Period of eggs laid

[CHIRP]

Hi, can somebody fill in the blanks please, I was told the Zebra will lay 7-8 eggs in a row, like one a day till all are laid, and ONLY then does she start to sit on them, is this correct? Find this hard to understand as she is so small and cannot sit on so many, or am I all wrong or have I got it all right?........... thanks. If she waits so long will an egg not be wasted, the 1st out of the 7 or 8?.....

[Lacybug]

Hey there Chirp!
An un-incubated egg can last for up to a week, but once the hen starts sitting on it, incubation can't be stopped for more than a half hour or it will get too cold and die.
Zebras usually lay one egg a day until their clutch is complete (3-8 eggs I think, with 4 being the average, I believe), but don't be too alarmed if days are skipped here and there, unless the hen starts acting sick, in which case eggbinding could be the culprit.
Some hens start incubating right when their first egg is laid, while others wait until the third, and others wait until the whole clutch is laid.

Other people might know more about this, but I've heard it might be best to take a few eggs out, and only let the hen raise 4 at a time at most, so she can sit on them all easily, and not get too stressed out by too many babies at once, especially if it's her first time.

[KarenB]

I don't have zebras, but many finches will lay around four eggs average, and some will sit from day one, others will wait until third or fourth are laid before sitting. My cordon bleu pair lay four and sit the first day. My owl finches sit after the second or third but then lay a bunch of eggs, like over 9 at times. Usually only four are fertile. It depends on the pair and their history. Eggs are good for about a week before they have to be incubated.

[CHIRP]

Thank you for these replies, I am hoping soon that she will start to connect the dots and start giving us young ones

I found another egg today that she had this morning but again she forgot about it and went to sleep in the main nest tonight.

We are hoping soon that she will start getting it all right. This is now egg No 7. She is now a lot stronger before and after laying an egg and that is a good sign as before she was so weak.

Thanks again. Here are a few after the bath pics today.