FINCHforum

Fraza: really?
And you know this how?

paul-inAZ you can see the air bubble inside the egg if you zoom in on the photo when they are first laid it should be tiny at the bottom of the egg and as days go on it grows

OK, so another newbie question, I have given them more nesting material, but they put it on top of the eggs. These are first time parent birdies and first time parent human, so we are the blind leading the blind! Thank goodness for the advice here!

Last week I had to distract the parents with some millet spray and then GENTLY put the eggs on top of the nesting material instead of the nesting material put on TOP of the eggs with the eggs pushed into the corners of the nesting box. Hope you can understand what happened. I was so nervous that the birdie parents would NOT like what I did, but the alternative was that the eggs would not be found and warmed, so I did it.

I guess the advice is to do that again before they hatch. And while I'm "remodeling" their nest, should I remove the broken egg?

Can someone explain why the chicks will get malformed legs due to a flat wooden floor? Is it because they need more friction to get a grip with their legs?

Much thanks to everyone for advice!

So, I cut up some grass and put it in the cage. It is just so amazing to see the male flit around with the grass and disappear into the nesting box with them! Instinct is just amazing!

I have to share this, though, it is thoroughly amusing to see him with a long grass stem trying to get in the nest. Kind of like a dog trying go in the doggie door with his stick! He is determined, though!

I'd leave them alone. They are hard wired to know what to do. Messing with rearranging the nesting material could spook them and have them abandon the clutch.
Wild Gouldians nest in hollow logs and are almost indifferent to nest building.

Forget about the malformed leg thing.

So I gave them a full day to rearrange their nest, and they did it!

The floor is still bare wood, but the broken egg is gone.

Amazing!

It's been over two weeks, however. So maybe the inconsistent sitting in the beginning delayed incubation time? Or maybe they won't hatch. I know that's a possibility.

catherlee I hope they do hatch but they should be looking bright white now or if you hold a light to them you should see some red lines inside the egg

Yeah, I thought they'd hatch by now. Last night when I got home from work, I was trying to entice the hen out of the nest, but no luck. She only peeped her head out.

So I could not look nor take a photo.

I can only hope!

Will try again tonight.

Hi all,

Well I just looked into the nest box and the eggs are still there. The pair are taking turns sitting. But I think it is way too long for them to be incubating the eggs. I had 4 eggs mid-May, and now it's June 7th. Isn't the normal incubation time around 14 days?

How long do people wait? And do you take the nest box away if after a certain time goes by with nothing hatching? I guess I could leave the box in there for another month. What do people do in this situation?

Incubation should be 14-16 days from when she begins sitting tight.
At this point it looks like you have infertile eggs. If this was their first attempt that happens. Next time around should be productive.

Best to remove the nest entirely, give them a few weeks rest and then feed them back into breeding condition.

That bare floor and deformed feet scare is silliness. Wild ones nest in hollow trees on bare wood with little or no nesting material. They are not big nest builders like many other species.
For nesting material try paper. I have had complete success putting an inch or more of paper strips from my document shredder into the box.

Hi again! I have a weird question! The pair were molting, and it was suggested that I give them egg food... and guess what!?

There is an egg in the food cup and the hen is sitting on it!

I thought they only did this in the spring...? Should I put the nest box back in? Let her sit in the food cup? I only discovered the egg today. Will there be more?

Hi C,
Molting, egg production, incubation and feeding babies are the most stressful and physically challenging events for any bird. I once heard that a small bird like a finch will grow up to 3500 new feathers over about a months time when molting.
My birds live in a semi-wild state so I don't have the luxury of close examination that you have. But (for her sake) I would continue to feed a high protein egg food diet and pull (toss) all the eggs until after her molt is complete. You could also remove the nest box and materials unless that's where they sleep.
Mine start the dance and the nest-searching process soon after molt and continue nesting at their own pace for most of the year (even in Winter) - probably because in the wild, they reproduce when the food is plentiful. The time between fledge and the next clutch can be several months.

Hi, just to be clear, the male looks like he is finishing his molt. And it seemed to be mostly the red feathers on his head and a couple wing feathers. The female didn't look like she molted at all.

And this morning, I see ANOTHER egg in the seed cup!