how long can eggs last ifmother finch does not sit on them?

[zeezee]

My female zebra finch was fighting with her mate for a good 30-40 minutes chasing him around the cage and left her eggs unattended. When I noticed this i seperated the male finch and when I did that she went back to her nest and sat on her eggs. I was wondering, how long can fertilized eggs survive without began sat on?

Any of your experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Icearstorm]

zeezee

30-40 minutes is fine so long as it is around room temperature (70°F). Just recently I moved my pair of society finches and they abandoned for several hours, so I took the eggs away, thinking they had died. A few hours later, I got curious and candled the eggs, and much to my surprise, I could still see a heartbeat in several of them. So new-ish eggs (2-3 days after sitting tight occurs) can last for at least a day. Newly laid eggs are supposed to last a week or so before fertility plummets, so long as the bird does not sit tight and then abandon.

[MariusStegmann]

Jip, I have had gouldians off a nest for 2 hours, and all 6 chicks hatched fine. This was outside and it was not a particular hot day either.