# cockatiels not sitting consistently on eggs



## cowgirl2011

hi everyone,
i have been breeding finches, quails, doves and pigeons for awhile now and have decide to try to breed cockatiels after keeping cockatiels, conures and parakeets as pets all my life. i purchased a bonded (and unrelated) pair of 2 year old cockatiels five days ago from my local bird farm. they came with one egg in their nesting box which they weren't sitting on. since then the hen has laid two more eggs and they have been sitting on them pretty well.. the only problem once in awhile both of them will leave the nesting box for about 10-20 minutes leaving the eggs unattended. will this gap kill the embryos?


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## roxy culver

No the embryos should be fine, you can candle them to see how they're developing.


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## tielfan

With indoor birds the eggs should stay good for at least 30 minutes without a parent on top, maybe longer depending on how warm the room is.


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## cowgirl2011

now they seem to be leaving the eggs for even longer periods of times..is there a reason they are leaving them? any way to get them to stop?


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## roxy culver

If the eggs aren't viable then they are probably abandoning them...you need to candle the eggs to see what's going on inside.


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## cowgirl2011

they've only been laid the past 3-5days so would i even be able to see anything? thanks


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## tielfan

You can candle the eggs after 5 days of incubation - earlier than that there's nothing to see. Cockatiels often don't start incubation until several eggs have been laid, so it's possible that your pair isn't actually sitting on the eggs yet. 

Unfortunately it's also possible that the big change in their life has disrupted them to the point that they're losing interest in breeding. In that case you might lose this clutch, but the parents will eventually feel comfortable enough in their new home to start breeding again.


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## jenniferjo

How does everyone know how many eggs they are sitting on? I know there's at least one, but when I open the top they are sitting and get defensive. How can I see how many there are?


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## DyArianna

I usually try to wait and catch them at a moment when they are both out of the box. If that doesn't happen.. then I talk to them when I get near the box.. tap lightly on the side a few times and then slowly open the lid. Most of the time one will come out but usually the other will still stay in. You can take a spatula.. move slow, slow, slow .. and use that to guide the other one out. You want to do it slow so the eggs don't get trampled. I check in on eggs once a day so mom and dad get used to me peeking in.


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## tielfan

> move slow, slow, slow


Moving slow is good if the parent is calm. But if the parent is jumping around trying to attack your hand, you need to move fast to get the bird away from the eggs/babies before they get damaged. You might get bitten in the process, but that's the risk you take when you stick your hand in an occupied nest. It's much safer for everyone if you just wait for a moment when both parents are out of the nest. These opportunities are rare and I know it's hard to be patient.


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## cowgirl2011

it's okay if i lose this clutch, i want them to feel comfortable in their new home. i'm just worried that maybe are terrible parents and are going to sit inconsistent with all their clutches. is that common with cockatiels? i understand it's a whole new environment so i can understand this time...also, should i take the eggs out yet? or leave them in?


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## roxy culver

Leave them if they haven't abandoned them yet otherwise she'll just lay more. You said they've bred before for someone else right? So I don't think they're inconsistent sitters, I think the new environment just has them thrown off. They should be fine once they settle in.


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## tielfan

Leave the eggs in the nest and see what happens. The parents might settle down and hatch out some nice babies for you.

They were already laying eggs when you got them. Do you know anything about their past breeding history: is this their first clutch? If they had previous clutches, how successful were they? 

First time parents don't always know what to do even if they don't have to deal with a new home, so if this is the first clutch then they may figure out what to do with their next clutch. If they have successfully raised babies in the past then they are likely to do it again in the future.

It's generally recommended to not let the parents have more than two clutches in a 12 month period because more than that can be unhealthy. So if you know how many clutches they had last year this is important information.


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## cowgirl2011

this is their first clutch, as far as i know. she laid another egg today and the boy is sitting on them, but when i leave the room they both come out of the box and stay out until i come back..which makes me think they aren't comfortable here yet


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## cowgirl2011

last question just want to make sure their environment is ok for breeding.. they have a cage about 4 feet tall, 5 feet wide. lots of different sized branches, five different toys, a swing, two different food dishes, two water dishes and a pie pan for a bath, two different cuttle bones, grit, spray millets and a nesting box with 2 inches of aspen bedding in it. thanks!


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## srtiels

What is the location of the nestbox? Ideally it should be located high up in the cage.

What about lighting? When a hen is laying, either access to natural sunlight (not thru glass) or full spectrum lighting is beneficial. The skin absorbs the UV rays and the body converts it to usable D to help better metabolize the calcium in the diet. Here is a past thread discussing info as to sources of calcium: http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=19866


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## cowgirl2011

nesting box is in the highest corner they have been outside until i bought them and i am getting full spectrum lighting today.


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