Pair Destroying Eggs

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:00 am Post subject:

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Hello bird friends it's been a while because I had to overcome some problems.
My third nest of the Shama's went the same as nest 2 again just before hatching 2 eggs disappeared just like the nest before I placed 2 old infertile eggs but unfortunately she Madonna my female Shama again reduced the eggs to two by removing the good eggs so we had nothing.

Our fourth nest 4 eggs . In the mean time I had bought an incubator and a bird recover case so we had more options now I took 2 eggs from the nest at day 8 and placed the eggs in the incubator the plan was to replace the young’s as they had hatched.

But unfortunately at day 10 Madonna's nest was empty I found one broken egg with a full grown embryo on the flour of the greenhouse.
We had to reconsider.

Nest 5: 3 eggs after 3 days the fourth egg .
Now our conclusion was: Madonna as soon as she feels live in the egg she removes it.
So given this conclusion I took out all the eggs at day 9 replace old infertile eggs and one new egg from a new couple (But that is a different story) I placed the eggs in the incubator and waited yesterday afternoon three eggs hatched in between four hours one by one I replaced the chicks with the broken shells and now we are very happy Madonna excepted all three.

It was a mind breaking experience but we finally broke the spiral.

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:06 am Post subject:

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Hi Arjan,

I am sorry to know you have problems. Here are brief observations: Birds destroy their eggs and chicks because they are under stress. Try to ascertain the cause and remove it. Are there singing males or females in breeding condition nearby? Have you been inspecting the nest?

Do the pair flirt with each other? This is an indication that their hormones for breeding are rising and they are starting to lose interest in the eggs or chicks. The only remedy is to incubate.

The male or the female may be the one destroying the eggs. If it is the male, remove him beyong sight and hearing of the female after she has sat for about 4 days. I do not replace the eggs such as is done with canaries as this means disturbing the nest and stressing the birds.

Even though the pair are presently looking after the chicks they may remove the chicks from the nest. If you can, keep a lookout as the parent will not kill the chick but will remove it from the nest and deposit it on the floor in the same way that it deposits excreta from the nest. The chick will be unharmed and if an incubator is available, it may be saved. I have seen a shama remove a chick even at the age of 6 days.

To be safe you may want to remove the chicks anyway after the 4 day when their chances of surviving are much better.

Try to listen for sounds of the chicks chirping in the nest. It is normal for them to chirp when the parents are feeding. If they are chipring when the parents are not around, it means that the parents are not feeding them enough and they will eventually starve to death. Remove and hand-feed them.

If the chicks are day-old, I maintain the temperature in the incubator at about 35 degrees centigrade. I lower it by 1 degree a day until the chicks are 4 days old when I remove them from the incubator. You will have noticed that after the third day the mother no longer sits on the chicks at night. I am in the tropics but I suppose it is the same with you in summer.

Best regards and good luck,

David