Society finch eats own egg after 2 days!!?

Question

My society finch lays an egg once 2 months and after 2 days or so she eats it!! I keep her in a really really big cage with only 3 other finches,1 gouldian and 1 zebra (both males).Sometimes i put this yellow powder in her water too so that it can keep her healthy. Why does she eat her egg and not hatch it?? This has been going on for 1 year now. If she continues to eat her egg should I incubate them myself??

Answer 1

The egg has to be fertilised otherwise it will just be an empty seed. Unless you have a male finsh of the same species in there with her, she will eat the eggs to re absorb the protein she lost making it becuase it would not yield a chick and she knew that. Get her a male if you want chicks and she will incubate it herself.

Answer 2

If you give them a quality commercial seed diet with added vitamins and minerals ,I wouldn't put any supplement in their water.Also make sure they have a couple of cuttle bones in their cage at all times,and replace it when it gets used up.

My finches either ignore their eggs or eat them.It's normal.don't incubate them yourself.What would you do with the babies?You absolutely could not take care of them like a mother finch would.They would die.Her eggs may be infertile anyway.And I would not go out and get a male.Leave well enuf alone.

Answer 3

Yes sit very carefully so you don't break the eggs.

Have you though about getting a book and reading about society finches? How are you so sure that she is the one eating the eggs? How do you know it isn't the zebra male eating the eggs? Do you realize that you need both a male and a female society finch for the eggs to be fertile? She will not breed with the other males. Throw the eggs out they will never hatch. Take the nest out of the cage.

Contrary to what they tell you in a pet shop, finches don't need a nest to sleep in at night. They will do fine without one. One of the things that make females come into breeding condition is a nest. Remove it and take care of that problem. You don't want the bird laying eggs all the time. Since you haven't taken the time read about the bird you are trying to keep I will tell you. A bird that lay a lot needs a calcium suplement. Your bird will drain her calcium reserves. They need calcium to help their mucles move. With a calcium depletion the eggs will get rough and the hen will usually get egg bound and die.