Ask Lafeber

Cocktail dropped eggs while sitting on the stick

My female cocktail dropped the eggs while she was sitting on the stick. She already has 4 well grown babies. But this time,she is doing so. why?

Hi Khalid,

She may not be ready to breed again. You should always remove the nest box and rest a pair for 6 months between clutches. You need to limit them to two clutches per year. Since she has just laid eggs, even though she broke them, I would remove the nest box and rest the pair. If they did not get a 6 month rest after the other chicks were weaned, then I would rest the pair now for 6 months and return the nest box to them after that. Hopefully after a rest, she will be more interested in laying eggs in her box again. She may simply still be worn out from the last clutch.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda