Double Yellow Head Amazons on eggs

[captwest]

My DYHs are now sitting five eggs, i've never had Amazons lay that many,usually 3-4. I hope they stop at 5.I don't have my incubator set up and i'm not home to look after them (my wife won't mess with the incubator)Ive had this pair for about 6 yrs and when i got them the lady said they'd never been successful, the first couple of yrs their eggs were infertile or got broken, lately they're getting better with more fertile eggs and chicks (1-2) but now 5 ? Must be doing something right. I just had to tell somebody.

[patdbunny]

You can mail some eggs to me. My incubator's up and running. I'll even pay for the postage.

You're so lucky!! I'm waiting for my eclectus to have fertile eggs. I just removed their 4th infertile clutch. GIVE ME SOME TIPS CAPT!!

They're an 8 yo pair, I've had them almost 2 years. They are "bonded" (for eclectus). He's not afraid of her. He feeds her when she's on eggs, but I don't see him feed her when she's not on eggs. She solicits. I haven't actually caught him doing "it", though.

I've tried the piece of wood over the nest hole so they can chew into it thing. Didn't work. They're in their own quiet secluded area. His nails are a decent length. Perches are sturdy.

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

[captwest]

Hey Roz, i'm not up on eclectus, your on your own there.With the zons i still do the sacfrafical piece around the hole and all that your doing but i add wood pieces to the nest material to get my male in the box more and to get him in the mood, that dyh pair and another yn pair do "do it " in the box out of sight, not always, but a lot.The other thing ,at least with new world birds, is i feed higher fat this time of year, lots of seeds and nuts, and of course the high calcium stuff.That and they have to get used to their surroundings, and that takes years,as i'm sure you know.I was almost ready to give up on these DYHs and try mixing /matching, but i had them lapiscopically exmained and they looked great, so i just stuck it out.

[patdbunny]

I was afraid you'd say that. What has changed in the last 2-3 weeks is the male going into the nest box and spending time in there w/ the hen. He's never gone in the box before. Eclectus males generally don't and aren't allowed into the nest box unless the female wants him in there to mate. So my fingers are crossed.

After their second infertile clutch I took the box down for about 6 months to give them time to bond and adjust better. I didn't think that would help much since they'd previously lived together for five years. But you know - try whatever you can and hope for the best.

My CAGs I've increased the fatty nuts a bit. For the eclectus I've increased the amounts and varieties of cooked mix and fresh foods with a bigger increase in fruits; they get minimal pellets and seeds/nuts since they're prone to getting fat and the toe tapping thing. Of course the calcium increase is a given.

Do you have some of your birds indoors? I know there's been threads on lighting, but I'm curious what lighting you're using. I have some concerns as to flicker rate on some bulbs and whether flicker rate's going to affect breeding behavior. I don't think flicker rate's listed on the bulbs.

[captwest]

Hey Roz,sorry i didn't get back sooner. I've never beeen a fan of the lightening thing but my wife <Josie, tried it didn't help at all. we were going good and then for 3 yrs we messed with the lights and really went backwards.All of our pairs get some natural light but all are kept inside.In a perfect world i'd want my birds to have axcess to natural light all year and maybe in the future i can work it out.And yeah a lot of my birds are young and infertile eggs are just a test , you've got to have faith in your gut feelings and give mother nature a chance.

[patdbunny]

Hey Capt.

Appreciate your input. Since I'm in So.Cal. I have most of my birds outside where they can get partial sunlight into their cages at some point during the day. But my CAG and some small birds are in the house and I've been wondering about lighting.

I had read that flicker rate affects reproduction w/ chickens. I was thinking it would be the same for parrots as they can also see various spectrums and flickering. I was also reading that parrots fed pelleted diets do not need supplemental vitamin D for calcium absorbtion.

With your comment I'm going to quit worrying about lighting as I do have the indoor cages near windows that I open when the weather's permitting, so natural unfiltered sunlight can get to them.

Yeah, the "P" word - patience. I am lacking a bit of that. I've always primarily done the smaller more prolific birds like conures, IRNS, tiels, even when I had caiques they bred within a year for me. The eclectus and greys I'm leaving them alone for 3 years before re-assessing. BUT IT'S LIKE WATCHING WATER BOIL!!!

Good luck to you on your move! Are you sure you want to move in two months since this pair just started getting it right?

[captwest]

Hey Roz,roger on the water boiling, yeah i know the move is going to put every thing back a year or two, except for the tiels,quakers and maybe the OWA . as they don't seem to care. But we've got to do what we've got to do for the long run.I have faith in my breeders and know they'll be happier in the long run, it will just cost some time.That and i can gie the Macaws a chance, i've had to turn down so many good birds lately because i don't have room/.

[imaplayinfool]

I was afraid you'd say that. What has changed in the last 2-3 weeks is the male going into the nest box and spending time in there w/ the hen. He's never gone in the box before. Eclectus males generally don't and aren't allowed into the nest box unless the female wants him in there to mate. So my fingers are crossed.

After their second infertile clutch I took the box down for about 6 months to give them time to bond and adjust better. I didn't think that would help much since they'd previously lived together for five years. But you know - try whatever you can and hope for the best.

My CAGs I've increased the fatty nuts a bit. For the eclectus I've increased the amounts and varieties of cooked mix and fresh foods with a bigger increase in fruits; they get minimal pellets and seeds/nuts since they're prone to getting fat and the toe tapping thing. Of course the calcium increase is a given.

Do you have some of your birds indoors? I know there's been threads on lighting, but I'm curious what lighting you're using. I have some concerns as to flicker rate on some bulbs and whether flicker rate's going to affect breeding behavior. I don't think flicker rate's listed on the bulbs.

The lighting is not as critical as you may think the flicker effect can be minimized by a standard bulb on a timer with the uva/uvb lighting if you are using it.

[patdbunny]

I was under the impression flicker rate was affected by the ballast of the flourescent fixture? I'm not too worried about it anymore since you guys aren't. Just, you know, they're CAGs. I think the unfiltered sun through the open windows are going to be ok.

[imaplayinfool]

Roz I have the best luck with my birds when they get the first light rather than the afternoon. Your CAG's will do wonderfully if they are places so that 1/2 of heir cage is in the window and the other 1/2 is shaded. The most important thing for their mating and success is being left alone. I don't have a perfect block for their cage so I suspend a curtain from the ceiling and give them a warning before going near the cage. They prefer to not even see other animals (us included).