# Moving eggs?



## Frostwish (May 10, 2014)

Hey, everyone! It's been a long time since I've been on here! I need y'all's help. Breeding cockatiels is something I have never done and don't know a ton about. And now, my pair has laid two eggs, one today, one yesterday. I'm not entirely sure I'm going to let them hatch, as I may be leaving for 7 weeks straight this summer. However, if I don't end up doing that, I really would like to raise the chicks. The problem is, I wasn't expecting them to lay the eggs. I've had them for 2.5-3 years and I've seen them mating many times, however, this is the first time they've ever laid eggs. So, as I wasn't expecting it, she just laid them on the bottom of the cage. There was no where else for her to lay them. But I'm not sure what to do now. I feel like I shouldn't just leave the eggs sitting on the bottom of the cage, especially if I do end up hatching them. I do have a nest box from when I adopted a very young tiel that could not be kept in a cage, but what will happen if I attach the nestbox and move the eggs in? Will she go sit on them? Will she even dare go in the nestbox? Or will she just abandon the eggs? Should I try just putting some sort of open topped contraption inside the cage and put the eggs in there? Like a small cardboard box or something? Or should I just leave them?

Thank you so much, guys! Y'all are awesome!


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

During the incubation process the eggs have to be kept at 99.5 degrees F. If she has been sitting on them there is a good chance the incubation process began and any time she left would had left them to chill. Having good nest box filler material is very important to the eggs surviving to hatch time. I doubt highly that the eggs will hatch, also since she has already chosen the bottom of the cage as her nest site, its very unlikely she will be willing to relocate to a nest box. You can try putting a basket or container with aspen pine shavings in the cage bottom, but there is not guarantee she will accept it as a nesting site for subsequent eggs she lays.


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## Frostwish (May 10, 2014)

Ok! Thank you for your input! The only thing I disagree with is that you don't think the eggs will hatch since they are on the bottom of the cage without nesting material. I have a friend whose family owns something like 14 cockatiels. They never had any intention to breed them, though they lay eggs all the time. Normally either the eggs are infertile, don't hatch, or they take them away (I'm not sure, I don't know all the details), but at least one or two times, the eggs did end up hatching, and this was just with them sitting on the bottom of the cage with no nesting material.


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## harleydon5 (Mar 27, 2015)

Darkell 777probably knows more about this than I do but I understood that once she began to set the eggs that's when they needed to stay warm. If she laid today and yesterday she probably hasent started to set yet.I would probably put a makeshift nest on the bottom of the cage she'll either use it or not but at least you tried.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

The nestbox filler material is what keeps the eggs warm when the parents go away to eat. Having eggs hatch at the bottom of the cage without a filler is unusual, I had an image in my head of an egg sitting on top of a metal grate the sort most cages have. I'm thinking your friend removed this grate and got lucky with the weather.


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## Frostwish (May 10, 2014)

Thank you all for your advice! I tried attaching the nestbox last night just to see how they would react to it. They immediately took interest though it took them a while to find the courage to go in. However, my female was in it when I got up this morning so I put the eggs in their with her and she immediately started sitting on them. She has since laid another egg in the nestbox and accepted that as her new nesting site. I just hope the first two eggs will be ok! Thank you again!


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