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Cracked eggs?

StandUpand

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Amber
I have two pairs with eggs right now. A pair of suns and green cheeks. I checked on the suns eggs yesterday and she seems to have cracked two of the three. I canceled them and one is definitely gone bad now but the other cracked one still seems ok? I tht even possible? Should I try to put the last good egg in with my other pair? Would she sit on it even not being hers? I'm not sure what happened to crack the eggs and I'm scared he will break the last one too? Hy would this happen?
 

Destiny

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What kind of nest setup are you using? Is there any bedding in the nestbox? Do you provide extra calcium or any other supplements to your breeding pairs? What kind of diet are they offered?

First step would be to figure out why the eggs are breaking so that problem can be fixed. My first thought is the eggs might have cracked because the shells are too thin - this is usually caused by lack of vitamin D or calcium in the diet. Or they cracked because the nesting location is inappropriate, so the female is breaking them by accident when moving in and out. A picture or description might help identify potential problems, like a box that is too deep or wrong bedding choice.

Personally, I would discard the cracked egg ... BUT it is possible for a slightly cracked egg to hatch successfully. If you want to try, you will need to seal the crack. With chicken eggs, the recommended strategy is to seal all cracks using wax from a candle - you want to select a plain unscented candle made from pure beeswax. Drip the hot wax over the crack. Do not cover the entire egg in wax. The egg needs to able to "breath" through the intact shell. Do not wash the egg, as this will remove the protective bloom that keeps bacteria out of an unbroken egg. Handle this egg with extra care to avoid further damage and discard it if it fails to develop after a week or two. Rotten eggs can explode, if they are left out too long.

You can move eggs between nesting hens, if the timing is close. They generally don't question where the new egg(s) came from and treat them the same as their own eggs. You could move the uncracked egg over, if you want. Just be aware that if the shell is too thin, it might still crack in the new nest so keep a close eye on the egg. If the eggs are similar size/color, mark the sun egg with a pencil so you can tell which one after it gets moved around.
 

StandUpand

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Joined
11/25/21
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Amber
What kind of nest setup are you using? Is there any bedding in the nestbox? Do you provide extra calcium or any other supplements to your breeding pairs? What kind of diet are they offered?

First step would be to figure out why the eggs are breaking so that problem can be fixed. My first thought is the eggs might have cracked because the shells are too thin - this is usually caused by lack of vitamin D or calcium in the diet. Or they cracked because the nesting location is inappropriate, so the female is breaking them by accident when moving in and out. A picture or description might help identify potential problems, like a box that is too deep or wrong bedding choice.

Personally, I would discard the cracked egg ... BUT it is possible for a slightly cracked egg to hatch successfully. If you want to try, you will need to seal the crack. With chicken eggs, the recommended strategy is to seal all cracks using wax from a candle - you want to select a plain unscented candle made from pure beeswax. Drip the hot wax over the crack. Do not cover the entire egg in wax. The egg needs to able to "breath" through the intact shell. Do not wash the egg, as this will remove the protective bloom that keeps bacteria out of an unbroken egg. Handle this egg with extra care to avoid further damage and discard it if it fails to develop after a week or two. Rotten eggs can explode, if they are left out too long.

You can move eggs between nesting hens, if the timing is close. They generally don't question where the new egg(s) came from and treat them the same as their own eggs. You could move the uncracked egg over, if you want. Just be aware that if the shell is too thin, it might still crack in the new nest so keep a close eye on the egg. If the eggs are similar size/color, mark the sun egg with a pencil so you can tell which one after it gets moved around.
I'm not a breeder. My sister was and she passed away in early August this year. My mother nd I inherited her bird breeding collection. I never put up boxes bc I didn't think the birds would consider laying after going through a huge move and being in a location now that would take a while to get used to. I feed them seed, pellets, and fresh chop with a vitamin supplements mix. Once I noticed the eggs in two separate cages I also supplemented them with boiled egg and now kale. They always had millet regularly as well. I put the boxes up and moved their eggs. 3 sun conure eggs, which were not cracked when I moved them and one green cheek mutation egg. The green cheek has since laid four eggs and is doing amazingly well as an expectant mom. I put small wood shavings, coco coir, and two different kinds of white fluffy material sold as nesting materials. The photos are of the suns box. She has put the other eggs under the nesting materials. And it's not close to hatch time at all. They would still have another 14-17 days before that. Is that too long? At what point do you candle and know it's bad? As is how many days after laying them?
 

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StandUpand

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Amber
This is the box with the green cheeks. It's slightly smaller than the suns box but they seem to like it. Nesting materials were the same as the suns. Her eggs are slightly smaller so I don't think they would be confused with each other? And they were in the box so I couldn't open it and show you I'll try later. Sorry for the horrible lighting in the pics, my tablet has an awful camera on it
 

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Destiny

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I don't have any experience with either of these parrot species, so I will let a more knowledgeable member provide further advice. I don't want to pass on bad information. Fortunately, this site has an amazing community, so I am sure someone will be along soon to offer more help.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask more questions. There is a lot to know, especially when breeding parrots. Most of my experience is with chickens - they are much easier birds!
 
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