How does an incubating pair decide when to abandon eggs ?
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 2:14 pm
Is it hardwired by time ( I am tired of doing this --outtahere ) or can they feel the embryonic pulse/movement in the eggs as they are incubating and decide to stick with it ?
It would matter if you are attempting to foster eggs that were off in timing. I have 6 young Owl pairs that have started to lay haphazardly, not really nesting just dropping an egg every once in a while. I have been collecting them and putting them in the Lyon incubator. At first all were infertile. Then there were 2 fertile,
one hatched and just fledged under a Society pair that will raise anything. Now there are 4 fertile, put 2 under a Zebra pair and the other 2 still in incubator. I hesitate to give the Zebs all four as they had been on clear eggs for a while and if they are hardwired to abandon at a certain time (which I do not know ) I would lose them all instead of just the two. Four more Owl eggs collected and set in the Lyon today.
It would matter if you are attempting to foster eggs that were off in timing. I have 6 young Owl pairs that have started to lay haphazardly, not really nesting just dropping an egg every once in a while. I have been collecting them and putting them in the Lyon incubator. At first all were infertile. Then there were 2 fertile,
one hatched and just fledged under a Society pair that will raise anything. Now there are 4 fertile, put 2 under a Zebra pair and the other 2 still in incubator. I hesitate to give the Zebs all four as they had been on clear eggs for a while and if they are hardwired to abandon at a certain time (which I do not know ) I would lose them all instead of just the two. Four more Owl eggs collected and set in the Lyon today.
