Breeding and Incubators

[dalefelton450]

My cockatiels cant seem to keep their eggs going to the full term they are very good parents and the egg always gets to the later stages and then dies in the egg on the last few days so i think maybe is a humidity issue. I made the hard decision to try incubating the eggs in a incubator and handraising but now have a really bad issue with low humidity on average my incubator gets to 45% if i add sponges for surface area it raises to 65% however how do i get a constant extra 10-15% as i know %65 isnt enough. Unfortunately the last eggs i put in died trying to hatch which was heartbreaking and totally due to humidity. I realise the work and difficulty with hand raising cockatiels but any help would seriously help as i am so upset to keep losing my cockatiels eggs. I have been thinking of adding a separte base to my incubator with a fish heater inside to raise water temp to a constant and create a more humid area but cant decide whether thats nuts or genius. I also thought of a airstone to create water agitation and misting but if anyone can think of better please let me know as my pair are looking like they are about to start laying again. Any advice in general would be fab i have raised abandoned young birds before just not cockatiels.

 

[SilleIN]

I haven't any cockatiels, but the humidity seems very high for parrots in general. I use 55-60% for ducks and geese, 50-55% for chickens and depending on species 30-45% for parrots. Are you sure you want to go even higher in humidity?

Also the humidity might not be your issue with your eggs. My experience is the parents are always better at incubating eggs (if they stay in the nestbox). No incubator can do what millions of years of evolution have taught them.

I would look to the parents diet if the babies keep dying just before hatch. I would think they lack in protein in the egg laying phase- or you may have a poorly fertilizing male- but that is rarely seen in cockatiels- usually only in the larger species.

Also if you insist on using an incubator- be sure the temperature is exactly right. Many incubators needs to be calibrated to their environment.

 

[CosmosD]

My cockatiels cant keep their egg. Could you give me some piece of advice?