Our parakeet laid a clutch of six eggs in a cozy keet, but we got her a nesting box big enough for babies and she won’t go in it. The eggs are fertile. Should we just bring her cozy meet back?
Hi Christina,
I looked up what you are talking about and no, that isn’t going to work. Unfortunately there are a lot of things for sale on Amazon that are simply not good for pet birds. If she managed to hatch eggs in something too small, the chicks end up dying from being crushed or falling out. It’s better for the eggs not to hatch at all than to hatch in an inadequate nest. And she isn’t likely to go back, anyway. Not because you touched them, but because her nest was disrupted and now she won’t feel it is safe.
Unless you want your birds to breed, never give them anything they can get inside of or try to use as a nest. If she doesn’t go back to the eggs, then take down the box, but do not give her the other thing. Make the pair rest for 6 months, and then you can give them the nest box. It should be attached to the outside of the cage as high as possible. This time the pair should have time to explore it and get used to it before she lays again. Breeding birds must be rested for 6 months between each clutch of eggs, whether they hatch or not. The nestbox must be removed or blocked off during this time. It’s also important that they are being fed a nutritionally balanced food like pellets – a seed mix will not provide the nutrition they need. They should also be fed greens, veggies and fruits. And while they are breeding, they need an egg food – cook an egg with the shell washed, crushed and cooked with the egg.
It’s too bad about these eggs, but it’s a lot worse to watch chicks die because of the nest. And really, first clutches almost always fail, so it isn’t likely she would incubate the eggs to hatching, especially without being in the right kind of nest box.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
