Plumb Head Parakeets

[SilverSage]

There is a Canadian company called Health Gene that can test to see if your birds are related

You can tell if the eggs are fertile by candling them a few days after the hen starts sitting tight. You will start to see veins developing and then a few days later you can actually see the heart beating! Then for a while you can actually watch the chick develop until they get too solid

Some people can tell a fertile from an infertile egg the day it is laid by looking at certain things. I do not have this skill, I just wait a few days, sometimes up to a week after the mother starts to sit tight, and look for veins.


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[ogfrenchhorn]

There is a Canadian company called Health Gene that can test to see if your birds are related

You can tell if the eggs are fertile by candling them a few days after the hen starts sitting tight. You will start to see veins developing and then a few days later you can actually see the heart beating! Then for a while you can actually watch the chick develop until they get too solid

Some people can tell a fertile from an infertile egg the day it is laid by looking at certain things. I do not have this skill, I just wait a few days, sometimes up to a week after the mother starts to sit tight, and look for veins.


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Ok cool. I'll look in to health gene. Thanks!


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[SilverSage]

No problem, let me know if you have a successful season!


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[ogfrenchhorn]

No problem, let me know if you have a successful season!


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Will do. Thanks again


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[ogfrenchhorn]

Update: the hen has laid 5 eggs but I'm hesitant to take them out to candle them.


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[SilverSage]

You can candle them without removing them if you can find an angle where you can see into the box.


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[ogfrenchhorn]

So yesterday the hen came out of the nestbox so I tried to candle the eggs. Unfortunately I only had the light on my phone and it wasn't strong enough. And the way the nest box is hung, I couldn't reach in to grab an egg. With the light I had I did notice that the eggs had a reddish tint to them but I didn't see any veins. The tint could be from the raspberries I feed them though. I guess I'll have to wait the 28 days or so.

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[ogfrenchhorn]

Well, the eggs were fertile. Had a chick hatch but I have bigger problems now. These guys might not be good for breeding. I found an egg shell and got excited. Then I noticed something strange and I looked in the try under the cage. Turns out that a chick did hatch but the parents decapitated it and threw it out of the nest box.... I have no idea what to do now.


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[ogfrenchhorn]

Well, I was fortunate enough to find another female. T he guy I bought her from said that her father was a Latino and the mother was a pied. Hopefully this one won't kill the babies.

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[SilverSage]

I've recently learned that sometimes a different shaped nest box can stop the habit of egg breaking and chick killing.


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[ogfrenchhorn]

I've recently learned that sometimes a different shaped nest box can stop the habit of egg breaking and chick killing.


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I'll try an L shape this year. Thanks!

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