- Jan 26, 2012
- 181
- 25
- 109
First up, this question is actually about cockatiel eggs. I haven't been able to find any information that seems like a match, and the development process is similar enough that I think there's a good chance you'd be able to help me out.
Cockatiel eggs take 18-21 days to hatch on average. I have 3 that are currently 23, 21, and 19 days old. To my eyes, they still seem to be alive, but they're smaller than I'd expect and nothing seems to change day to day. I don't think they'll hatch, but I'm curious about what's going on.
Background:
I'd been trying to discourage my cockatiel hen, Fido, from laying. She did anyway and wasn't fooled by my fake eggs, so I decided to let her have a shot at hatching hers. Cockatiels don't start sitting on their eggs until they have a few in the clutch. The first 3 were duds, so the 3 I still have were incubated from day 1.
They weren't incubated well though... Fido is not exactly an ideal candidate for breeding. She showed up in the yard one day, absolutely starving and desperately trying to eat with the chickens. The entire time I've had her, she's been rather odd. She's super impulsive and kind of a dummy. Before laying these, she tried to build a nest in the full water bowl... Thankfully, she abandoned that plan.
Anyway, the egg thing was all her idea. My male, Beethoven, didn't care at all. Cockatiel males tend to help pick a nesting site, take long shifts sitting on the eggs, and help raise the chicks. He hasn't done anything to help. Fido sat on them 12 hours at a time the first few days, as if he were taking shifts. As soon as I concluded they were not getting heated regularly enough and would die early on, Fido began heroically sitting on them round the clock. Her breaks were a little lengthy, but it seemed ok. I'd expect early chilling to result in death then, not cause issues later (if that's what's going on).
For a long time, all seemed well. The embryos each grew steadily and seemed healthy. I was very proud of and surprised by little weirdo girl. Then, at some point, the embryos stopped growing. I'm not exactly sure when. On day 18 or 19, Fido abandoned the nest. Since then, I've kept them in my bra to keep them as warm as I can. I don't have an incubator and am a sentimental sucker who's gotta at least try, even if I'm 99% certain it's futile.
Now:
So, while I highly doubt they'll make it, I think they're still alive??? I'm confused about what's going on and why. Any insight you might have would be super appreciated.
Here are some photos of one of the eggs:
Cockatiel eggs take 18-21 days to hatch on average. I have 3 that are currently 23, 21, and 19 days old. To my eyes, they still seem to be alive, but they're smaller than I'd expect and nothing seems to change day to day. I don't think they'll hatch, but I'm curious about what's going on.
Background:
I'd been trying to discourage my cockatiel hen, Fido, from laying. She did anyway and wasn't fooled by my fake eggs, so I decided to let her have a shot at hatching hers. Cockatiels don't start sitting on their eggs until they have a few in the clutch. The first 3 were duds, so the 3 I still have were incubated from day 1.
They weren't incubated well though... Fido is not exactly an ideal candidate for breeding. She showed up in the yard one day, absolutely starving and desperately trying to eat with the chickens. The entire time I've had her, she's been rather odd. She's super impulsive and kind of a dummy. Before laying these, she tried to build a nest in the full water bowl... Thankfully, she abandoned that plan.
Anyway, the egg thing was all her idea. My male, Beethoven, didn't care at all. Cockatiel males tend to help pick a nesting site, take long shifts sitting on the eggs, and help raise the chicks. He hasn't done anything to help. Fido sat on them 12 hours at a time the first few days, as if he were taking shifts. As soon as I concluded they were not getting heated regularly enough and would die early on, Fido began heroically sitting on them round the clock. Her breaks were a little lengthy, but it seemed ok. I'd expect early chilling to result in death then, not cause issues later (if that's what's going on).
For a long time, all seemed well. The embryos each grew steadily and seemed healthy. I was very proud of and surprised by little weirdo girl. Then, at some point, the embryos stopped growing. I'm not exactly sure when. On day 18 or 19, Fido abandoned the nest. Since then, I've kept them in my bra to keep them as warm as I can. I don't have an incubator and am a sentimental sucker who's gotta at least try, even if I'm 99% certain it's futile.
Now:
- None of the eggs have shown signs of internal pipping.
- When I candle them, I still see movement. It's slight, though. And always in the same spots. Like maybe they're wiggling a toe, but never repositioning themselves at all.
- The embryos are smaller than I'd expect and haven't changed size in days. At least a third of the area outside the air sac is still unoccupied in each egg.
- The blood vessels are still present. There are a few questionable sections but they don't look obviously unhealthy to me overall.
- There are some odd dark spots
- No noticeable changes for at least 5 days
So, while I highly doubt they'll make it, I think they're still alive??? I'm confused about what's going on and why. Any insight you might have would be super appreciated.
Here are some photos of one of the eggs:
