# Henry and Honey's breeding journey.



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Now that they have eggs, time for a new thread. Basically, I'm going to record as much as possible regarding their eggs, mating, and everything else to do with their breeding journey, here.

I'll start by recording when the eggs are laid.
Egg #1 was laid on approx. 22nd of November. Time unknown.
Egg #2 was laid on the 24th of November at approx. 8pm.

They have not mated since Honey has laid the first two eggs. I'm hoping they will, to increase the chances of the eggs still to be laid being fertile. As suggested by Renae, I will candle the eggs at around 5 - 7 days after the lay date.


----------



## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

Yay! I'm excited to see your Honey and Henry's breeding journey!


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Oooh I'm so excited! I'll be checking here very frequent for updates  
Eggs may vary in size, it's complete normal unless there's a huge difference


----------



## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

You've gotta be sure to post plenty of pictures!

Congrats  Henry will be such a good daddy!


----------



## catalinadee (Jan 1, 2011)

Looking forward to reading about their progress. Fingers crossed everything goes okay for you


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks guys! 

Egg #1:



Egg #1 and #2:



According to schedule, egg #3 is supposed to be laid this evening (in a few hours). Honey definitely has a big egg bump at the moment so it can't be far away. She's acting really good, even coming out of the flight cage at intervals to be close to me and Coco which is sweet. No signs of egg-binding at all, it's one of my worst fears in relation to breeding so I'm super stoked it hasn't/isn't happening. She and Henry have been changing guard several times today, occasionally they'll both be in the box but mostly it's one or the other.

I did notice they didn't sit on the eggs last night . After I turned out the night light, I heard Honey come out of the box and join Henry on their sleeping perch. When I uncovered them in the morning they were both still out, and the eggs were ice cold. Should I leave a night light on for the whole night if it will help them sit?


----------



## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Aaawwww. This is going to be an awesome thread.


----------



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

You said in the nest box thread that egg 1 and egg 2 are different size, if i remember correctly. Well, they look identical to me! I might need better glasses lol


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Yes, Egg #2 is slightly larger and pointier. It's difficult to get a photo that depicts their size correctly though.


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Egg #1 was laid on approx. 22nd of November. Time unknown.
Egg #2 was laid on the 24th of November at approx. 8pm.
*Egg #3 was laid on the 26th of November at approx. 7:30pm!*


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Congradulations! I would try putting the nightlight on for them, this exactly thing happened to my birds while breeding, keep us posted


----------



## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

Three eggs, their doing good  I agree it couldn't hurt to see how they go if you leave the night light on.


----------



## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

Is it safe for them to get cold like that? :huh: I thought they had to stay relatively warm 24/7.


----------



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

I think the embryo won't start growing until the parents sit on the eggs. It will stay put and wait for them to start incubating. But if they start incubating and the parents leave the eggs and they get cold then yes they will "die" 
At least this has been told to me by a breeder. He would swap the fertilised eggs with fake ones and wait until the hen finished laying. Then he would put all the eggs back so that they'd hatch together 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


----------



## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

Woah, so it's like suspended animation... that's pretty cool/weird.

Thanks for the info, I didn't know that.


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

An egg can be left alone for the first week *only*, it's pretty common for parents to start incubating after the last egg was laid so one night won't affect anything 
Don't worry, it'll be fine


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Okay. I left a night light on and one side of their cage uncovered for the better part of the night and Honey stayed in the box while Henry slept on his night perch. So far so good. But I couldn't get to sleep with the night light on so I turned it off after some time. I didn't hear Honey evacuate the box, and she was in there when I uncovered them this morning, so hopefully she actually stayed in there. There are no signs that she'd come out overnight (no poops). Fingers crossed!

Edit: I need to get one of those battery powered wall night lights...


----------



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

CharVicki said:


> I need to get one of those battery powered wall night lights...


... or one of those night masks


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

bobobubu said:


> ... or one of those night masks


I could never sleep with something like that on my face, lol!

Not a lot to update at the moment. Henry is on the eggs right now and Honey has been coming out to eat and play for a while. She's being really noisy, constantly chirping and pacing back and forth, then switching back to her calm and collected persona. She's always been a bit manic, lol. She has chased Coco around a few times but is otherwise pretty tolerant with him. They eat from the same plate and sit side by side so she can't hate him too much!

Just received a 227g sample of Roudybush pellet 'crumble' in the mail. It looks really good. Gonna try them on it right now.


----------



## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

I use a lava lamp for a nightlight. You could try that. 

The cage cover drapes over the chair so it's not touching the hot surface of the lava lamp, but the lamp is covered so the brightness doesn't affect me at all (and it's hard for me to sleep soundly with light in my eyes, so that's how you know lol!).


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

That's so cool! I think I'll get a lava lamp. 

I can't sleep with light in the room either! Or any noise whatsoever. Luckily the 'tiels are so quiet at night.


----------



## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

oooh so exciting!!


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Yes! Very exciting. I still can't believe it's actually happening. 

Well, I wasn't able to sneak a peek at the eggs all day, there wasn't a single moment when both of them were out of the nestbox. I checked on them an hour ago and finally got my chance. The fourth egg was scheduled to be laid tonight, but there's still three. I wonder if this is it? Or if she's taking a break to replenish her calcium levels before laying any more. Hmm. :hmm:

At least they're sitting on the eggs 24/7 now, so if any _do_ happen to be fertile, they have the best chance of hatching.


----------



## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

Sometimes mine have had a bit more than 2 days between laying. Randy and Swinger are the same rarely of the eggs to get a peek. It's worse when they hatch and you really want to peek at the babies


----------



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

omg yes I was forever looking at them... the parents weren't amused 
Later on they let me take the babies but the first days Trilly especially was extremely protective of the nest.
CharVicki you are going to have so much fun, if they hatch!


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Alright. I'll see if I can check properly today, I really think there will be a fourth egg and so does my mum (and she's more than often right, hehe).

Yes lol I'm forever looking at them too.. I think they're getting more tolerant of me always interfering though which is a positive thing in the long run, as you said I'll be wanting to take the babies out and handle them.

I'm already having loads of fun with this, I'm losing sleep over it but I don't care  haha. I have a feeling none of these will be fertile, but that's perfectly okay. Everything is going smoothly for their very first time so I'm more than happy for them. That said, I'm gonna get a _huge_ surprise if they do hatch..


----------



## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

Even if theu don't hatch you now know that Henry and Honey will be great dedicated parents despite their age  now for them to figure out the right way to mate lol


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Haha YES, if none of these current eggs hatch, I won't be giving them a second try until they have that down! :lol:


----------



## ladykahuna (Sep 29, 2013)

*Eggs*

Hi everyone, its been awhile since I`ve been on but I need some info. My Sassy has laid 3 eggs while no male in sight. I have been told that she considers me her mate b/c I spend so much time with her and how I pet her. I don't really want her to have any more eggs so is there something I can do to stop it. HELP. I don't want her to go through all this pain for nothing. I might be the cause. 

Trudh


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

> Hi everyone, its been awhile since I`ve been on but I need some info. My Sassy has laid 3 eggs while no male in sight. I have been told that she considers me her mate b/c I spend so much time with her and how I pet her. I don't really want her to have any more eggs so is there something I can do to stop it. HELP. I don't want her to go through all this pain for nothing. I might be the cause.
> 
> Trudh


She is hormonal, you need to give the 12 hour darkness to reduce her hormones, there's more information here

Also for future reference, please make your own thread when you have questions with your bird. It will attract more viewers so just in case if it's an emergency the experts may find your post


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

*ladykahuna* Umm you should make your own thread and post in it, not in mine, thank you.


----------



## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

ladykahuna - if you start your own thread in Cockatiel Breeding you'll get a lot more responses.


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

We have a FOURTH egg!

No idea when it was laid. Either late last night, or sometime today, but I really have no idea. :blink: Oh well!


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

They just made a clutch! Whoohoo 
A clutch is 4-8 eggs, I have a great feeling that you will wake up to a soft little peeping sound!


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Woo!  Sometimes the first clutch may be infertile, BUT not always, Quinn's first clutch had fertile eggs so this may give you hope (hopefully).


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

My birds first clutch had fertile eggs


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Aw guys you're just trying to get my hopes up


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

So, I'm unsure if there's another egg yet or not. H & H haven't allowed me to look. They've been changing guard on the dot every single night and morning. Honey's out all day, occasionally checking on Henry in the nest, and at 8pm Henry emerges and scoffs down some food and water while Honey makes herself comfortable on the eggs for the night. Then when I uncover them in the morning, Henry doesn't even eat breakfast and before I know it he's in the box again and soon after, Honey comes out. That's how it is, pretty much. Usually when I go to bed Honey will peep out to say hello to me and that is when I get my one chance to check on the eggs. It's bedtime for me soon, I'll write another update tomorrow if there's any news.

I managed to get Honey and Coco out in the sun this afternoon. Dad and I have been noticing Honey has been a little lethargic lately. She's obviously exhausted, but during and after sun time she perked up loads. I really hope there won't be any more than four eggs, for her sake.


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

No more eggs. I think this is it. So here we have it:

Egg #1 was laid on approx. 22nd of November. Time unknown.
Egg #2 was laid on the 24th of November at approx. 8pm.
Egg #3 was laid on the 26th of November at approx. 7:30pm.
Egg #4 was laid on either the 28th or 29th of November. Time unknown.

I'll try candling them soon but I honestly don't think H & H will let me, lol.


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Best of luck to you!!


----------



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

CharVicki, the usual time frame is: boy sit on eggs during the day; girls does the night shift.
Someone suggested to my thread that during the "change of guard" you put something on the nest hole so they can't get in, then you get the eggs and quickly candle them. Then you reopen the nest hole.
I didn't candle mines and I regret it because even though it was a nice surprise I would have time to prepare everything for the chick arrival.


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Ah okay, so they're doing it exactly as they're supposed to, that's great. 

I don't think I will be candling, I've decided I don't feel up to it. I'll just count down the days and hope something hatches. I have a feeling that if I candle, I won't see any signs of fertility and it'll make me feel more despondent. I want to hold on to the little bit of hope I have still.

I'll keep you guys updated.


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

You should be able to tell if the first 2 (maybe 3) are fertile by now, you don’t have to candle them though. 

Susanne has an illustration (from here: http://www.internationalcockatielresource.com/albums.html) on telling if they are fertile by looking at them:










Another illustration, from the same link as above:










I will add also, even if they still have the pinkish look to them in a few days, don’t assume they are not fertile, my first 2 eggs had a pinkish look to them for a bit, and I hadn’t candled them, and eventually I candled them, and they were fertile.


----------



## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

I don't know how you can be so patient, I would be itching to find out


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks for that, Renae.

I haven't been able to look at the eggs for two days! Grr.

My dad suggested counting out the 21 days and then if nothing's hatched, candle them all to see what's happening. I'm going to wait until the 15th of December until I do anything (a little longer than 21 days, to allow for the night when they didn't incubate). I don't know how I can be so patient but I guess with certain things I can wait forever.


----------



## Sunshine2009 (Dec 29, 2011)

Congrats on those eggs how exciting!! I hope they are fertile!! GL!!


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

My patience snapped tonight. I have just candled all the eggs. I ended up removing the entire nextbox from the cage to make it easier for me. Honey popped out to say hello and then I took it out. She was hissing like crazy and trying to attack me but Henry was half asleep and not bothered one bit. I turned out all the lights and used a very bright flashlight, the eggs were so warm to hold, they felt so nice. But, there was nothing inside the eggs; all four are clear. I noticed a yellowish tinge to one side of every egg, not sure what this means. No sign of veins, dark shapes, nothing. If any are fertile I should have seen the signs by now, it was the 10th today.

I plan to take the box and eggs out permanently on the 15th. I'll candle them again on the 15th also, just to double check. It's going to be so hard, after they've worked their little butts off day-in day-out.


----------



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

I am so sorry for the disappointment, this sucks! 
I think you will have to leave everything as it is now until they abandon the eggs on their own. 
Unless... Are you absolutely certain that they are infertile? If so, taking away the eggs now will make Honey lay more, right? And maybe the second clutch will be fertile. 
Just an idea. 
I read that double clutch is something that happens quite regularly. 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Yeah, I'm really disappointed, but in the back of my mind I knew it all along, to be honest. Henry just hasn't got his mating technique quite right and that's the only thing stopping them from having babies. They have perfected everything else, and I'm extremely proud of them for that. I'll give it 5 days till I candle them again... if I get the same result, I can be 100% certain they will not hatch.

I'm not keen on Honey laying any more eggs for a while. Seeing how exhausted she was after laying Egg #4 convinced me, and she's still not back to normal, but of course that could be due to lack of sleep.

Thing is, I'm going on holiday around Christmas time for a week. I'm going to take my 'tiels with me, so they need to have abandoned the nest by then.


----------



## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

Sorry they weren't fertile 
But at least now you know they work as a nice little team and do a great job, Henry just needs a little practice for when you think the time is right for them to try again. I hope Honey picks up once the eggs are abandoned


----------



## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

i'm sad! even though i kinda thought that would be the case. next time


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I took the nestbox and eggs out on the 16th (yesterday). I didn't/couldn't wait until they abandoned them even though obviously it would have been the better option. I'm going on a Christmas holiday in less than a week's time (the 'tiels are going too) and my new 'tiel is coming home near the new year so I needed to get it over and done with. Long story short, H & H's response has been worse than I imagined. I knew they would make their mourning known, but _sheesh_. I can hardly bear the noise. It's really difficult for me to see them like this, but no matter how long I left it I would still have to take their eggs away so it's better sooner than later IMO.

I buried the eggs in the backyard garden with the nesting material, so it's like they're in an underground nest now. RIP eggies, you were much loved.

Here are the most recent, and last (for now) egg/nestbox pics:


----------



## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

CharVicki said:


>


"Henry get out"

"NEVERRRRR"

Sorry it didn't work out for you.  Hope you have better luck next time.


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Amz said:


> "Henry get out"
> 
> "NEVERRRRR"


Haha! Funny you say that, because that is the photo I took just before I took the box away.



Amz said:


> Sorry it didn't work out for you.  Hope you have better luck next time.


Thanks. I'm just lucky I know the reason why, I guess. (Looking at your guilty butt, Henry). I still feel so, so mean, and now I'm suffering the consequences. (Almost deaf in both ears from those piercing eagle-screams). >.<

It's the evening of day two and they're doing a lot better. I think they've almost forgoten about the absence of the nest... _almost_. And then they start up again. *sigh*


----------



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

Poor guys! But hey I bet the holiday trip will completely distract them! 
And maybe it's a good thing that they were infertile otherwise you could have kissed your holidays goodbye :lol:

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Wow. H & H are _so much_ calmer today. They're even tolerating Coco hanging around them. Just before I caught them all preening together in dead silence. It was marvellous! Honey's had a few bursts of panic but other than that the noise level has been pretty much bearable.

Haha, yup. I really need this holiday. It's almost a four hour drive to our holiday destination. H & H will travel in Coco's cage in the back of the vehicle (dad's big work truck), strapped down as much as possible and probably covered a little bit so they don't freak out too much. Coco will share a seat with me in the emergency vet cage which is pretty tiny but great for travelling. Then, if all goes well and everyone's not too alarmed, I'll put Coco into his cage with H & H. Typically they get on quite well in there since it's Coco's territory and not theirs. Here's hoping it's a smooth trip!


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Henry is completely calm today, apart from occasionally getting riled up by Honey's panic attacks. She's stopped squawking loudly but is still being quite chirpy and frantic. Henry looks at her like "what's the trouble?" and softly pecks at her whenever she zooms past. Today has been a huge improvement from yesterday though, I can actually exist in the same room as them now without my eardrums blowing up, which is great.

Something happened today that both Coco and I were shocked to see. I was reading and Coco was in my lap, when suddenly he started shouting and flew off me, and I turned around to see Henry on top of Honey  Coco went all the way up to them and they still didn't stop. Cheeky 'tiels!


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

They mated?!? 
At least you know coco is trying to learn for his soon-to-be lady friend


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Haimovfids said:


> They mated?!?


YES! I was very surprised, especially since they've been so up-tight about their missing eggs. I'm taking it as a good sign though, soon they'll be over it and back to business. 



Haimovfids said:


> At least you know coco is trying to learn for his soon-to-be lady friend


LOL. Every time they mate he gets really worked up and excited. _Every time._ It's so funny.


----------



## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

That's hilarious :lol:


----------

