Budgie on eggs

[judy]

I have a hen budgie sitting on a clutch of 5 eggs at the moment. She has been on them for at least a week, and Im not sure wether the eggs are fertile or not. I think it is her first clutch as she was from a petshop. She didnt really sit on them till the 4th egg was layed. How long will I give her before I do something with the eggs. I dont want them to stink the room out if they are no good. Also how do you tell wether or not the egg is fertile?

Ive had budgies breed before but Im sure they didnt take this long to hatch the eggs after they were layed.

[Liz]

Budgie eggs usually take 18 days of incubation to hatch. The hens usually don't sit on them at first, so if you really really want to be sure, try giving them about three weeks after the last egg was laid. (but that would be streching it a bit) They shouldn't smell unless they get broken, and they most likely would dry out if they weren't fertile anyway.
You can tell if they are fertile or not by looking at the color of the shell and by candling. (shining a bright light through the egg in a dark area) After six days of incubation, which you probably are passed, you can test fertility by candling. If the eggs are infertile, they will be clear, and if they are fertile, they will be harder to see through and there should be little veins along the inside of the shell. If there was a chick and it died further along, the shell will be grey black and have a white-pink tinge. Just prior to hatching an egg changes color from pearly white to grey. I hope this helps!

[judy]

thanks for that, I will go and check, I am almost positive there are two that are infertile as they are different colours to the other ones.

[Liz]

Your welcome!

[lady]

Have you got some pics for us?

[judy]

yep I just put them up in budgie pictures. The first one hatched yesterday