# Is it a bad idea to move the eggs?



## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

Hello everyone, it looks like I might be a grandmother soon and being completely unprepared [and surprised] I hope you can help me with my problem.
I have adopted 3 cockatiels a few months ago, two girls and one boy. The boy and one of the girls are a bonded pair. They come from a very stressful household, then they came here and went through quarantine and then had to be introduced to my three boys. So I really wasn't expecting them to try and raise a family so soon.
She got fixated with one of the cardboard boxes I was keeping in the living room [as you do LOL] and I thought ok let her have it, after all the bad stuff she is gone through maybe she feels better having that box for herself... so I moved the box on top of the pair's cage during the day when they are all out free ranging, and removed the box during the night when they go to sleep. 
Then last week she laid one tiny egg! It has to be the most beautiful egg I have ever seen 
I immediately moved the box inside the cage, luckily it's one of those with the openable roof and I was able to put the box on the bottom of the cage. The day after I did that, Frau Holle [that's the lady bird name] looked really sick. Basically she sat on my lap looking at me until I decided to try removing the box from the bottom of the cage and put it back on top of it. After that, she was as happy as ever, looking after her precious egg.
Since then she has laid two more eggs, and both she and her husband are doing an incredibly good job, they never leave those eggs alone, take turns inside the box, he sings to her and she yells at him... Everything looks fine. 
But I am very worried about this box. First of all I thing it's too big, all the nesting boxes I have seen are smaller, this is about 35cmx40x35, maybe even bigger. Plus, it sits outside the cage on top of it, making it incredibly difficult for me to make sure that they are safe when I go to sleep in the other room. 
So I was thinking of buying one of those nestboxes you can hang outside of the cage, and fix it to the cage side opening. That way mom and dad can leave the cage using the top opening and everything should be safer.
BUT: will the parents accept the eggs after I move them to a different box? or they will abandon them? Does it sound like a good idea or I must leave them alone as they are set now? Will the new nestbox be situated too low for them to like it? I wasn't prepared for this turn of events but they are both so eager parents, I don't want to upset them stealing their eggs. I am not even sure the eggs are fertile, but just in case I am taking a crash course in co-parenting [and I worry a lot, as usual!]. Or maybe I can move the box back in the cage, but instead of putting it on the bottom I can hang it as high as possible.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Many cockatiels will easily accept a location change and others will not. Your hen was unhappy about the first move, but cockatiels don't normally nest at ground level and she might be a lot happier with a "real" nestbox at a satisfactory height. If you'd like to try a little experiment, you could replace the current cardboard box with a smaller cardboard box in the same location to see how easily they accept it. If it goes well, you could move the box somewhat to see how well they accept a location change, and if that works out well you could go for the official nestbox. Just make sure the eggs stay warm while all this experimenting is going on, because the embryo will die if the eggs get chilled.

Is there any kind of bedding in their current box? A layer of good bedding will increase the chances of breeding success, and be safer and healthier for the eggs and babies. With homemade nestboxes you also have to be careful that the babies can't fall out before they're old enough to fly. There's more info on nestboxes and litter at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27688


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

Thank you for the reply, Tielfan, at the moment they only have some soft paper I managed to put in the box when I saw the first egg, and since then Meera the good hubby stripped the carboard's first layer and made his own bedding. Not enough, for what I read. I will use wood shavings as said in the article, it seems like I will be able to use the same type I used for my rats, am I right? 
I will follow your suggestion about the smaller cardboard box in the same location and see what happens, seems the best and maybe easier thing to do; if they accept it I might even leave it on the top and build some kind of enclosure around it.
I am very anxious about the move because I am afraid they will ignore the eggs after i touch them, I really hope this is not going to happen. Plus, they are very protective and charge if I or the other birds go near the box... It's weird because they look very vicious and make a lot of noise but they don't bite. Well, at least they didn't until now, probably when I touch the eggs that will change lol


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

They won't abandon the eggs because you touched them. There are lots of rumors that birds will abandon eggs that have the human smell on them, but birds don't actually care what the eggs smell like. Any risk of abandonment would come from them not liking the new nest arrangement, and you can always restore the old arrangement if they don't like the change. My experience with egg-moving is pretty limited, but so far my parent birds have always adjusted to the change in 10 to 20 minutes. The wooden nestboxes have a lot of instinctive appeal to the adults, and most birds have a natural desire to explore it. They're quite happy when they find their eggs inside. 

You should wash your hands before you handle the eggs. Eggshells are porous so it's possible for bacteria to pass through the shell and cause problems. It's not a high risk, but it's an easy precaution to take so it's sensible to go for it.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

tielfan said:


> There are lots of rumors that birds will abandon eggs that have the human smell on them


That's what happend to my uncle
He said when his pair layed an egg he touched it, then they never incabated 

But I touched the eggs and they still sat on them


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> That's what happend to my uncle
> He said when his pair layed an egg he touched it, then they never incabated


This is extremely uncommon with tiels...I've always handled my eggs and never had any issues.



> it seems like I will be able to use the same type I used for my rats, am I right?


As long as its not cedar, as cedar is harmful to birds. Also make sure its not very dusty, baby tiels have very sensitive respiratory systems. Pine or aspen bedding are best.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> He said when his pair layed an egg he touched it, then they never incabated


It's possible that his intrusion scared them so much that they abandoned the nest. Birds don't want to nest in an unsafe place.


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

Just a small update on the egg moving... Last Sunday I finally gathered the courage, so I first tried directly with the nest box. Both mom and dad refused to go in, he was trying to open a hole on the top but completely ignored the proper entrance hole, she had one look through the hole and then moved away. So I took the old cardboard box, put a cardboard sheet in front of the old entrance and cut a new entrance on the opposite side; this is because the original hole was way too low. Then I covered the floor with the shavings and tried again. She went straight in, mumbling and yelling but at least she took possession of the place. He needed a lot of convincing and only entered after he saw mom going in and out and sitting inside for a couple of hours. And after I lowered the hole, it is now about 3 inches from the bottom and I fervently pray that's going to be safe enough.
I really hope those 30ish minutes of being alone didn't hurt the eggs... All in all it was a traumatic experience for us all but it didn't kill us 
Next time I feel brave again I will try candle the eggs, I read the post of the lady who broke one egg while doing it so I am a bit worried but I will be extra-cautious!
Thank you very much, I couldn't have done it without all the info and instructions


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