Everyone wants the same nest box!

[lyzzyjayne]

Thank You Debbie! It's always good to hear from you. All my birds where completely checked with gram stain,crop culture etc. So I am not too worried about Campylobacter and/or Cochlosoma . ;) I will do the cage switch tonite and let you knoe how it goes. Sure Appreciate you!

[lyzzyjayne]

OH MY GOSH!!! I came home to switch the cages around and my yellow Gould Girl was sitting in the nest box. She got out and there are 3 eggs!!!! This is the nest box that the Societies always sleep in as well as my 2 Gould Males that were raised with those Societies. My 2 Gould Girls sleep on the heated perch at nite,even tho they would LOVE to be in there with everybody. I have seen my yellow Gould girl calling and getting chummy with her mate. I have only seen the Societies act like they were trying to mate. Do you think they are the yellow Goulds eggs? I do.... OH MY Gosh! She's back in after a break. I am blown away! Needless to say, I don't think I should bother the cage now. Do you think I should get the other girl gould who is crabby and her mate out who is moulting and put them in a seperate cage with extra heat? My intention was to come home and give each pair thier own cage but know i'm not sure what to do. woww!!

[debbie276]

If your sure they are the goulds eggs I would move everyone except that pair. That cage is way too small for 3 pair and chicks. My gouldians usually sleep on the perch till at least 3 eggs are laid and they are ready to sit tight. Then the hen will go missing from the perch at night and you know you have a clutch.
Best of luck, keep us posted

[lyzzyjayne]

When I went to move everybody out to their own cage except for the couple I believe is laying,I found 2 more rolling around in a nest box with no nesting material. =( I stuck those in with the 3 from before. So far the couple is flitting around eating alot and the gal is showing on oyster shell calcium and egg food. She is bopping in and out of the nest of eggs. At what point will she sit tight? Thanx a Million! Everyone seems to love having their own pads. =D will the gal let her beau sleep in the nest with her? Right now she's not havin' it. =P

[debbie276]

Usually after around the 3rd egg my hens will go missing from the perch at night so I know she is siting tight on her clutch. The male does not sit in the nest at night. During the day the hen and male will take turns sitting.
I'm hoping that the disturbance of moving everyone around doesn't put them off too long and they settle down quickly.
good luck

[lyzzyjayne]

Debbie-These are the 3 eggs. I snapped a pic while the female was out eating. This was before I added the 2 stray I found rolling around in the empty nest box. Is there any way to tell if they are Gould or Society? The Gould female was sitting on them when I got home from work and has been "hogging" the nest box during the day, (I had no idea she'd be sitting on eggs!) while the others- 2 Society and 2 Gould males that were raised with those Societies would kick her and the other female Gould out and all sleep in there at nite. After giving everyone thier own cage yesterday,the male Gould sure enough slept in the nest box as usual and the female slept outside! Bless her heart! For some reason,I guess he kicked her out,but then again he has never let her sleep in the box with him and his original cagemates. At least, so far someone is sitting on the eggs. There are 5. At what point should I worry if they are not being sat on 24/7. I could transfer them to my Socities if need be. Everyone seems so much happier now that they have their own cages.

[debbie276]

I wouldn't be able to tell society eggs from gouldian eggs. I think having your males fostered by society's maybe got them sitting in their nests more then a typical gouldian would. The only time my males are in a nest is during the day switching on and off with the hen on eggs. They sure don't sound like they have any sort of routine or are working together. You know your birds best so I would put these eggs where you think they have the best chance.
Now that the pairs are in their own cage see if they don't settle down and get into sync with each other. It may be too late for these eggs but it wouldn't surprise me if they tried again quickly, and then you would know for sure who's eggs they are.

[lyzzyjayne]

Debbie-I think you are right about the Goulds thinking they are Societies. I will see if the gal is still sitting when I get home from work and take it from there. Thanx So Much for all your input.

[wilkifam]

My societiy eggs are quite a bit smaller than my Gouldian eggs. Hard to tell though unless you have them side by side for comparison.

I wouldn't be able to tell society eggs from gouldian eggs

[lyzzyjayne]

Today when I got home the female was not in the nest box. I checked the eggs and they were cold. I took the opportunity to take a pic. I think the top two are Goulds and the bottom 3 are Societies. What do you guys think? I went ahead and put the two with the Goulds and the three with the Societies. I'm not holding my breath that they will hatch at this point, but It's still exciting.