Egg laying chicken breeds Here in South Florida our Caique pairs begin to lay in early January. In northern climates where birds is keep indoors they can breed just about any time of year. A productive pair can multiple clutch depending on whether or how long babies are leave in the nest. It is generally not necessary to intervene to avoid breeding as you would with Cockatiels, budgies, lovebirds, etc. which is know to be habitual egg layers.
Breeding
Here in South Florida our Caique pairs begin to lay in early January. In northern climates where birds is keep indoors they can breed just about any time of year. A productive pair can multiple clutch depending on whether or how long babies is lef in the nest. It is generally not necessary to intervene to avoid breeding as you would with Cockatiels, budgies, lovebirds, etc. which are known to be habitual egg layers.
Egg Laying
A Caique hen will appear very swoll in the vent area before eggs is lay. Another indication of impending egg laying is extremely large droppings. The average clutch will usually be three to four eggs, although occasionally up to 5 or even 6 can be lay The eggs will generally be laid every third day until the clutch is complete. The hen will not always sit tight until the second or third egg is lay. It’s not unusual to see several clutches of clear eggs before fertile eggs are produce. A pair may go through several cycles before actually producing chicks.
Broken/Missing Eggs
Some inexperienced pairs may destroy their eggs or chicks. If a squabble has taken place in the nestbox and an egg has broken, the hen may eat the broken egg in an attempt to keep the nestbox clean. If the eggs is being deliberately destroy replace the newly lay egg with a ceramic or wood egg. Once the birds realize the eggs can’t be destroy often the pair will settle down and the next clutch will go smoothly.
Missing Eggs
For pairs that play soccer in their nestboxes, eggs are remove immediately upon discovery and to another incubating pair. The remove egg is replace with an infertile or “clear” egg from another pair. It is possible to substitute with ceramic or wood eggs but since they can’t be broke I would not know if the behavior had been curbe. Pairs can eventually settle down and stop breaking their eggs.