FINCHforum

I have a zebra finch pair that I bought from the pet store a few months ago thinking they were both male until one of them laid an egg on the cage floor. I decided to give them a nest box and nest materials and they worked hard on the nest, layed 3 eggs and began incubation.

They sat on the eggs for 3 days, on the last day I quickly looked in the nest while the birds were out to see if there were more eggs but one of them looked cracked. I left it there because I didn't want to scare the birds by putting my hand inside the nest.

The following day I noticed the birds were not sitting on the eggs as usual and that the bad egg was gone. I guess they ate it. And ever since then they haven't been incubating the remaining two eggs.

It has been over 30 hours since I noticed. Does this sound like they have abandoned their nest? Will the eggs be alright, or should I remove them and let the birds start over?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you

I've noticed that stress or seeing me keeps my birds from sitting, much less laying eggs. I'veven secured their space with a thin piece of orange material around the upper half of the cages. The lower half is being modified for the feeding ground which works really well. If i feed and water before dawn, the seem much happier and sing more. My birds have relaxed around me. Even my 'hand tamed' bird likes to hang out more if given his space

I can't help with your current situation, but in future , if you want to breed, they do make special nest boxes with a little door on the outside that you can open and peek in without the birds necessarily knowing when they are out of the nest.

http://glamgouldians.com/product-nest-lovebirds.php



Being surreptitious about it would only work if its mounted on the outside of the cage, otherwise you would have to reach inside to slide that cover on the side up.

There are other nest boxes that have similar mechanisms for peeking, I just can't find them right at the moment. But I bet the "real" breeders on the forums know where to find such.

Kayz

Some pairs, are very touchy about nest checks.
Others not so much.

Zebras are usually not all that sensetive about too much of anything.

Have you candled the eggs to see if they are even fertile? If they are not fertile, then it would be safe to toss them, and let them try again.

If they are eating their own eggs, it's usually a sign that they are lacking in protein and calcium.

I would offer some hard boiled eggs for protein, and crush the shells, offering them as a source of calcium. Offering cuttle bone is also a very good idea.