An Egg...

[bird_luver24]

We've had our budgies about 1yr & a half. They are at 2yrs or a little over, since when we got them they were 6months. Grace is our female, & Willow is our male.
Grace decided to lay an egg in her food dish after plucking her feathers, & filling it full of anything she could find. I got a nest box, filled it with shredded cotton, & shredded newspaper & what she had gathered & put the egg in. She has been in there ever since. She does come out I've noticed 1-2times per day for about 5minutes id say. Her and Willow sit by each other and he feeds her, & she poops, & takes a drink & heads back in. Willow also I notice likes to frequently run in and check on things Im assuming, and sometimes stays in the nest box for quite awhile lol I see his little blue tail sticking out. Such a nice daddy bird lol.. ;) Wish some certain men, could be so kind hehe..lol..
When she was out today I took a peek in the box to see if their were anymore eggs, and nope just the one. this egg is 3days old, so I'm guessing she is done laying. Which if this egg ONE egg is fertile or not its ok, I was just worried about her having more lol.. All the animals I have now, & Noah (my son), Keep me busy full time lol. So Dont think I was sitting around waiting for eggs, believe me lol I wasnt. But, it is a pleasant suprise.

Someone told me to take out the cotton because it is a choking hazard to the baby chick(s).
I just want to know when to take it out? I HATE to disturb the egg, but maybe I should get it done now so I wont have to worry about it later and bother momma later on??..
I'm going to do it when Grace is out of the box so my hands wont be coming at her while sitting on the egg.
I know how to hand feed so thats a plus, JUST IN CASE! & Im prepared to take the time out to do it if the chick needs it, but something tells me grace and willow are going to be good parents. ~"FINGERS CROSSED"~ If so, I just plan to handle the chick daily to make him/her tame.

Anyways, I am just wondering is there anything special I should be doing or feeding Willow & Grace?
I want to make sure they both have everything they might need extra..
And Anything else I might need to know??

I candled the egg today, It wasn't really THAT dark what I did see though was an air space at the bottom of the egg, & right in the middle was a darker blob.
When should I candle the egg, to be able to tell better?
Anyone have a site for this, w/budgies?

Thanks!!! :)

[some-budgie-loves-me]

Wow-- you're going to be a bird grandmommy! I only have one budgie, and she's laid a total of 3 (unfertile, of course) eggs. I don't have the answers to your questions, but I'm sure others here do. Your birds sound very sweet. :)

[birdlady49]

You should candle the eggs when she's been sitting on them for about one week or more. At that time the entire egg will glow pink/red and you'll see thin veins throughout.

What I don't like about the shredded cotton (are we talking about fabric or cotton balls?) is it retains the moisture. So if the parents take a bath, then come back into the nest, the moisture will cling to the cotton. Add the poops into the mix and you'll have a very nasty mess. It could affect the hatching and the respiratory system of the hatchlings. On top of that, if the babies chew on the cotton, even accidently .... well you get the picture.

I've used pine shavings for 20 years of breeding without any known problems. Only recently has it been suggested that it's dangerous. I have seen shredded paper at the petstores and that would work, but you would have to change it on a regular basis to avoid the same problems that shredded cotton would have. But that should be easy enough.....

[homebird]

This should be interesting - keep us posted. & Good luck.

Very useful info from birdlady49, nice to know someone who is knowledgeable.