Please note that the foregoing is Joel's personal opinion/viewpoint. There is no "right" or "wrong" or "positive" or "negative" position on the topic of disposal of fertile eggs as far as the Administrator/Hosts/Mods of this Board are concerned. Sure, a Mod may speak his or her mind on the topic -- as Joel has done here -- but such should not be construed as an "official" viewpoint of this Board. All viewpoints on the subject are welcome on this Board for open and respectful discussion. Thank you!

I believe it beneficial also that they have contact with each other but supervised contact I was advising/suggesting - so no fertile eggs result. Darn, I wish someone could invent some type of birdie "condom" but I am not suggesting pills that have any side effects at all.

I understand opinions and debates, but this was never intended to be a topic of debate. I regularly give advice to folks to invest in dummy eggs to prevent over populating of birds. This allows them to bond, mate and sit eggs without having the need to find homes for unwanted birds. I never recommend letting the eggs go long enough to start incubation. Eggs must be pulled immediately after laying and replaced. I imagine it must be unsettling for the birds to know their eggs were alive and then dead.

All my companion birds are housed separately, with the exception of the Caiques and two Greys. They interact, groom and play non stop throughout the day and I find it beneficial to their psychological well being. My Cockatoos are housed separately, but they still find ways to "get it on" at any chance they can. They are shameless.

IMO & IME, the male Caique was too young to breed and the previous eggs had been infertile. This was a surprise to me, as I hear that Caiques are difficult to breed. I NEVER had expectations of them breeding.

They will raise this clutch, if they so desire and then the box will go. If they want to continue mating... I am going to let them do so. Birds can, will and do have casual sex. I do........

As far as the price of Caiques with supply and demand... I did a search on baby Caiques and found they are readily available in just about every state in this country. Seems they prove not to be so difficult to raise after all. At this time, there are two babies for sale in the store I work in and there has been NO interest in them from any customers. They are adorable, sweet, well socialized and playful fids.

As far as I am concerned It happened, and that's ok. You are not a backyard breeder who does not care for the well being of there birds. I'm sure your decisions will be in the best interests of your birds as it should be. As far as destroying fertile eggs go, sorry but so what. All animals will dispose of young if the environment will not provide for them, and as eggs birds are not emotionally losing anything, hatched babies...different story. But parrots in the wild routine lose eggs from predators or infertility, or lay 3 eggs but only raise two chicks the third being a backup. Birds do not know if there eggs are fertile or not unless they hatch. So if you toss eggs and replace with dummy eggs, it does not make a difference to the birds. And an egg is nothing more than that an egg. Much like a mammal, yet us females dispose of our eggs monthly. Even if fertile it would not be until much later that you would have an actual live developed chick in an egg, so tossing an egg in a day or so after it is laid is no big deal. A developed chick in an egg is a different story.

I rarely wander into any species-specific forum besides the Macaw forum, so it's just "good luck" that I've stumbled onto this post.

Congratulations to the little Rubber and his Missus :-).

I've been in your house often enough to be amazed by your quiet macaws and noisy little caiques (and Greys). I think if anyone was disturbing any other bird in the area, it would be Otis and Skittles disturbing Pico and Kelly :-).

Of course you know that any baby Rubber (Otis' nickname, after his habit of rubbing his cute little head and body on anyone who will sit still for it) that survives from this clutch would be welcome at our place if it needs a place to hang its beak. Heck, a little guy like that might be just the kind of friend Petey could enjoy :-).

As for your decision to remove the nest box afterwards, I can't say that I blame you. I agree that there are already enough unwanted parrots out there looking for good homes to constantly add to the situation via deliberate breeding and overproduction of certain species. Recreational sex isn't confined to homo sapiens, so I don't see why Otie and Skittles shouldn't enjoy themselves, while at the same time not being given a place or the option to reproduce next time they're feeling the urge.

i would like to put my 2 cents in if you don't mind.
First off Congrats on the babies!
also I agree with Kimba and Irish, this decision is up to you, and eggs are eggs, with the exception of developed ones. I don't blame you for wanting to remove the eggs it is a lot of responsibility and lots of extras that come with it not to mention then you have to place them, AND worry if it will be their forever home or if they will turn out to be another unwanted parrot who goes from home to home never finding a solid caring family who will take care of them until death. Or the family that has them never takes care of them properly and they die of neglect, or they may get lucky enough to be rescued. Maybe they might even find a good home. and yes I do say that if you don't want them to reproduce then it is a good idea to remove the box.
But I do care for the well being of the bird and their babies...
so good luck to you! and I hope everything goes well IF you decide to raise this clutch, or let the parents do it.

Hatched September 10, 2007 between 2:30pm and 7:30pm




One down one to go...

Awwww....I always marvel at how such a frail-looking being will develop into a rowdy, rough-housing, noisy little caique in a matter of weeks. Congrats!

Wow! What a picture - thanks! Keep us updated on this little one.

Oh my! What a little miracle, eh? Congratulations!