# egg is a funny color?



## Ivorystone (May 16, 2013)

This is my first time with cockatiel breeding...

13 laid 5 eggs... 1 is for sure not fertile, 1 died early, 2 are a darkish grey color but i can see the birds are fully formed inside the egg (supposed to hatch sometime over this next week.) but i was wondering if it's normal for it to be a dark grey color or are they DIS? anything to look out for next time so they don't become DIS? thanks!:}


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Dark grey are DIS eggs...it means they fully developed and then died some time before hatching. What is the humidity like where they're set up? And the bedding? Both those things can play a role in development.


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## Ivorystone (May 16, 2013)

It stays around 78-85*. I noticed that if it isn't 13 will start shaking and puff up. (also wondering if that could be a problem?) bedding is shredded up chips (really fine) mixed with timothy hay and a folded up piece of soft material. Normally when its not humid enough i'll get nose bleeds but i haven't for a few months now so I'm guessing it's humid enough at least for me. would getting a humidifier be a good idea? or an incubator for next time?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Humidifer would definitely be a good idea. Eggs need a different humidity than we do. What kind of chips? I usually use pine shavings and haven't had an issue with hatching. Incubating the eggs yourself might not work out well its really hard to raise a baby from day one. Does the hen get herself wet then go back in the box?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

85 degrees isn't warm enough for eggs, they need a temperature of about 100 degrees. The eggs will stay warm enough if a parent bird sits on them more or less continuously (short breaks are OK). But if the parent doesn't incubate consistently the eggs will chill and die. The huge clutch size (13 eggs) is probably the reason you're losing some eggs - the parent bird doesn't have enough body surface to sit on that many eggs all at once. If you remove the obviously DIS eggs, the remaining eggs may have a better chance of being incubated properly.

You can buy a cheap temperature and humidity gauge to tell you more about room conditions. If the humidity is consistently too high or too low, it can cause problems with egg development and can interfere with the hatch process.


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