eggs not fertile?

Question

My female cockatiel laid her first egg on March 11. Today I tried to candle them , but didnt see any veins. I did see a dark spot in them.Could they be fertile or do I need to throw them away?

Answer 1

How many eggs did she lay? when did she start incubating. I'm assuming she started incubating on or about the 15th? At this point i would just leave the eggs. If you just candled they are probably past the point of seeing veins and should be harder to see through. simply put if the eggs are infertile the light will shine brightly through the egg and it will look clear with a yolk...like a chicken eggs. at this stage your eggs should look darker to where you can barely see through them and will be a darker/reddish color. I say leave them alone as they should start hatching in 4-5 days anyway. new breeders are always quite anxious about candling. just let nature take it's course. it's healthier for your hen to just sit rather than pull them this late in the game. one of my pairs start incubating immediately so my chicks hatch anywhere from 17-18 after she lays them. she does not lay on an average like most hens do. sometimes she takes 3 days off and then lays again! so right now I have 2 chicks that are 2 weeks old and 2 chicks that are only 4 and 5 days old in the nest box!! HUGE age differenc. just let her sit there are only a few days left to wait anyway. here is a link to what candled eggs look like...
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Bluffs/1958/eggs.html

Answer 2

don't mean to sound silly but does she have a mate? You never mentioned if she is in a cage with a male. If she is a breeder bird, she will lay eggs every other day. Is there a nestbox up? If they have been mating, leave them alone. Some of the eggs may be fertile and other not. It does take 18-21 days to incubate an egg. If this is the first clutch, don't rush. Give it time. Make sure they receive alot of calcium,laying eggs can deplete it. Also make sure you feed a complete healthy diet. You can usually candle an egg after 1wk. to see if veins exist. Do not remove eggs until she is finished. She will keep laying eggs to replace it if you do. She will sit the eggs, and discard the infertile eggs to the side of the box. Hope this helps.thebirdlady

Answer 3

do not throw the eggs away. sometimes it takes about 21 days before you see a vein. She will lay between 4-6 eggs and all of the eggs will look infertile, give it time , the 6th egg may be the only one that is good, it will take about 27 days

Answer 4

Sorry to tell you but I dont believe they are fertile most cocktials dont lay fertitles eggs it sucks yes I know but give them about another 3 or 4 days then check if see same thing then toss