# Jack ate his eggs



## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

Jack and Jill are two whiteface cockatiels that my sister gave me, they lived in a small cage for 4 years and never laid an egg, however after I got them I moved them into my aviary and Jack seemed very keen to start nesting, chewing at the box and being very friendly to Jill. 

Jill laid 3 eggs and for a few days she seemed happy to sit on them, Jack during the day, her at night. Then she came off the nest, Jack continued to sit for another couple of days. I checked the eggs and one was broken so I removed it, later I checked again and the other two eggs were completely gone and Jack had egg yolk all over his feathers and feet, so I can only conclude he ate them. 

Jill has shown no interest in the nest ever since but Jack is still keen. 

Is this normal?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

No definitely not. Jack might not be a good bird to use a breeder. You won't be able to trust him with eggs if he eats them.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

Was there a bad smell? Sometimes when a chick is dead in shell an egg will rot and build up enough pressure to explode. I had a goose one time who's eggs were overdue kept disappearing and the coop had an odd unpleasant smell in it. So I decided to open one and see if they were viable... BIGGGG mistake.... my 2 young sons were with me a 6 yr old and a 10 yr old. I hold the egg and very very lightly tap it with a spoon to crack the top of it.... next thing I know it exploded like a bomb in my hand spraying us all with rotten egg, shell fragments and STINK!! It was crazy, so there I am, 10 yr old is puking his guts out... he can't stand bad smells... 6 year old is bawling his head off, he is covered in stinky rotten egg and got hit in the cheek with a bit of sharp shell, and me?? I'm on my knees laughing so hard I couldn't breath... total chaos!!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> It was crazy, so there I am, 10 yr old is puking his guts out... he can't stand bad smells... 6 year old is bawling his head off, he is covered in stinky rotten egg and got hit in the cheek with a bit of sharp shell, and me?? I'm on my knees laughing so hard I couldn't breath... total chaos!!


You just totally made my morning!! Thank you!

I had never considered rotten eggs before. Were you able to candle them at all to see if they were viable?


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

ParrotletsRock said:


> Was there a bad smell? Sometimes when a chick is dead in shell an egg will rot and build up enough pressure to explode. I had a goose one time who's eggs were overdue kept disappearing and the coop had an odd unpleasant smell in it. So I decided to open one and see if they were viable... BIGGGG mistake.... my 2 young sons were with me a 6 yr old and a 10 yr old. I hold the egg and very very lightly tap it with a spoon to crack the top of it.... next thing I know it exploded like a bomb in my hand spraying us all with rotten egg, shell fragments and STINK!! It was crazy, so there I am, 10 yr old is puking his guts out... he can't stand bad smells... 6 year old is bawling his head off, he is covered in stinky rotten egg and got hit in the cheek with a bit of sharp shell, and me?? I'm on my knees laughing so hard I couldn't breath... total chaos!!


Hahaha, nope I would have been with the 10 year old, puking my guts out.


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

roxy culver said:


> You just totally made my morning!! Thank you!
> 
> I had never considered rotten eggs before. Were you able to candle them at all to see if they were viable?


You know I have read and read about candling and I have tried it, but I have no idea of what I am looking at, bit like ultrasound pictures, I can never see the baby....


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

roxy culver said:


> No definitely not. Jack might not be a good bird to use a breeder. You won't be able to trust him with eggs if he eats them.


I actually think watching their behaviour, even though they shared a cage for 4 years, I don't think they are bonded. She seems more interested in one of my grey boys in the next cage who serenades her and Jack gets jealous and he attacks her, he bit her leg quite badly and we had to doctor her. 

Then other times he is preening her and nuzzling her. So I am confused. She has not laid another egg although she goes in and out of the nesting box quite frequently.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

It sounds like she's more interested in the other bird. Honestly, the best way to get good pairs is to let the birds pick themselves. Putting them all together and letting them pair off works the best. 

Candling is super easy. I use a pen light. After a week, you should be able to see a red color to the egg, not yellow. Yellow or clear means that the egg is infertile. The red color is the veins developing. Honestly, that's all I really look for, you're not looking to see if you can see a baby or anything. You can in later stages, but the baby gets so big it fills up the egg and then there's nothing to see.


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

roxy culver said:


> It sounds like she's more interested in the other bird. Honestly, the best way to get good pairs is to let the birds pick themselves. Putting them all together and letting them pair off works the best.
> 
> Candling is super easy. I use a pen light. After a week, you should be able to see a red color to the egg, not yellow. Yellow or clear means that the egg is infertile. The red color is the veins developing. Honestly, that's all I really look for, you're not looking to see if you can see a baby or anything. You can in later stages, but the baby gets so big it fills up the egg and then there's nothing to see.


I only kept them together because they were given to me as a pair, they were my sister's birds, she had them for 4 years but they have been given to her, Jack has a band with 07 on it and some other numbers, I am thinking his hatch date was 2007, Jill I have no idea. According to my sister, they never laid an egg in the 4 years she had them. They only seem to have become interested in nesting since I moved them into a bigger cage. 

Jill has laid another egg, Jack is very protective, he even had a go at me when I checked the box. Luckily there is wire between me and him or I am sure he would have bitten me. 

Just going to wait and see.


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

roxy culver said:


> Candling is super easy. I use a pen light. After a week, you should be able to see a red color to the egg, not yellow. Yellow or clear means that the egg is infertile. The red color is the veins developing. Honestly, that's all I really look for, you're not looking to see if you can see a baby or anything. You can in later stages, but the baby gets so big it fills up the egg and then there's nothing to see.



Might give it another try with some other eggs. I know I am not looking for a baby bird but just don't know what I am supposed to see. 




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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

Flashfire said:


> Might give it another try with some other eggs. I know I am not looking for a baby bird but just don't know what I am supposed to see. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Any red lines, a tiny speck in the egg... at about 4 days into incubation you should see something, but at 6 days it is much clearer.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Here are some of mine as well. I completely forgot I had them.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

This is another one of my eggs, 10 days into incubation...
https://youtu.be/RmCufstdMNo

This baby has pipped into his air cell and is drawing in the blood and yolk preparing to hatch, 
https://youtu.be/zOXJ99GljQY

And this baby is hatching...
https://youtu.be/VLSNIsDqgb4

Sorry got carried away...lol but it shows different stages of development in the eggs and babies... it just amazes me, I am always thrilled to see new life forming.


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

ParrotletsRock said:


> This is another one of my eggs, 10 days into incubation...
> https://youtu.be/RmCufstdMNo
> 
> This baby has pipped into his air cell and is drawing in the blood and yolk preparing to hatch,
> ...



They were awesome especially the baby hatching, I have not seen it yet.


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

roxy culver said:


> Here are some of mine as well. I completely forgot I had them.


Thank you, gives me an idea of what to look for


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

Jill laid two more eggs, Jack is being super protective and aggressive, he has been sitting on the eggs, but this morning I went and checked and he has eaten one. I have put a cuttlefish in the cage because I was wondering if it might be a calcium deficiency. 

It certainly seems strange as he is more protective toward the eggs than Jill, she hardly seems to pay attention to them. Maybe he just sees them as a food source. It's odd.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

Flashfire said:


> Jill laid two more eggs, Jack is being super protective and aggressive, he has been sitting on the eggs, but this morning I went and checked and he has eaten one. I have put a cuttlefish in the cage because I was wondering if it might be a calcium deficiency.
> 
> It certainly seems strange as he is more protective toward the eggs than Jill, she hardly seems to pay attention to them. Maybe he just sees them as a food source. It's odd.


Is it possible the eggs are real thin shelled and are breaking and he is eating them because of that??


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I would take out the other egg and check it. I agree with ParrotletsRock that he may be eating them after they break. Did they not have a cuttlebone before they started laying? This is a vital nutrient that a hen needs to lay strong eggs.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

I have cuttlebone and mineral block both in my cages at all times, my laying hen just chews thru cuttlebone like candy, she hardly touches it any other time.


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

ParrotletsRock said:


> I have cuttlebone and mineral block both in my cages at all times, my laying hen just chews thru cuttlebone like candy, she hardly touches it any other time.




They did have cuttlefish but rarely touched it, so I bought a new fresh one. I will check the egg tomorrow. 



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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

I managed to check the egg this morning, also I checked Cyndi's nest and she has laid another egg, so I took Jill's egg and put it with Cyndi's so this will be interesting to see if Cyndi hatches it.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

She should. I never had an issue putting eggs with other hens or even babies with other hens. They are pretty good at accepting eggs and babies.


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## Christinelks (Jul 4, 2016)

Try egg food as a form of calcium. You can add it to their daily food intake or just mix it in a separate food bowl with some water so it looks like bread crumbs and the birds eat it like they would seeds or pellets. I also sprinkle it on fresh veggies and my birds love it. Hope this helps. Good luck with the eggs. I hope they hatch. Xx


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## Flashfire (Sep 16, 2015)

Christinelks said:


> Try egg food as a form of calcium. You can add it to their daily food intake or just mix it in a separate food bowl with some water so it looks like bread crumbs and the birds eat it like they would seeds or pellets. I also sprinkle it on fresh veggies and my birds love it. Hope this helps. Good luck with the eggs. I hope they hatch. Xx


They get Vetafarm egg & biscuit regularly.


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