floating eggs

how long would you say it will be ok to float eggs.and will the birds sit them

hi gareth, heard some say a few days but i think the most ive done it is about 3-4 days.........dont know if others will say this is wrong but i have done it once.
when ybs hatch they are fed milk by the parents for approx a week (???) but i think where the problem arises from is because the parents only produce the milk a few days before the eggs are due to hatch and if the egg doesnt hatch they dont produce any more and it just gets absorbed back into the body.....so thats why if floating eggs it has to be within so many days.



hope this helps, but i suppose members with better knowleage will tell you better....

I think that's a good answer David, but I prefer only two days difference, mainly because the foster parents will get twitchy if the eggs don't hatch on time, then you've wasted your time JMO

I remember Frank Hall telling me he took some eggs away in the summer from a pair he didn't want, left them on the wall outside, slipped them under another pair a week later for dummies, and yes you've guessed - they hatched

yes fred, i agree with you re being twitchy........the pair that were feeders didnt seem to have that bond and dedication to the ybs they were rearing, they didnt seem as relaxed as normal and at first for a couple of days i thought they were going to leave the ybs..........

i got hen she rite pain wont sit her eggs swaped them last two years and gess wot all prize winners.just wish she wud rear them her self

Hi lads, I have had birds sit for 24 days on eggs without leaving them, I cane across this last year when I lost a bird over my head, a prisoner and actually moved the eggs, now the pair I moved them under had been sitting a week less, but they had milk on time and fed them ok, I believe its the feeling of the eggs chipping that stimulates them to produce the milk within 24 hours? thats only my opinion but it worked for me, as they were only sitting for 12 days??

i pair my widowhood the same day as stock so when it comes to floating eggs i float them to the same dates laid , or within 1 day i have 12 pair of stock and 24 pair widowhood so chances of getting same dates are very good,

yes martyn i agree, they dont produce milk all the time they are sitting.....its only just before the eggs are due to hatch, and only a small amount that either absorbes back into the bird if the eggs dont hatch or if they do hatch the bird does produce more as it feeds the yb......

yes Ian good idea, thats what Iv done this year paired all the same day, none of my racers will rear thier own young this year, they will get the stock birds first round.

same here doesnt take much working out its quite simple but make sure you write down what and where there from

when i floated eggs i must have just caught the feeders before they were due to leave their own and they didnt take very well to the donour eggs....so if i do float again ill make sure the dates are within a day or two instead of about four days.......

yes david then they will be fine

might float a couple of pairs form stock if poss, as id really like to get six ybs off the two new pairs i bought instead of just four breeding normally...

will be floating 9 pair from stock under racers this year as am better organized