Yes, that's pretty basic info. I am aware of this even though I don't breed - I replace with fake eggs when someone lays.
Again, you weren't there. You don't know this hen and that she would come off the nest before this incident to grab a bite to eat and a drink. You also weren't there to hear her cries of distress when her mate would go into the nesting box, push her out of the way and kick all the eggs around like little footballs. I asked several long time reputable breeders what they would recommend and they all agreed with me that I needed to remove the male.The hen did just fine without him, but sadly he had addled all the eggs.
I notice that no one takes exception when thirty people in a row say the same thing, as long as no one takes exception to what is said. However, in other cases, if more than one person says something similar, it immediately becomes "ganging up."
The amusing thing is that the situation had occurred before I got all the other birds and the other posters did not have all of the details.
Really??...............It doesn't appear so, according to your posts
I look at thread titles that show up on the first page of "New Posts", which is what I click on when I log onto the board. I miss a lot of threads that way, because this is an active board, and sometimes I go days or weeks or even months without logging on, but then, I also don't feel like looking through all of the forums on here, unless my life happens to be particularly boring at the time.
Either way, it's a 2 bird job to hatch eggs and feed chicks and not have a parent suffering. Something a breeder would know, which I am not.Budgies and some other parrots have the hen sitting 24/7 and the male feeding her. But cockatiels usually have the hen sitting for 12 hours, coming out occasionally for food/potty breaks, and then the male does the same the other 12 hours of the day. Just to clear that up.
That has been my observation of my tiels - that they share the egg sitting duties pretty equally. Thank you for confirming that my guys aren't aberrant.Budgies and some other parrots have the hen sitting 24/7 and the male feeding her. But cockatiels usually have the hen sitting for 12 hours, coming out occasionally for food/potty breaks, and then the male does the same the other 12 hours of the day. Just to clear that up.
Actually, when Finnegan and Frisco started trying to raise clutches a coupe of years ago, it was (and continues to be) Frisco who worries me the most, because he's in his late twenties, and he's such a dedicated egg sitter.
I think it means that it's even harder for a tiel hen to go it alone, since her workload is doubled from what nature designed.
I didn't read this thread until its relevance was brought to light in the other thread. It is background info.
That's a novel, but rather interesting idea. We could call it a "discussion" board.Here's a novel idea - how about we each post what we actually think (toned down if necessary). If many have the same opinion we'll call it a majority!
Actually (and I am not trying to put you down, I realize you were saying this out of concern for the birds but it begs clarification), you are wrong. Hens are perfectly capable of feeding themselves and raising the babies on their own without the male's help. They don't go hungry, they don't lose weight and the eggs don't get cold making the embryo die in the shell, either. Yes, most male birds would feed the hen while she is incubating but hens always get up in the morning and in the evening to eat, drink and, sometimes, they even take a bath (this depends on the species) before returning to the nest. You are 100% correct that the ideal situation is to have a mother that sits tight and a father that helps by feeding the female (and, in the case of tiels, even taking turns incubating them) and, later on, the babies, but nature is not as strict as all that, it always leaves a bit of leeway just in case there is an emergency, and many hens lose their mates for one reason or another and still incubate and raise the babies on their own. And, as long as the clutch is not huge and food is rich and nearby (and it's always rich and nearby in captivity), she can raise the hatchlings without a problem. It's a lot of work, but it's perfectly doable and, sometimes, as it was with this rogue male which was not behaving very fatherly, preferable to any other option (including putting the eggs in an incubator and hand-raising them from day one).
I have to say I'm disappointed in the way some people are ganging up. Opinions have been voiced but it seems some are intent on not just voicing opinion and being done, but grinding a certain member into the ground.
Yes, males usually help the females, but it seems like this was a unique situation? I didn't realize the world was black and white and there is only one right answer to everything.
