him on the way there but that was it. Fuzzy would go into the nest box but not stay very long. It looked like they had been feeding him but I'm not sure because I didn't hear it once we got them there.  He got really noisy for a while I think because he was cold. And then we went out and when we came back he was really quiet. And we had to leave and I don't think he's going to make it through the night. And I blame myself. I read what happened to Kfelton's eggs when she had to move her's and I knew there was a high possibility that they would abandon him. I should've fought more, I should've made my hubby understand but I didn't. I just prayed that maybe we would be lucky and they would be fine. But I think I was wrong and I can't stop crying because of it. Yes he was only here a week, but he was my baby and I let him down and now I can't forgive myself because ultimately it was my fault and I knew better. And I'm so sorry that I did this to him. He was my baby and I loved him very much...


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

((((HUGS)))) Is there another local breeder that can foster him or handfeed him while you are gone?

Due to stress and chilling be may need a little help. Do you have any honey or Caro syrup? If so you can put a drop in a little handfeeding and this will give him some energy. And a little probiotics or yogurt for good bacteria in the GI tract. Make sure his body is warmed first, because chilling also slows down the GI tract movement.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I noticed that part (the GI tract) but its too late...I didn't catch it in time. And I feel horrible my baby is gone and I didn't do anything to help him. And I wasn't even there to hold him at the end I was in another town. My origional plan if they hadn't fed him at first was to foster him to my local bird store that hand raises their tiels. But they fed him. The move changed all that but Fuzzy was still going in there with him. I didn't notice a problem till the next day and by then it was too late. I miss my baby...


----------



## liltweets (Oct 31, 2008)

I'm so sorry roxy.  hugs


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

(((hugs)))


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm completely crushed. I know that it sometimes takes tiels a couple times to get things right but this wasn't their fault at all you know? They did what they were supposed to do and I messed it up. But I have learned my lesson the hard way. This wont happen again, if someone can't come to my house (hubby better learn to change his mind on this) then I ain't going on vacation. Underways I can't help but this is the only one where he and I were going to be gone at the same time. Other than this one, one of us would always be there. And I have three months left and its back to civilian life. So I think I'm going to hold them off until September at least and then we'll try again....thank you for all the hugs. I miss my baby and I didn't have him very long but that doesn't mean he didn't make an impact in my life. I'm going to write a really awesome tribute for him in the Rainbow Bridge when I get home tonight and post some pictures. He deserves the best I got!!!


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

I'm so sorry, Roxy  Poor little Meatball. We both knew breeding birds would undoubtedly result in babies dying, but it's SO MUCH harder to accept once the babies are actually here, isn't it? RIP little Meatball. I cried for him too


----------



## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Roxy, I am so sorry to hear of your loss of little meatball ((Hugs)), it seems really hard to actually get the babies to survive to adulthood, I think I will be a nervous wreck when my chicks arrive, and I am sure I will be taking chicks out the nest to hand feed because my birds are going to have such different ages within the nest, just reading these threads no one seems to be having much luck no matter how hard we try.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It hurts a lot but at least I got to have him for a little while and for that I am grateful. I posted a thread for him on Rainbow Bridge with pictures of him and everything. Hope everyone enjoys reading about my little man...

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?p=121636#post121636


----------

