# nest help



## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

hey, sorry if this has already been posted, but there are sooo many threads to look threw, lol..... my pair is almost 3 and so i took a chance and added their nesting box to see what would happen, after a week or so of prepping and mating, i noticed the first egg in there last night, 

my concern- for bedding i put a ton of newspaper type material in there, but they have moved it around so much and taken some out to where the egg is on the floor of the box. 

my question(s)- do i let it be? or intervene? and if i do intervene are they going to abandon the egg(s)? how do i go about it? should i make sure they are out and close off the hole so they dont freak? or does it matter? also, how much is it okay to look? should i keep it at once a day? or is it okay to peek more if there are concerns?

THANK YOU!! :blush:


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

this is the best time to intervene if they have just laid egg 1 then they havent really started sitting, you should have 2-3 layers of papertowel with shavings on top about 2 inches of that to give them a nice stable bedding otherwise young chicks leggs are gonna slide and get splayed.


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

nwoodrow said:


> this is the best time to intervene if they have just laid egg 1 then they havent really started sitting, you should have 2-3 layers of papertowel with shavings on top about 2 inches of that to give them a nice stable bedding otherwise young chicks leggs are gonna slide and get splayed.


should i dampen the paper towels at all? and what about handling the egg? are tiels less picky then other birds about that? should i wash scent for my hands first?

so- 
remove the egg
thicken and layer the bedding
replace the egg

and all should be well?


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

no dampening the paper towel is not necesary your birds should bathe in a dish and then brin the moisture needed for the eggs into the box, a little trick to handling the egg (most wont care) is to mix your hand in the bird seed then handle the egg, my birds are fine with me touching as your birds will get used to with your daily inspection of nest box (tap lightly on box before entering, your birds will come to know what you want), make sure you have washed your hands thouroughly as eggs are porus and any germs on your hands can get passed through the egg, to do the entire box get a clean butter sized tub put shavings in the tub put egg in the tub and then proceed with the nest box, when done place egg back in box and wala done, your birds will get used to you opening the box and handling the egg while you are doing this you might as well mark the egg with a number 1 with a black sharpy marker, this will help you know hatching order later and will come in handy when an egg is overdue.


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

nwoodrow said:


> no dampening the paper towel is not necesary your birds should bathe in a dish and then brin the moisture needed for the eggs into the box, a little trick to handling the egg (most wont care) is to mix your hand in the bird seed then handle the egg, my birds are fine with me touching as your birds will get used to with your daily inspection of nest box (tap lightly on box before entering, your birds will come to know what you want), make sure you have washed your hands thouroughly as eggs are porus and any germs on your hands can get passed through the egg, to do the entire box get a clean butter sized tub put shavings in the tub put egg in the tub and then proceed with the nest box, when done place egg back in box and wala done, your birds will get used to you opening the box and handling the egg while you are doing this you might as well mark the egg with a number 1 with a black sharpy marker, this will help you know hatching order later and will come in handy when an egg is overdue.


thank you for your advice! since they have laid, one or both of them have been in there the entire time, is this a sign that they will be good attentive parents or is that neither here nor there


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It means they sit well, doesn't necessarily mean they'll know what to do once the babies hatch. Good luck!


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

so, i put in a few paper towels and then put a few inches of pine bedding on top, higher in the sides then in the middle, both parents have been back in the box and i just peaked in to see the eggs, and i guess they must have put some bedding on them, because i couldn't see them.... is this okay behavior?


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

They are probably trying to hide the eggs because they don't want you messing with them. I have a pair that love to hide eggs when they first start laying. When your hen is done laying and starts sitting they should be fine.


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

4birdsNC said:


> They are probably trying to hide the eggs because they don't want you messing with them. I have a pair that love to hide eggs when they first start laying. When your hen is done laying and starts sitting they should be fine.


THANK YOU that is relief... they keep going in and out but not staying in as long as usual.....so she really doesn't sit as much until she's done laying? that is something i didn't know. well a lot of this is stuff i didn't know, lol.... truthfully, i didn't think i would worry so much about it but this is new to me and them :blink:


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Some cockatiels will start incubating right away, others will wait until several eggs have been laid. When they start right away the babies will hatch approximately every other day, the same pattern as the laying of the eggs. When the parents wait, several chicks will hatch very close together which helps keep the consistency of the "baby food" appropriate for everyone. Older babies need thicker food than younger ones, and the parents gear the food toward the oldest. When there's a big difference in age the younger ones have a harder time with digestion.


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

Both of my current pairs start sitting as soon as they lay, so I get a chick every two days. It will helps keep track of them, unfortunately I also tend to have to help the little ones. It also took my first pair to a couple of false starts before they had their first hatch.


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

okay, well.....i did the layers of paper towels and bedding in the box, and they essentially have gathered the eggs(there are 3 as of now) and gone all the way back down to the wood with them.... is this okay as long as the chicks aren't on the wood after they are born? once they hatch can i just take them out and put bedding underneath them? and the pair are really back to sitting, the female stays out the most and the male seems the most defensive and aggressive....and sits while she is out. he seems to not even want her near the nest box at times.


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

With wood under them, they will be hard to keep warm, and they roll and bounce. I would put even more bedding in there... Not paper towels, but wood shavings. Go ahead and pile it higher on the sides like you have. but try to have about 3 to 4 inches under the eggs at the same time. My second pair does the same thing... they will even shove bedding out of the box... I just put so much in there that they have no choice.


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

4birdsNC said:


> With wood under them, they will be hard to keep warm, and they roll and bounce. I would put even more bedding in there... Not paper towels, but wood shavings. Go ahead and pile it higher on the sides like you have. but try to have about 3 to 4 inches under the eggs at the same time. My second pair does the same thing... they will even shove bedding out of the box... I just put so much in there that they have no choice.



sounds good, i'll get on it


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

ok, done. another question :blush: the eggs look almost "streaked" with darker white lines, like maybe it's thicker and thinner alternately.... is this normal? does it mean anything? tanks so MUCH for bearing with me and helping me through this


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## devilangel09 (Feb 5, 2008)

i think you should let nature take its course if you bother the eggs to much then you may end up with nothing


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

devilangel09 said:


> i think you should let nature take its course if you bother the eggs to much then you may end up with nothing


thanks  im trying to do what i can the right way so i can let them to it


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## 4birdsNC (Dec 4, 2010)

Eggs are not regular, each one looks different. I would wait till she starts sitting, then candle them to see if they are fertile. As tame as the parents are, they shouldn't mind to much if you handle them, from time to time.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

What you could do next time is get a coir hanging pot liner and cut it to the size of the box and put shavings on top of it, that way when they move the bedding there is still a little padding underneath the eggs.


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## nwoodrow (Feb 13, 2011)

*devilangel09:* Checking on the eggs will not cause the birds to abandon them, i have condidtioned my pair that i check 2 times a day and i start this conditioning every breeding season the minute the nest box goes up so that they are used to it by the time the first egg is laid. and if you let nature take its course then you could end up with multiple fatalities that you could of have prevented, i assisted 2 chicks last season because they got stuck in the shell and had pipped only half way, due to lack of moisture.


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

thank you everyone for you help, IMO i'm trying to teach them that i'm like the 3rd parent, and just guiding them in the right direction and helping along the way so we end up where we all want to be. my parent birds were hand raised and though life got busy at times i have maintained a strong bond with them so hopefully they appreciate my help more then think of me as a bother. i'm so glad i found this place, i'm grateful for the help! to say the least!


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Hand fed birds can be vipers in the nest box as they are not afraid of people's hands. I have one hen that is so sweet until she is in a nest and then she draws blood if I so much as look at her cross eyed. lol


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

Mentha said:


> Hand fed birds can be vipers in the nest box as they are not afraid of people's hands. I have one hen that is so sweet until she is in a nest and then she draws blood if I so much as look at her cross eyed. lol



LOL! sally is definitely more at ease with me, she poofs up but doesnt hiss too much, she won't leave the box if im looking in, shell just tolerate me....Jack has more "spirit" lol, if i tap on the box he comes out like a bat outta **** and guards the opening to the box, but won't bother me once i'm doing what i have to do.


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## devilangel09 (Feb 5, 2008)

nwoodrow said:


> *devilangel09:* Checking on the eggs will not cause the birds to abandon them, i have condidtioned my pair that i check 2 times a day and i start this conditioning every breeding season the minute the nest box goes up so that they are used to it by the time the first egg is laid. and if you let nature take its course then you could end up with multiple fatalities that you could of have prevented, i assisted 2 chicks last season because they got stuck in the shell and had pipped only half way, due to lack of moisture.


i did not say anything about them abandoning the eggs. checking once or twice a day is no problem but handling the eggs all the time isnt gonna help the eggs. nothing wrong with checking for there fertility once n a while. 
i also do the conditioning thing when breeding budgies so i know what its about.


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## devilangel09 (Feb 5, 2008)

TWilson said:


> LOL! sally is definitely more at ease with me, she poofs up but doesnt hiss too much, she won't leave the box if im looking in, shell just tolerate me....Jack has more "spirit" lol, if i tap on the box he comes out like a bat outta **** and guards the opening to the box, but won't bother me once i'm doing what i have to do.


my tame hen is the same she hisses a lil but when she was laying an egg she allowed me to stroke her head (she was laying on cage floor) im also considering breeding her but only males i have are untamed


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

is it normal for the male to be dominant over the nest?


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

ALSO! how do i know when they are done laying eggs? we got our 5th yesterday


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## devilangel09 (Feb 5, 2008)

Male tends to sit the eggs during the day then the hen takes over in the evenings and both sit at night


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## devilangel09 (Feb 5, 2008)

You will only know when she stop laying when she doesn't lay anymore eggs it tends to vary per bird


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## OnWeero'sWings (Aug 25, 2011)

5 is a lot of eggs so i'd expect them to stop soon, although ive heard of birds laying up to 10! Good luck with your breeding BTW, i hope you get lots of happy health chicks


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## TWilson (Aug 30, 2011)

OnWeero'sWings said:


> 5 is a lot of eggs so i'd expect them to stop soon, although ive heard of birds laying up to 10! Good luck with your breeding BTW, i hope you get lots of happy health chicks


THANK YOU!!!! its been 2 days since the 5th so i think theyre done! and they are almost never out of the nest at the same time anymore so i think we're solid, im proud of them so far, i just hope they are as good of parents!


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