# Heartbeat!



## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I thought my cockatiel's eggs weren't going to make it, but I saw 2 teeny little heartbeats!!! I'm soooo excited!!:excited:

If you'd like to see a vid I took this evening, you can take a peek at: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EeGH7SL2BI


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Yay im so happy for you
you should do a breeding journal to keep us posted every day see how things are going 
Iv read cookies and baileys journal and i was so amazed by it as it was so fun reading it
http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=2498


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Congratulations...a great vid


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

thanks, you guys.  
I will definitely do some sort of documentation. I'm just so happy!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

AWW, that's the best!!! Its so cool watching the eggs develop!


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

My birds are my first male and female that I've had together. I don't consider myself a breeder at all and this is new to me (aside from hatching chicken eggs)! 

The first egg came as a surprise. YooHoo laid the egg at the bottom of the cage and was stuck between the wire. I couldn't save it and had to take it out. 2 days later she laid her egg in her food bowl. She wound up laying a total of 6 eggs 2 days apart. 

The very first egg was on 11/16/10 and the last was on 11/26. 

I had some trouble getting her in more comfortable quarters and she just wanted to stay in her little plastic container. The male wouldn't help sit on the eggs and YooHoo wouldn't sit on them overnight. After help from people from this forum, I left the cage uncovered and she sat on her eggs during the day AND night. I could wipe my brow and thought this was going to be smooth sailing, she'll sit on them and every one of them will hatch. WRONG. 

I posted some pics and Srtiel told me that there was a blood ring on one and it was a dud... so I think I have 4 good ones. 

Yesterday (12/5), YooHoo didn't seem too interested in sitting on her eggs and didn't sit on them at all over night. I thought she lost interest, so I took them and put them quickly into a makeshift incubator (a penny candy jar, thermometer, some water and hanging lamp). It's been holding nicely at 99º. 

I left the dud egg in the bird cage and later in the afternoon, YooHoo decided to sit on that egg, so I put another in there with her and she sat on both of them for a couple of hours, then went back up on the perch. 

I was thinking of putting the eggs back in the cage when it gets closer to the time when they hatch... what do you guys think? Is that good to do? I would rather have the female raise the babies for the 2-3 weeks.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It is a good plan...do you know when these ones were laid exactly? Because if its close to their time of hatching, sometimes the parents will push the egg away from them to give it a chance to hatch...


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

Roxy, I'm not sure, but I think they are the ones she laid last ones (11/22, 11/24, 11/26). The eggs were cooled for a little while and I read somewhere that the cooler temperature can slow down development, which is why I think I see the heartbeat now.

If I'm correct with dating the egg at 5-6 days (if I'm wrong, someone please correct me), the hatch date would be 12/21. If this is the date, should I give the eggs back to her 5 days prior to this or when they start chirping in the egg?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

If this is the date, should I give the eggs back to her 5 days prior to this or when they start chirping in the egg?
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I would incubate it until you see the air cell tilt....which means the chick has turned in the egg and is getting ready to pip. It is when the chick turns and is pipping it is the signal to the parents to start eating and retaining some of the food and fluid in the crop to be ready to feed this thin food/fluid mix to the new chick. If you don't do this, and put a newly hatched chick in the nest, and they do feed, the food would be too hard for the chick to digest.

Note: When the chick has turned and is piping heat is not as critical because the parents would normally move the egg off to the side for several hours to cool down to stimulate the chick to move and contract to draw in the blood supply and then the yolk.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Note: When the chick has turned and is piping heat is not as critical because the parents would normally move the egg off to the side for several hours to cool down to stimulate the chick to move and contract to draw in the blood supply and then the yolk.


That's what I was talking about, Susanne said it perfectly. Incubation is normally anywhere from 18-21 days depending on when the parents started sitting on the eggs. If they cooled for a bit, I'd go with 21 days from the middle one, so somewhere between the 15th and the 21st you might see babies. Just keep an eye out for the air cell starting to tip, that's when you'll know to put the egg back as Susanne recommended.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I'm nervous now. I looked at the eggs and there is a lot of space in there. I've uploaded a photo for you to see. Is this normal? When the air cell tilts, is it an obvious tilt, like 25º?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The egg looks good to me but srtiels would be able to tell better. When the aircell tips it is very noticeable, you'll definitely be able to see it.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I may be wrong since I'm a total newbie at this, but I saw the heart beat on 12/6. Doesn't this happen on the 4th day? So if that is true, the hatch date will be later, right? I'm just thinking maybe the development was slowed down a little further than what I thought. 

If I date them by the 2nd to the last egg, it would make them 14 days old in the egg today and I don't think that is correct because of the whole first heart beat thing.

I compared my shadowy candling pics against this link's images:
http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/poultry/clipart.htm#Embryos


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

This is my Mousebird egg candling page, bit there may be some pox's that are helpful: http://www.mousebirds.com/candling-eggs.html

This is what it would look like when the chick is close to hatch: http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/Mousebirds-and-more/Assist%20Hatch/Candling-1.jpg

Your egg looks questionable. Is there still movement inside? By now there sshould have been more veins visible. The air cell should be smaller.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I don't see any movement at all and both of the egg's air cells are similar. 
is it obvious movement? I don't even see a heart beating anymore.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

here's the egg today. that long straight line was a pencil mark. 
I can't really see it too clearly anymore. there seems to be more veins than before, but I guess not like it's supposed to be?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The veins are present, but they look thin and weak looking. If you rotate the egg, so that the opposite side is up, the embryo should also rotate and you should see movement.

As to the air cell, if it continues to get larger, this is not good, and the egg is losing moisture. This could be from lack of humidity, or the shell is thin. Thin shells can be a problem because the chick will be drawing from the shells calcium source, which further compounds moisture losses, and can later result in weak legs prone to getting splayed the first few days after hatch.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I just saw some movement in both eggs! I had to look at them really closely and even made out the little embryo!!!

I have to get a hygrometer... should I keep the humidity level higher than normal?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

You might be able to find something online that read temps and humidity that has a probe attached to it. This way you can stick the probe into a corner of the box to monitor humidity. If humidity is low in the room a humidifier near the cage may help.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I'll have to get a humidifier this week. 
I bought a container of Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding Formula, and 2 feeding syringes in 2 different sizes. I know I'm counting my chickies before they hatch, but I just want to be prepared, just in case.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

Here is a photo and video I took today. I think it's day 7 or 8. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrmEc3s82PM


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

YAY!...it definitely looks alive and well. OK...you see all the red veins off to the one side? At the time you picked up the egg all those veins were facing upwards to the heat source. In rotating the egg a little they will gradually shift and be at the top side of the egg again. When I replace an egg after candling I will put the unveined side up....and in a short time the inside of the egg will reposition itself so the veins are up towrds the heat.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I know.. woohoo! I'm so excited!! I'm expecting to see an instantly recognizable little chick, but I still just see moving globs. haha

I did read that bit about them moving towards the heat source. I love this site... so many knowledgeable people! I went to the pet store and asked them for advice about the eggs and they knew less than I did!


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I checked the eggs today and I think they're both dead. 
I was so sad, had my cry and checked them again. I turned them, waited and checked and one of them didn't move at all and I can see the little embryo with no movement, the veins are very very dark, almost black. the other moved towards the light, but I don't see any movement or veins and it doesn't look at all like how it did yesterday. 



I think I'll just post one more time to let you all know what happened to the other egg.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Post some pictures so srtiels can take a look just in case...


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

Here are a couple of pics. The first one is the one that I'm hoping is still good, but I don't see any veins and it's just a blob. 

The second doesn't move at all, even when I turn the egg.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

(((((HUGS)))),,,bummer 

They look like they might have gotent chilled and died...BUT, what I do is wait a day or so and candle again. If the color turns more brown then they are definitely gone.

OK...now to figure out when and why they got off the eggs for several hours...


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

the mama left the eggs, so I took them away and put them into a homemade incubator. I went to the pet store yesterday and got a small aquarium and put them into the aquarium. the temperature read the same as it always did, 99º with about 1-2º fluctuation at the most, but maintained at 99º (humidity 50-55%). when I picked them up to candle them, they seemed hotter than normal. 

thanks for the hugs. I'll leave them in there like you said and I HOPE that at least one survived.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I SAW MOVEMENT IN THE EGG!!!!! I thought it was just wishful thinking, but I watched and it was moving... there's hope again!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Kenji's Mom said:


> I SAW MOVEMENT IN THE EGG!!!!! I thought it was just wishful thinking, but I watched and it was moving... there's hope again!


Wow thats great news if its a girl call it hope or faith


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

YAY!!! Soon when candling, as the baby grows and fills the inside of the egg, it will be confusing to tell if good or not, because the mass of the body blocks the light showing thru to make the veins more pronounced.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Go baby Go!!!


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## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

Oh...I really hope everything is okay


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

thanks for the positive thoughts everyone! 

Here's an update: 

The egg was moving yesterday, but I didn't notice any movement today. I still don't see any veins and just see a blob (it's more towards the center of the egg), like the previous photo I posted. 

Sooo... it's still unknown...


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

As mine grew they always looked like a blob once the baby started to get bigger and it was really hard to see any movement so hopefully your's is ok!!!


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

thanks, roxy. did you see veins in them? I'm not seeing any in mine, but when it moved yesterday, I didn't see any veins.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Once they filled up most of the egg I could never see much of anything except a blob.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

I've attached a couple pics (of the same egg) of the last egg I have. Can someone tell me if this is normal? thanks!


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