# Two eggs under nesting?



## dshiro2012 (Feb 4, 2013)

So, I saw there were large droppings again, so I checked the box, and found 2 eggs under the male, and then I removed him and went searching for the other two which were semi on the other side of the box under the bedding. What does this mean?


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Having eggs under the bedding doesn't really mean anything as far as I know. My Pikachu loses eggs all the time. They're usually hiding under the cage newspaper or nestbox bedding and if I don't find them quick she will lay more to replace them. I suspect either she is rejecting the egg and losing it or bumping it accidentally causing it to roll.


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## dshiro2012 (Feb 4, 2013)

Darkel777 said:


> Having eggs under the bedding doesn't really mean anything as far as I know. My Pikachu loses eggs all the time. They're usually hiding under the cage newspaper or nestbox bedding and if I don't find them quick she will lay more to replace them. I suspect either she is rejecting the egg and losing it or bumping it accidentally causing it to roll.


They were on the male's side. Those are the eggs he likes to lay on. But I replaced them and she was fine laying on them, I checked again that night and the next day and she still had all of them. I was thinking maybe he did roll them and then accidentally covered them up.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I think males sometimes bury eggs intentionally but I'm not sure why they do it. I give eggs to Vlad, Mims and Snowy to foster. No eggs were buried this year, but the previous year they kept disappearing into the bedding and I suspect that it was Vlad that did it.

At http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww61e.htm it says that tiels will bury eggs when it's time for them to hatch but none of my birds do this. The eggs that did get buried were nowhere close to hatching.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> The eggs that did get buried were nowhere close to hatching.


Same here...Cinnamon buried her eggs, but it was always the first two that were laid and then she'd uncover them after she had laid the whole clutch. None were ever close to hatching.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Based on the small number of samples we have here, I suspect that it might be a safety measure until the parents are ready to start sitting. An egg that's hidden is less likely to be eaten by a predator than one that's out in plain sight, and the parents might be spending their days eating instead of guarding the eggs. Fattening up in advance would help wild cockatiels get through the period where they spend most of their time in the nest.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

P.S. In Vlad's case, he was at cross purposes with the hens because they were already sitting. He didn't do any sitting that year, although he did figure it out this year. He also figured out how to feed the babies this year - last time he wanted the hens to feed him!

He also became the fiercest nest guardian in the house this year. If I wanted to do anything in the cage or nestbox, I had to get a hand towel and dangle it in front of him like a matador waving his cape at a bull. While Vlad tried to kill the towel, I'd grab him with it and get him out of the cage. If I didn't use the towel he'd be trying to kill my hand!

Now if only he could figure out how to mate with the hens...


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## dshiro2012 (Feb 4, 2013)

Hmm, maybe they're keeping them warm? I mean, the bedding on the bottom (where the other 2 eggs were buried) was much more moist than the top layer of bedding. I read somewhere that some moisture is good for the eggs...so maybe that's what he was going? They're really good about taking turns with all 4 eggs, and then sitting on 2 each throughout the day together. So the nest is rarely left alone unless the female is out. I can usually get the male to leave, but there is no getting the female to leave unless she's already out. 
No clue why, but the first egg is due to hatch around Sunday...so I'll be looking out for some pip marks on Saturday from Red. It should take a whole week for the whole clutch to hatch since the last one was laid 3 days from the 3rd one instead of 2 days like the rest.
I'll let everyone know once something happens.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Humidity is a tricky issue - too little or too much is bad for the eggs. You're in New Mexico where the climate is dry, but it's monsoon season now so the humidity should be higher. I don't know whether your birds might be burying the eggs to conserve moisture. I live in southern Arizona which is also quite dry, and the eggs hatch just fine during a very dry time of year without being buried in the bedding.


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## dshiro2012 (Feb 4, 2013)

tielfan said:


> Humidity is a tricky issue - too little or too much is bad for the eggs. You're in New Mexico where the climate is dry, but it's monsoon season now so the humidity should be higher. I don't know whether your birds might be burying the eggs to conserve moisture. I live in southern Arizona which is also quite dry, and the eggs hatch just fine during a very dry time of year without being buried in the bedding.


But it's not something I should worry about, right? I should just move them back if I find them buried? She seems to be laying on the just fine, and I haven't seen them buried since so I'm guessing there isn't anything wrong with the eggs.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I honestly don't know whether there's anything to worry about or not. Sometimes the parent birds know a lot more about what needs to be done than we do, and other times they're clueless. The eggs that Vlad buried were infertile to start out with, because his girlfriends were hormonal enough to lay eggs even though he can't figure out how to mate. I hadn't given them any fertile eggs yet, that came later after Vlad stopped burying eggs. So I don't know whether burying the eggs was a good idea or a bad idea since they never would have hatched in any case. You'll just have to wait and see what happens.


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## dshiro2012 (Feb 4, 2013)

tielfan said:


> I honestly don't know whether there's anything to worry about or not. Sometimes the parent birds know a lot more about what needs to be done than we do, and other times they're clueless. The eggs that Vlad buried were infertile to start out with, because his girlfriends were hormonal enough to lay eggs even though he can't figure out how to mate. I hadn't given them any fertile eggs yet, that came later after Vlad stopped burying eggs. So I don't know whether burying the eggs was a good idea or a bad idea since they never would have hatched in any case. You'll just have to wait and see what happens.


Yeah, they're a very experienced pair, so I have faith in whatever they decide to do.  We'll see once Sunday comes around what happens.


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