I was very hesitant at trying her this year, but I'm glad I did.

She was only 750 grams in late July but gained that extra 600 grams by November. She is a short thick girl, just a hair over 3 feet. I wish I knew her background and exact age, but I don't.

She weighed 1283 grams two days before laying. I don't have my records handy right now, but if I recall correctly, the clutch weighed 523 grams, or just over 86 grams each. Small, yes, but I'd expect it from such a small girl. Regardless, that's about a 40% reproductive effort.

This clutch is just past three weeks of incubation, and all are doing fine.

The female ate the day after laying and hasn't stopped. She's gained about 400 grams so far (knocking off a bit for stomach contents) and I expect her to exceed her prebreeding weight in a month or so if she continues to eat at the same rate.

I've heard of quite a few older breeding females knocking out 10 or 12 eggs year after year, but I do believe 17 is a record!

K. Royer

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