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question about pigeon eggs.....

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:59 pm
by WiskeyJaR
Have a small loft with 8-10 birds. Have two hens that consantly nest on the floor, have plenty nest boxes available. One nest has no problems raising brood, the other nest lays 2 eggs as normal, but only one egg ever hatches. This hen has raised 3 different broods so far and always one egg never hatches. Have examed 2 of the "bad" eggs, and both showed no signs of devolopment at all. This is always same hen.

Was curious if others have seen simlair things, and is there anything I should be doing different? Floor where nests are is dry. Have plenty of food and water. Have a total of 12 nest boxes for 10 birds, so plenty of room.

Thanks for any advice,
WiskeyJaR

Re: question about pigeon eggs.....

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:28 pm
by ezzy333
The egg just isn't fertile . Nothing you can do about it. It usually corrects itself as the bird gets older but you may want to get rid of her and keep a different hen for breeding.

Ezzy

Re: question about pigeon eggs.....

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:27 pm
by ohiogsp
Yes, probably not fertile. Does she sit both? You can candle them at 4 days and tell if they are any good. I just put a small mag light up to the side and if you see blood (like a vien) it is good. I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

Re: question about pigeon eggs.....

Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 4:12 am
by Rick Hall
It's perfectly normal for one of a hen's first pair of eggs to be infertile, but the only thing that might save your hen in my loft would be that she isn't taking up nest space.

Might be nesting on the floor because dominant birds are controling multiple nests. Better seperation of those nests should help with that for future pairs, but your current floor nesters are apt to continue what's working for them.