- Apr 20, 2015
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Hi all!
I'm all new to quail, got 3 hens and a roo for the bottom of my budgie aviary about 2 months ago.
One of the hens started laying eggs 26th of March, I left them in her nest and on April 4th she started sitting on 6 eggs.
One of the other hens laid an egg in her nest about a week ago, so I decided to fence off (= place a small cage over the head of) the other hens and the roo so she didn't get too many eggs to cover them all.
2 days ago, an egg was lying outside the nest. I took it out and cracked it open - the contents were partly dried out, so I guess that one wasn't fertile - I hope it doesn't mean the eggs got to cold at an early stage and the chicks died. Anyway, it's day 17 now and as the eggs are supposed to hatch on day 16, I'm all nerves now..
Anyone have any experiences with button hens incubating their own eggs?
If they end up not hatching, what are the main possible causes? I think the hen has been very stable, I haven't seen her off the nest for more than 7-8 minutes at a time. She looks so cute when she sprints back to the nest after feeding, head held low so no one sees her(I assume that's the intention of her running style).
They have mainly been fed what the budgies get - millet seed and whatever is in that mix, but I have also given them hard boiled eggs, ants, worms, grass, broccoli and similar, though not following a specific schedule, just randomly when I had time and got the idea.
Where as they are in an aviary, it's in an old concrete stable, so they don't get sunlight. Might vitamin D be a problem?
Any advice from all you knowledgeable people is appreciated!
I'm all new to quail, got 3 hens and a roo for the bottom of my budgie aviary about 2 months ago.
One of the hens started laying eggs 26th of March, I left them in her nest and on April 4th she started sitting on 6 eggs.
One of the other hens laid an egg in her nest about a week ago, so I decided to fence off (= place a small cage over the head of) the other hens and the roo so she didn't get too many eggs to cover them all.
2 days ago, an egg was lying outside the nest. I took it out and cracked it open - the contents were partly dried out, so I guess that one wasn't fertile - I hope it doesn't mean the eggs got to cold at an early stage and the chicks died. Anyway, it's day 17 now and as the eggs are supposed to hatch on day 16, I'm all nerves now..
Anyone have any experiences with button hens incubating their own eggs?
If they end up not hatching, what are the main possible causes? I think the hen has been very stable, I haven't seen her off the nest for more than 7-8 minutes at a time. She looks so cute when she sprints back to the nest after feeding, head held low so no one sees her(I assume that's the intention of her running style).
They have mainly been fed what the budgies get - millet seed and whatever is in that mix, but I have also given them hard boiled eggs, ants, worms, grass, broccoli and similar, though not following a specific schedule, just randomly when I had time and got the idea.
Where as they are in an aviary, it's in an old concrete stable, so they don't get sunlight. Might vitamin D be a problem?
Any advice from all you knowledgeable people is appreciated!