If you have noticed birds pushing their eggs out of their nests, you may wonder about the reasons they do so and how to prevent it. So, why do birds push eggs out of the nest?
Here are ten reasons why birds push their eggs out of the nest:
1. Infertile Eggs
Birds know whether their eggs are fertile or infertile. Primarily, they push infertile eggs out of the nest to save energy and resources to sit on the fertile eggs.
Therefore, once you notice a bird pushing its eggs out of the nest, it is vital to check the fertility of the eggs through the candling method.
2. Prevent Predation
Birds are very sensitive creatures that can detect predators from a distance. Laying birds push away eggs to protect them from being consumed by predators. They sometimes push them away to destroy them or to hide them where they can gather after the predator disappears.
3. Stress
A depressed bird pushes the eggs away from its nest to eradicate them. In most cases, a stressed bird will want to deal with their depression first instead of sitting on the eggs. You might find them abandoning their nests to take care of their needs.
4. Poor Parenting
A new parent cannot handle all the eggs that it lays, therefore pushing some away. This is due to poor parenting skills; sometimes, the fear of being a parent leads to such aggression. Hence, training your pet birds to lay and sit on all the fertile eggs is essential for successful hatching.
5. Maintain Hygiene in the Nest
Primarily, birds push the eggs out of their nests to maintain high hygiene. Nonetheless, birds only push away eggs broken or contaminated by bacteria to keep their nest clean. This helps to prevent infections and attract predators to their nests.
6. Competition
Competition occurs between female birds that are caged more than once. Usually, there is always a dominant and a subordinate bird. Hence, the dominant female has more prestige and usually throws away the eggs of the subordinate bird to maintain the high hierarchy.
7. Illness
Sick birds tend to push out the eggs to attend to their health first. Primarily, birds do not show their illness unless it becomes severe. Therefore, the aggression of throwing eggs out of their nests and wanting to stay alone is a sign that indicates your bird is ailing.
It is essential to contact an avian vet to begin medication as soon as possible to save your bird’s life.
8. Eggs Are Not Hers
Birds always have a very accurate instinct. Once they sense the eggs presented to them are not hers, they will push them out of the nest.
Generally, birds are sometimes selfish creatures who only take care of their properties and not others. Thus, avoid giving birds eggs that are not hers; instead, use an incubator to hatch those eggs.
9. Laid Too Many Eggs
If a bird has more than enough eggs to sit on, it tends to push some away to save energy and resources for successfully hatching the remaining eggs. Similarly, birds love nestlings that they can take good care of; hence, a few numbers will be perfect for easier feeding.
10. Poor Nutrition
A bird needs a healthy diet to sit on the eggs and successfully hatch into precocious nestlings. If a bird is deprived of essential nutrients and mineral salts, it will push the eggs out of the nest to have feed to care for itself.
These are some of the reasons why birds kill their eggs. If you have pet birds, you can also try to prevent them from killing their eggs.
What Bird Pushes Other Eggs Out of the Nest?
The Common Cuckoo is known for pushing other eggs out of the nest. Cuckoo birds usually lay a few eggs to have healthy cuckoo chicks that they can reasonably maintain and feed.
Furthermore, they push other eggs to save energy and resources for laying the remaining clutch. This occurs when a cuckoo feels deprived of essential nutrients, stressed, ill, or has laid too many eggs.
What to Do If You Find a Bird Egg Out of the Nest?
You can return the egg to the original nest for hatching. You can also pick the egg and check for fertility and breakage before incubating it until it hatches.
You can start preparing a conducive nest for the hatched chick, especially when you know the bird egg species.
Why Do Birds Break Their Eggs If You Touch Them?
Birds break their eggs if you touch them, as predators invade them. Birds acknowledge human scent, making them flee and sometimes break their eggs due to fear of having their chicks taken away from them.
Hence, to avoid such incidences, avoid touching birds’ eggs, especially with bare hands.
How Long Can Eggs Survive Without Their Mother on Them?
A bird egg can survive for up to two weeks without its mother. In two weeks, the bird eggs are still fresh and very fertile. Also, they can successfully hatch if well incubated at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can also check its viability through the candling process, where you shine a bright light through the egg in a dark room.
How Do You Tell If a Mother Bird Has Abandoned Her Eggs?
The following are five things that show a mother bird has abandoned her eggs:
1. Eggs are cold.
2. The nest is in a mess.
3. Breeding season is over, yet the eggs are not hatching in chicks.
4. The mother bird does not return to the nest that has her eggs.
5. The nest is barren.
What Bird Kicks Siblings Out of Nest?
Egrets are fond of kicking siblings out of their nests. They are usually aggressive and territorial and kick out the weak siblings.
Also, this happens when they have insufficient feeds, becoming kick-out siblings to maintain adequacy.
What Bird Takes the Longest to Leave the Nest?
Hawks and eagles take the longest to leave the nest. They can take up to 100 days before leaving their nests.
These birds are enormous and take a while to adjust to new surroundings. This enables them to develop properly without any interference.
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