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Question:

May 10, 2022

Nest


My healthy pair mated and now the female spends most of her time in the nest while her mate feeds her. This was an obvious sign of eggs in the wooden box nest. However, I didn’t open and check the nest fearing that it may stress her causing her to abandon her eggs. It seems that stress was the culprit for her last two failed clutches. For about a week without any disturbance and loud noise, the female is still sitting in the nest which is great start. Now the cage is dirty and I want to clean it, but the nest is right outside of the cage at the door blocking the tray. I’m afraid that moving the nest will risk another clutch failure. Should I wait until the eggs hatch (hopefully fertile) or should I carefully move the nest and clean the cage now?


Answer:

Hi Lillium,

Do not clean the cage. Cages and nest boxes can get very dirty during this time,  but most pairs will abandon the nest if you clean the cage or nest. They feel it is no longer a safe place. It’s not that long, so hopefully she will stay on the eggs and they are good, and you end up with some healthy chicks!

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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