Why isn't my cockatiel sitting on her egg?

[lilianasmami]

My bird is 10 years old and there is a 10 year old male in her cage with her. I have seen them mating. Well, the day I got them the lady said she had laid an egg and she threw it away. The next day, she laid an egg and I threw it away, (it wasn't fertile according to her) because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. I know now you don't throw eggs away. Two days after that she laid another egg. It has been about 6 day and she hasn't laid another and she isn't sitting on the egg. The daddy bird goes to it every now and then and sits on it and turns it, but she doesn't. It seems like tonight he has been on it alot. When I hold a flashlight next to I can see the air sac and there appears to be veins but I'm not sure.

Do you think she's done laying after six days of nothing?

Why isn't she sitting on the egg?

 

[Anne & Gang]

It could be that s he is done....it could also be t hat she is not interested at all....if you are planning on having babes..you say t hat one is fertile, then the male is perfectly capable of looking after and sitting on them himself...however, leave the egg in t here for at least 35 days....and be prepared to hand feed if it is fertile you are going to have a chick if it develops properly..in the fut ure....use false eggs to re place...you can buy th em on line at birdsupplynh.com...and if you are going to throw a fertile egg away..please boil it first to ensure it is actually g one...sounds cruel and I think it is bu t much better than the possibility of a fertile egg in some garbage somewhere hatching by misake somehow and then the chic starving...so please now keep an e ye on this whole situation.

 

[Anne & Gang]

and provide extra calcium etc....cuttlebone, calci rich foods etc...it sounds like you do not know much about tiels..is t here anything else you wish to ask...and welcome to the boards by t he way.we will help all we can.

 

[lilianasmami]

Thank you. I would'nt have thrown the egg away had I known it could've been fertile. I feel bad about it though. How long does it take to hatch? The dad bird won't feed it? What are some calcium rich foods? They have a cuttle bone which they seem to be eating a ton of and one of the pineapple mineral blocks from Walmart.

 

[Dana Lee]

Calcium rich veggies like spinach, broccoli, green beans, dandelion greens, swiss chard, and mustard greens. There are more just google bird safe veggies. My Sydney just finished laying 4 eggs about a week and a half ago, I feed her cooked sweet potatoes along with the calcium rich veggies and cuttlebone because the sweet potatoes contain Vitamin A which helps calcium absorb properly.

 

[lilianasmami]

Okay, I cooked a sweet potato tonight for my birds(for tomorrow). How does she like to eat them mashed or in big pieces? I also have mustard greens in my fridge for them.

 

[lilianasmami]

BTW How did you make your avatars?

 

[Anne & Gang]

birds will eat it mashed...nuke it a bit in the microwave first so it isnt freezing cold bt make sure it isnt too hot for them...also t hey love scrambled eggs....I break one in a bowl..stir,,,nuke for 30 seconds..stir...nuke for 30 more seconds..et voila scrambled eggs...also again..let it cool down before serving...also broccoli is calci rich..kale...try chopping up and leaving in a separate dish..no more t han 2 ho urs..you may also be able to get false eggs at Michaels or a Kraft store...even a white marble might fool them..but honestly,throwing the egg away is a mistake unless you replace with a false one.....because t hey will often lay to replace. or you can take the real one out, b oil it gently for a few minutes, wait for it to cool and then put back in...I hate that idea though...the males will feed the chicks..that is what t hey do in the wild.

 

[Dana Lee]

yes, mine loved the scrambled eggs when she was laying. The little avatars on my signature? You can click on the smiley faces for them and select "show all smiles" do this on the "edit your profile" page.