# Lexi and Rocky ... laid eggs...



## Jiggers Mommy (Sep 2, 2008)

First, Just to make things understandable, Lexi (the mommy) I got from a lady who found her outside, and after 2 weeks of trying to find her owners gave her to me to have, since my one teils: Babies flew the coop {compliments of the b/f}

On Wednesday I noticed that Lexi was acting way different then normal. Hissing at me when I went to feed her, change the water etc... This is NOT like her. She loves attention. Well I had given her and her mate Rocky a home made nesting box, made following guidelines from a bird rescuer that is a friend of mine. I opened the cage and they had came out. and I stick my hand in the box, and to my surprise (and much delight) there was an egg. WOOHOOO. Then this morning, when I uncovered them, they were both in the nesting box. After all the kids were gone to school I opened them up and after they left the cage to go for a stretch, I noticed egg number 2.

My friend brought me over some baby cereal and I will start it to feed Lexi (and Rocky too) and will make scrambled eggs with the shell as well. She is eating the oyster shell and charcoal gravel like it is going out of style.

I have two cuttlebones set up for them as well. I ca't wait to find out how many eggs she is going to lay.


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## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

Ha Ha! I was just posting about it too! Have you started a breeding journal yet! You should I will take pictures and everything when I come over tomorrow!


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

does the nest box have a lid on it that you can lift up to check on the chicks also incase you have to hand feed are you willing and able to do that as well i don,t want to scare you away just i had a situation where i had to hand feed at 7 days old also with a lid will prevent the parents from freaking out oh yea i forgot congrats


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Congrats on the eggs! I would eliminate the gravel if I were you. Any bird that husks it's seed doesn't need gravel and it can cause crop impaction. If she were to try to feed it to the babies that are on the way it would be a disaster! Oyster shell too I'm afraid. Good luck on your little brood. Keep us up to date! We want pictures!


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## Jiggers Mommy (Sep 2, 2008)

*confusion....*

WOW... now I am more confused....

No the nesting box's lid doesn't come off but there is a sliding door on the end, and I make sure I talk to them as I walk up to the cage so they know when I am approaching the cage. 

I am confused about the oyster shell gravel. Doesn't that have calcium in it that she needs at this point?? I just want to make sure she has ample calcium to help her through this time. I will take some pics of mommy (Lexi)and daddy (Rocky) And post them tomorrow...

Will know in a few days if the eggs are good... and if they are... pictures of the eggs coming too... WOOHOO!!

If I have to feed then so be it. I have my friend (cannuck2007) to help me. Thats what I was talking to my b/f about is the spoon feeding 2times a day once they reach (?) three weeks??

Anyway any advice is greatly appreciated.... and if the gravel is a no no then i will take it out of her cage.. or should i leave it in till it gets closer to the eggs hatching. She has always been a gravel eater since I got her. (darn, both of them were out of the cage and i just missed getting a pic of them)



And I am just so excited...


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## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

Gravel is a very touchy subject. Some people swear by it. I do not believe that it is good, that's why I don't use it with ours. It is mainly for birds that do not hull their seeds(finches, canaries ect..) 
No worries about hand feeding, if it needs to be done we can take care of it  Another option is to foster the chicks. Your nest box is perfect, the side door works the same as a top door.
In all honesty I would just use the cuttle bone, egg food and cereal ect... and leave out the gravel (they really don't need it at all). Again it is a very controversial topic, just like wing clipping.
I will get some good pics of the eggs tomorrow, my camera has a great zoom feature!


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

She can get calcium with cuttlebone and a mineral block with no ill effects. The problem with oyster shell is that there are no clean sources left in the world and gravel can cause problems even in adult birds. Put in a search on google about it. You will find it's not needed by any hookbill and it can be a problem. I just want everything to go well for you parents and your babies. We all get so excited here about potential babies. Can't wait for pics... of babies,... eggs,... parents. We want the whole sorted tale. If you are going to hand feed the best time to pull the babies is 3 weeks. They are more likely to accept food from a spoon and they are young enough to form a good bond with you. At three weeks I usually start with 4 feedings a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and before bed) but I'm sure some would say I spoil my babies.


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

my question is what in the world is charcoal for??

I know it is used in humans to pump their stomach after a drug over dose But why would birds need it??

in all my research I've never came across any bird needing charcoal So I figured I'd ask 

out of my 65 or so birds the only ones who get Grit are the Pigeons - they can not digest their food normally So the grit assists them in doing so. They're also the only birds I have that don't get wing clippings, well 2 of them don't need it any way they don't fly they Roll They stop flying once they hit a certain age (Pilar rollers )


The birds get their caclicum from the cuttle bones (thats what it is) and a High Quality diet. 

All my birds get Zupreem Fruit Blend pellets with Natural mixed in, Fresh Veggies daily, and home cooked food like birdy bread (has Frozen vegges, cooked whole wheat noodles, and 15 difference types of beans (cooked of course) hard boiled egg shell and all along with the egg (shell and all) that the Corn bread mix calls for I'll also cook them up some hard boiled eggs and whole wheat noodles and mash the egg up and mix it in the noodles and feed it to them 

Make sure you never give breeding birds spinach (it soaks up their calcium) all other birds should only get it sparingly


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

It's interesting about the charcoal.. never knew people give it to birds.

Congrats on the eggs, can't wait to see some photos. 

PS: Hand feeding is hard if you're a first timer doing it, but it's a breeze once you've gotten to do it a few times! I hand fed my 3 baby 'tiels from when they were 3 weeks old (now they're 3 month old rugrats) and I loved it. I'm sure you'll be fine though, must be very exciting.


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

if you give grit and charcoal to the mother and father you can do more harm to the chicks then good


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> my question is what in the world is charcoal for??


It's supposed to aid digestion and neutralize acid. I've read that wild birds in the Outback will flock to a burned area to chew on the burned wood, and that some breeders will put a piece of burned wood in their aviary.

Some people say that burned wood is better than commercial charcoal but I don't know how true this is. It's possible to buy packets of charcoal granules for birds that are not mixed with grit.


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## emwillis2008 (Nov 10, 2008)

ok now i'm completly confused i keep see all these charcole and oster stuff of tiels and i though i was doing something wrong by no being able to buy both the cuttle bones and the oster stuff. So i did right by just buying the cuttle bone right??? Congrats on the eggs


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

They will sell you anything you will buy. They still sell sandpaper covers for perches too! Just because they sell it doesn't make it a good thing...just a profitable thing.


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## Jiggers Mommy (Sep 2, 2008)

*Lexie and Rocky sitting in a tree... lol*

Looks like egg number one is a good one... lets keep our fingers crossed for number two..  and number three

She only has three... But I will take it... 

YEAH!!!!


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