help important incubation question!!!!!

yomamas · 04-22-2003, 01:37 PM

ok my bird had 4 eggs and I'm sure at least 3 are fertile. the question i have is the mother has been doing all the sitting since the first one was laid on 4/4/03. now today 4/22/03 she wont sit on them,she has been off them for about 8 hours now

should i get a heating pad for the eggs ?
the 1st one should be hatching any day now and I'm worried

she has been making her mating call all day and the male was trying to mount her so i put him in a separate cage.
the female would not even let him get close to her this whole time she has been sitting on the eggs and now she wont sit on them and wants to mate again.i need some help here because i really want the babies to hatch

thanks
yomamas

**featherjinxer** · 04-23-2003, 04:29 PM

Unless you are prepared for some major handfeeding/supplementing, the male must be with the female.
The male shares in sitting with the chicks (sometimes the hen won't let him until they have hatched), feeding them, and generally relieving the female. Once the chicks are raised and weaned, then seperate the pair until they are healthy enough to breed again (generally, pairs are bred 2 times a year at the very most).

aprilwantschics · 04-26-2003, 04:09 AM

This is my first time with breeding. I have read everything I could read throughout the process however I am having a problem finding the answer to why my hen won't sit on the eggs when they could hatch any day now. I have candled the eggs, all 4 have veins, and I even saw a heartbeat in one of them. someone please help me understand. i am so heartbroken.

thanks.

yomamas · 04-26-2003, 05:00 AM

well my bird did all the sitting herself and didn't sit for up to 8 hours sometimes and 2 of the eggs hatched already

this is her first batch and i was real worried because she wouldn't let the daddy nowhere near her and she still wont.
but she started sitting on the eggs from day 1 and there hatching right on time

has she been sitting on the eggs from the start? i had to take the daddy out because she just wanted to keep chasing him away instead of sitting. once i did that she stayed put longer and now i have 2 cute babies

and hopefully 1 or 2 more to go.
hope this helps some
yomamas

aprilwantschics · 04-26-2003, 05:55 AM

My cockatile is sitting on her eggs right this minute for the first time that i know of since last night at 8:30pm. I am happy that she is back on them but also nervous still because thepoor little eggs were so cold last night when I checked them. How many days between when your first leg was laid from you first hatch?
Congratulations on being a new mommy! I hope I can report back that all isokay.
april

yomamas · 04-29-2003, 06:38 PM

it was 20 days from the day she laid them till they were hatched. the third one still hasn't hatched but its on day 21 now so ill give it a few more day and see if it hatches.
if it hasn't been that long yet i would just let her sit and see if they hatch
good luck
yomamas