sun conure

[morgan]

Hi, My conure has laid 3 eggs and i am not all that sure if they are fertile, the male is only 10 months old and she is 18 months old..Question 1, how can I tell if they are fretile...Q2 If not fertile do I take the eggs from her or will she discard them herself.

Thanks for your time
Peter

[Robyn]

Hi Morgan & welcome, i moved your thread into the Foreign Parrot section so it will be better viewed.

Now to answer your question. The male may not be mature enough to fertilize your hens eggs but you never know. 18 months is about the right age for them to mature. If you hold a torch to the egg you should see blood veins forming at 7 days. If your not sure what to look for just let her sit on the eggs for 24 to 26 days & if nothing happens just turf the eggs. Make sure she has a good diet & some sort of calcium.

Robyn.

[asharee]

dont you mean torch you silly lady

[Robyn]

PMSLOL. Thanks for bring that to my attention i really appreciate that. Am i aloud to say my fingers were typing to fast.

[Robyn]

Heheh what mistake. Ash

[morgan]

Thanks Robyn, Is it alright to pick up the eggs and check.. She wont reject them or anything like that will she?.. Thanks again
Peter

[Robyn]

Hi Peter,

I don't have a problem with mine but they were hand reared so tolerate nest inspections. If you can give me more information i can help better. Like if they are pets or aviary breed.I just take a touch & check while the hen is out of the box. I leave the eggs in the box & shine the candler at the big end or air cell end of the egg.

Robyn.

[vankarhi]

If you don't want to "candle or torch" them..........I usuallly check them around the mid term of them hatching. If they look a little darker and quite often they feel heavier......it is a good chance there is a chick in there. I also leave the eggs for them sit on even if not fertile as it helps to stop them from laying eggs almost straight away.

I also can check my nest box's with little disruption the the hens (except for my female eclectus......I do need to be quick or I might lose a finger or hand or face lol)

[Robyn]

Peter, it is possible that she will leave the nest or trash her eggs. But i have only experienced that with some aviary breed birds. All my hand reared conures will let me look at their eggs & just go back into the box when i leave.

Tracey is right about leaving her sit on the eggs for the incubation time but i find with my conures they never go back to nest straight away. I would probably get 4 clutches a year, sometimes 5 from my suns. So they tend to space themselves out over the 12 months.

[vankarhi]

oops I forgot to say I know nothing about conures........I was being general in my comments

[Robyn]

Tracey suns are very much like eckies as far as nesting goes, so you did have it right. And for what its worth once you breed one species i think you pretty much have it all under control. Another thing to, i don't think suns breed all year round in the south like they do up north but i could be wrong. Some of the southerners may be able to let us know.

[morgan]

Thanks Robyn/ Tracey. Yes they have been hand rared and I can do anything with them, it's just that I was a little unsure as this is their first lot of eggs.. Also, I have been told quite a number of different materials to place in nesting box, what do you find is the best for conures. Thanks again you have both been a great help.

[Robyn]

I just use wood shavings i buy in bulk from Pet Cafe. They are safe & if provided before they go to nest they love to chew it all up. Some hens will also kick most of it out so i just wait until she has laid all eggs then put a bit more in.

[morgan]

Hi Robyn, Just arrived home from work and found one of the eggs has hatched. Robyn what do I need to do??? Haven't a clue.. A quick response would be appreciated. Thanks
Peter

[Robyn]

How cool is that. Congratulations.

You need not do anything at this point mum & day should have it all under control. Just make sure as the chicks grow you will need to give the parents more food. Cob corn is good.

I did mean to ask you if they are out in an aviary or indoors.

[angelicvampyre]

Peter if it helps I have 3 four week old sunny bubs and all I have done is peek in the box every few days. Could not ask for better parents. Biggest issue I had was when Mum flew out of the cage to say hi to me! Got her back thank the birdy gods but other then that, they are loving their corn and for some reason yellow caps not green or red ones but yellow ones, strange. Let them be don't get up in her face to much and she will be fine just check that they are being feed and the rest will follow.

[morgan]

Hi Robyn,
Day 3 and everything is OK.. Yes, I have them inside, just as well as it is freezing down here at present (Wollongong ).Male bird is very protective, suppose that is normal though... Thanks for your help.
Peter

[Robyn]

That's really good news Peter. I have been wondering how things were going. I would expect another egg to hatch in a day or two. Sometimes if you put the egg to your ear you can hear the chick chirp. That is so amazing.

Everything sounds like its all going normally.

Robyn.

[morgan]

Hi Guys, 6.00 PM Sat... Just watched egg number two hatch.. It was by total fluke as I was just checking to see if everything was ok and on opening the nesting box it was all happening, so exciting.. Tried the yellow caps also, and yes it is a real goer, thanks for that... Thanks everyone.
Peter

[Robyn]

WOW, isn't it amazing. I love watching a little chick hatch. Peter the 3rd could take up to a week to hatch so don't worry. Sounds like you have the perfect parents there.

Gee its a stroke of luck they are inside birds. They must think its pretty special to be so pampered.