Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay, my finch laid an egg, which I'd expected, but what I did'nt expect was the male to jump off the egg at the first sight of a parson and neither of them would go back in the nest. after about 3 minutes had passed, they still wouldn't sit... i removed the egg, it's currently cradled in my hand.... please help me... did i do the right thing? do i put it back??? please, some, help!
-Bri

okay, my senses caught up with me. I put the egg back and about 2 minutes later they were happily taking turns sitting on it again, they're changing positions every munute or so, it's really relieving.
sorry if i freaked anyone out!

-Bri

Don't worry about them 'abandoning' their eggs! It's just as well that they don't sit on them much until they've collected a full clutch (anything from 3 to 7 eggs is pretty normal)--that way all the eggs will hatch around the same time.

By the way, it sounds as though your 'sleepy' female is okay again, yes? Forming eggs can indeed be stressful--the females sometimes look a little 'puffy', with feathers fluffed, and just plain tired, just before they lay. Try offering a source of heat if she seems particularly worn--I use one of those cheap little clamp lamps, with a hood and a regular 40 or 60 watt bulb, and set it somewhere right on the cage roof or near the side so that it shines onto a section of perch, close enough that the lit area will feel noticeably warm and cozy to your hand. The bird can then choose whether she wants to take advantage of the heat or just bask in the 'sunshine'. (Even a perfectly healthy, energetic bird sometimes likes to sunbathe!) Plenty of egg food (just a mashed hard boiled egg will do) will also help to provide the extra calories and protein she needs at this time to help form her eggs.

great, thanks for letting me know... I have a few more questions tho.... how many eggs can they lay per day? Will she get tired before each one? Would my handling the egg (only with my finger tips for a second to pick it up, and then it sat in the palm of my hand for about 5 minutes)have clogged the pores so much that the baby can't breathe?? sorry for being so full of wonder, I'm very new at this!!!

thank you so much!!
-Bri

Hi! Sorry to be a tad late getting back to you...was just on four days off...

First, I think it's physiologically impossible for any bird to lay more than one egg per 24 hours. There's quite a journey involved for every yolk to acquire several coats of 'white', the stabilizing 'cords', membrane, shell, shell pigment, etc, when you think about it, and I suspect that it probably depends upon each female's individual condition as to how well she can generate all that requisite material day after day. Most of the little finches manage an egg a day, but I'd never be surprised if someone skipped a day. Individual condition and just the general fitness of the reproductive structures within likely also determines how wearing the egg-laying process is...some birds seem to squeeze out their eggs with hardly a blink, others look pained and worn for hours beforehand and vastly relieved afterwards. Even humans vary in this respect--we probably all know women who went through hours of agonizing labour and others who just seem to pop out their babies as easily as squirting out a watermelon seed! It's probable that your gal was still feeling a little worn by her bout with diarrhea so was more affected by laying than usual. Zebra finches, in my experience, usually lay easily, though I've had a few older matrons that would show the stress and who needed limiting to one or at most, two clutches a year.

As for handling eggs, as long as your hands weren't horribly sweaty or recently liberally smeared with cold cream or something, the eggs should be fine. You're right to worry about this sort of thing, though. It's so easy to maybe touch a chemical, perhaps use a bug spray or lotion, then forget about it and hours later unwittingly transfer a still-lethal dose to a delicate organism like a pet insect, tropical fish, or a tiny finch egg. I usually rinse my hands in hot water (no soap) beforehand just in case if I handle little eggs. Better yet, if I can safely get at them with it, I'll use a little spoon shaped like a soup ladle to move eggs, but obviously this really only works well if you can see the eggs well enough to be sure of not accidently rapping and squishing them with said spoon!