tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494114951266176145.post7605897395831735433..comments2024-03-14T07:12:55.402-07:00Comments on The Splendid Bourke Bird Blog: Incubation Observation & Other Thoughts…Gail A. Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399530965328058077noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494114951266176145.post-12473090902287959002010-04-30T11:44:37.685-07:002010-04-30T11:44:37.685-07:00Thanks for the tip about iodine. And, congratulati...Thanks for the tip about iodine. And, congratulations on saving your Splendid chick. The only eggs I've known were ready to hatch were the two we incubated ourselves. In hind sight I'll always wonder if helping them out of the shell would have saved them. Then again, if they'd died anyway, I would be blaming myself for their death. Neither the incubated eggs, or the eggs laid by the same brooding hen, ever got a crack or any apparent attempt to break the shell. So, I feared doing anything for them. I've read that you should never help, but I've also read from someone with cockatiels that they do successfully help. Risky...I can't imagine myself intervening unless it was something like you described.Gail A. Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17399530965328058077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494114951266176145.post-34894421238916289362010-04-29T20:17:41.173-07:002010-04-29T20:17:41.173-07:00Just FYI on the iodine. If you can't get the ...Just FYI on the iodine. If you can't get the parakeets to use the salt blocks, I give my finches and grasskeets granulated kelp for iodine supplement. They seem to love eating the granulated kelp which I give together with egg shells and charcoal and grit. They don't like powdered kelp as much. I also give liquid iodine in water most days of the week, but that's mainly for my gouldians, though the grasskeets get the same water. I've also heard other breeders give sea salt in their grit mix, which has iodine as well. Hope that helps. BTW, I get my granulated kelp from www.ladygouldianfinch.com.<br /><br />Also, I wonder what are your thought about helping a hatching egg hatch? I usually don't do it, since it would be very hard to time it correctly, but recently I had a splendid egg that I saw was trying to hatch for more than a day already. There were cracks on the egg, but it's been more than a day and appeared almost abandoned by the mother since it was not with the chick huddle and felt cold. It still had movement inside from the chick, so I did carefully help widen the opening for the chick, who is doing very well being fed by its parents now. But I'm never sure if we should help them out of the shell, since if they can't make it out, it may mean there is something inherently wrong...neversink7https://www.blogger.com/profile/11009560894233419103noreply@blogger.com