Rex laid 2 eggs

gracebowen

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So I went ahead and gave her a best box after the first one. I know the eggs are likely fertile.
Some may disagree with me letting them hatch.

My deep held belief is that they are lives already and boiling them to prevent them from hatching is killing them.

If they both make it I know for sure I am keeping at least 1 baby. The eggs were laid the 9th and the 11th.

Rex is fine. Flying eating and acting normal. She even took a bath yesterday.
She started sitting the eggs Saturday so around the 5th of Dec They should hatch if they are going to.

When Rex isnt sitting the eggs Jet is.

I have noticed that one egg is out sometimes (not being sat on). I did briefly touch it to put it in the box.

Jet has become somehow both more cuddly and more aggressive at the same time. If i even look at the nest box he gripes and sometimes flies over to bite me.

Im not mad at him. I understand hes protecting them.

As long as i ignore the eggs he spends a lot more time happily perched on my shoulder.

Even though he is biting more and harder he hasnt drawn blood yet.
 

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gracebowen

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Jet the male is a year now. Honestly dont know how old Rex is. I got her in July from someone that found her. I couldn't find her original owners so I kept her.

I originally thought she was a he. She needs a new name.
 
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gracebowen

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Ouck. Jet nailed me good today. Just flew over and bit my ear hard enough to make it bleed this time. I will be wearing a hat from now on. :)

I may have to figure out a way to curb his aggressive behavior some.

I don't want to clip him or keep him caged.

It might help if I move the cage but I don't know if that will cause them to abandon the eggs since moving the cage is often a suggestion to get the hens to stop laying.
 
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gracebowen

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List of questions/areas where I could use some advice

I googled home made brooders. Can those work? Why or why not?

Could this be Rexs first clutch since she only laid 2 eggs?

I assume egg binding is no longer an immediate danger.

Part of Jets current level of aggressiveness is cage placement but Im scared to move the cage. It is literally right beside my bed so when I stand up I am also standing at the cage.

I am scared to candle the eggs.

I changed out the nesting material. When I did so an egg rolled about 6 inches. Is this cause for alarm?

Is 65 too low of an overnight temp for a covered cage.

I read that a shoebox was an ok nest box but now im worried about the light.
I want to get a real nest box but am worried the change may upset the parents.

Oh and after the egg rolled they didnt sit that egg for a few hours even though they had been sitting it. They are sitting it again now but I wonder if it will hatch.

I didnt mark my eggs because there are only 2 and I can tell them apart.
I plan to set up my brooder and buy formula and pedialyte the first because I expect if they are gonna hatch it will be around the fifth of Dec.
 
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Dopey

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Wow - you ask questions and I hope you get some answers from here. All valid questions and it would be nice to know the answer to.

I'm hoping homemade brooders work. I at least want to try one.

I too was scared to candle the egg. I candle now with confidence. Mine are always infertile...I will probably scream so loud at the first fertile egg that I candle. :p I got a flashlight from Home Depot that extends and at the end it bends. That way I don't have to handle the eggs. If you have any other questions you can PM me.

I haven't had to change out the nesting material until after I've thrown away the unfertile eggs. Again, I've only had a couple of clutches and they were all infertile - which I understand is normal.

Well 65 degrees is too low for me - and I do mean me. I'm trying to keep my temps around 72 F or higher.

My understanding is that it's okay for an egg not to be set upon for a few hours. In fact, one of mine hid a couple of eggs in the nesting material until she had laid three...then she rearrange all of the eggs back together and started sitting on them then.

Again, I don't have an early chick (before 10 days) brooder. However, I have a way of getting to one in less than an hour (ok - maybe a couple of hours if there is traffic).

I hope someone else comes along and answers your questions.
 

SilverSage

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Home made brooder so can work, but you need to be sure they can be controlled within fractions of degrees. It's hard. Honestly if you are serious about breeding I suggest a real brooder. The Aviquarium10 is cheap and easy. Look into it. Some people really like to DIY it for me the life of the babies isn't worth the risk, and since this particular brooder costs less than one baby going to the vet if something goes wrong, I don't think it's too expensive for people who take on the responsibility of producing babies.

It could be her first clutch. Doesn't have to be. I had a hen who ne very laid more than 3 eggs.

egg binding is ALWAYS a danger, especially if the hen doesn't know what to expect from her own cycle.

I don't suggest moving the cage. I do suggest locking the parents in at night so you are safe to get out of bed!

like Dopey said, you can candle them without touching them. Within 5 days of sitting even the untrained eye should be able to see if they are fertile.

Why did you change the nesting material? There is no reason to do that when there are no babies yet. If the parents are pooping in the nest they need to go to a vet.

That temp is lower than anything I have bred in, but I have not researched that particular issue since I live in Hawaii.

The parents may not tolerate another change of nest. A shoebox is not an ok nest IMO, but may be the lesser of two evils at this point. Did you know that babies raised in the light and babies raised in the dark actually have different body shapes? Consider covering that half of the cage instead.

How old was the egg when they left it? What was the temp? It may have an impact, it may not.

If you can tell the eggs apart without candling or marking, something is wrong with at least one of them.

You need to have your breeder set up way in advance so the temp is stabilized.it can take over a week for commercial, who knows how long for DIY, so please get on that ASAP.
 
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gracebowen

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The nesting material was changed because I thought it might be dirty. My mom was in the hospital and I didn't clean the cages for 4days. I was worried they had tracked in germs. One egg is slightly smaller than the other. It is the second one laid. It was laid the 11th and they sitting the 15th.

I messed with the material the next morning and that egg was beside mom instead of under her for about 5 hours. Jet took over sitting and sat both. Then she started sitting it again.

Jet the dad sits the eggs for her for about 2 hours every day while Rex flies a bit, eats and takes a bath.

They are closed at night but I spend most of the day in my room. I share the house with my mom and the front room is hers.
 
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gracebowen

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Oh and it hasn't got that low yet I don't think. It's just at night it gets a bit cool and I haven't turned on the heat yet. I guess I need to. We are all in bed covered up and in Texas it gets a bit cool at night but by 10 its burning hot again.

Seriously it'still 80 in the house in the day time. The last week its been cool in the early am and hot by noon. I think the lowest the house has got is 70.
 

SilverSage

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Ok, don't mess with the material until the babies dirty it.

Also, you need to candle. Please do so. If they eggs are not fertile, take measures to stop them from laying again.

One of the issues with the shoe box is that it won't keep the heat in the way it should, and the eggs will likely cool faster and farther than instinct will tell the parents is happening, which could lead to death of the embryos. I suggest you get a parrot safe space heater. I don't suggest this to people using a wooden box, but in your case I do.
 

SilverSage

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Lol dopey, I shouldn't say I haven't researched it, more like I did, but it's not an issue I am dealing with right now, so the info isn't glued in my brain lie the issues I'm currently dealing with.
 
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gracebowen

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I think if I make a sleeve for the shoe box and cover it all but the side with the opening they will tolerate that.

It would make it darker and warmer.

Possible material ideals

Car sunshade covered to shiny part doesn't show
Felt
Foam insulation sheets
Don't know what it's called its kinda thick poster board
Poster board ( prob wont help w heat)
Wrap with fleece or wool shirt
 

SilverSage

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I highly discourage you from making any changes to the box at this point. It doesn't take much to tip some birds over the edge and make them abandon the nest.
 
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gracebowen

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One of the eggs is fertile. I cant tell on the other one. Rex perched on my head for a bit today.
 

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