how often to replace boiled egg/finch missing tail feathers

[Musetta]

Hi everyone,

My Soc hen Cress has at least three eggs (possibly five by now, but I can't see into their nest without disturbing them) that she is more or less dutifully sitting on. I started feeding them crushed hardboiled egg w shell yesterday. I am wondering, how long should I leave one batch in the cage? And should there be a constant supply of it while she is laying/sitting and/or later when (hopefully) they are feeding their babies? The eggs stiiiiiink! Yesterday I left it in the cage for most of the day, and removed it early evening. Today I happened to wake up earlier than usual and offered them a fresh one. Do I need to start keeping it in their cage 24/7?

Another question: it seems that Cress is missing a few tail feathers. She isn't bare or anything, but her tail is definitely shorter now than it was! Am I to assume that her mate (Cranberry) is plucking them? And if so, for what reason? Protein deficiency? Should this behavior stop now that they have fresh egg (I have previously been feeding them dry egg food mix)? Anything else I should do? I don't see him being aggressive toward her (aside from occasionally still wanting to mate, and she's like, enough already!). I don't see any feathers in the cage, so I assume they must be in the nest or eaten. Should I just keep an eye on her at this point? I don't want to do anything to stress her out further, since she is in the process of laying.

Thanks for your help!

[debbie276]

I spread the hard boiled eggs thinly on a plate for the birds so that it drys out before going off. If you only give about a tablespoon per pair at a time they should eat it all within a couple hours. I leave mine in the aviary till the next morning when I put in fresh. I would feed 3 or 4 times a week till eggs hatch the feed every day. Be sure to include a dish with the shells for calcium which can be left in the cage indefinitely.
good luck

[Martie]

I wouldn't worry too much about the tail feathers. They might be in the nest - maybe broken off in there - or if the male is still trying to mate with her, he may have plucked them. The egg will take care of any protein issue if there is one.

[cindy]

I have my birds inside, live in Florida where it is really warm, the room they are in gets warm even with the air on....I change my eggfood out about every couple to 4 hours....usually a small amount does not last long. I now use a dried eggfood for called Higgins Snack Attack ProTeen 25 for budgies with young and for my javas, the zebras like it as well. If your birds are outside I would watch for spoilage in the heat regarding fresh boiled egg....change it out every two hours or go to a dry form.

[Musetta]

Thanks, everyone. They are inside and the air conditioner is on, so heat is not an issue for the eggs. I have been mushing up the egg shells with the eggs themselves; should I separate them?

Is it better to use fresh egg than dried egg food when they are breeding?

Thanks Martie, I'll keep an eye on her backside but I"ll try not to fret too much about the feathers!

Also, should I be worried there is not a bird on the eggs at all times? Cress spends most of her time in the nest but comes out to eat and drink and stretch her wings. But it doesn't seem like Cranberry is in the habit of taking over for her while she takes a a break. If anything, Cashew (the bronze manni, their little sidekick) will go in there while Cress is out, but not always. Basically, what I am asking is, what percentage of the time should the eggs be covered?

Sorry for the neurotic questions--first time breeder! I'm doing all the reading I can, but that is no substitute for actual experience!

[Sally]

I also leave my eggfood in all day, but I add dry ingredients such as handfeeding formula, nestling food, or dry commercial eggfood to my mashed eggs to dry them out a bit (my birds are also inside with a/c). Once the eggs have hatched, I never let the eggfood dish become empty, I'll refill it several times a day.

With some birds, the male will go in the nest every time the hen comes out, but once in a while, you have a male that is not good about taking over. It does not harm the eggs at all for the hen to come out to eat/drink/stretch her wings and leave the eggs uncovered for short periods of time.

[debbie276]

Fresh egg is always better then dried.
I would separate the shells only because then they can stay in the cage and always be available for when they need it. Shells don't go bad so no sense throwing them out

[chirpy]

debbie276 I always wondered this! thank you This might be a dumb question but if you boiled it for them (hard boiled) you dont need to cook the shells further in heat (say microwave) do you...???

[chirpy]

Musetta I am very excited to see the babies

I can't imagine how frantic I would be if mine EVER laid eggs.

[debbie276]

I don't. I try to make some pieces as big as I can so they can play and chip off pieces when they're bored.

[chirpy]

debbie276 lol do finches EVER get bored they seem to be doing something all day haha

[Musetta]

Sally debbie276 thank you! I'll separate the shells from the egg tomorrow. They do so love their eggs.

Cranberry still seems to be more interested in finding ANY errant thing he can add to the nest (even though I have taken out all the extra nesting material) than anything to do with the eggs. When I put in greens for them to eat (big or small sizes, doesn't matter), he takes them to the nest. I am fairly certain that is what happened to 90% of the lettuce I gave them this morning. Sigh. Hopefully he will take more interest in the babies if/when they hatch.

@chirpy I am SO nervous about the babies. I can't decided whether I am more worried that NONE will hatch, or that she will have a huge clutch of ten and they will ALL hatch!!! Of course, I don't want any of them to die. But I don't even know how many eggs there are currently b/c I cannot see into their nest!