Ask Lafeber

Question:

October 13, 2017

Doesn’t sit on a eggs


I have purchase a pair of cocktail bwith eggs 2 day before, so they don’t sit on egss i dont know what is the problem..and how we overcome this problem..plz help me.


Answer:

Hi Asif,

Are you saying they already had laid the eggs when you purchased the pair? In that case, they are not likely to sit on this clutch. When a nesting pair is disturbed too much or is moved, they will almost always abandon the eggs. I would remove the eggs and the next box, and let the pair of birds get used to their new environment. Give them at least a couple of months to get settled before you put the nest box back.

If you have had them a while and this is their first clutch, there can be several reasons why they aren’t sitting on the eggs yet. She will generally lay about 5 eggs, one day between each egg. Generally she will not start to sit on them until she has laid at least two eggs. If this is the first clutch ever, she may simply not know what to do. A first clutch is rarely successful. If she is too young, she may not sit on the eggs. She may be old enough to lay eggs, but not mature enough to incubate them and raise young. A hen should be at least 18-24 months old before you set her up to breed. Nesting pairs also need plenty of privacy. If you are checking on them a lot or if they are in an area where people walk past them a lot, this will make them nervous and abandon the eggs.

Basically, for successful breeding, both birds need to be old enough, they need plenty of healthy foods and fresh water, they need a quiet, private location where they are not disturbed other than to be fed or occasionally checked on, they need the right sized nest box, plenty of light during waking hours and a warm environment.

You may also want to do more research on breeding and try to talk with some experienced breeders to get more advice.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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