You guys must be as bored as I am to be reading about eggs! nm

• You guys must be as bored as I am to be reading about eggs! nm - freebie
  • We are getting chickens this spring. .sm - chicken farmer
    • Point of interest-use older eggs for hardboiled, - easier to peel. nm
      • That is good to know. . sm - chicken farmer

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as well as the ones that answered this!

My 86-yo dad is the same way.  Sticking his nose into my business.  He also constantly rags on me about my son not mowing the grass, etc.  I have explained to him that I LIKE to mow the grass and to please drop it and he just keeps on and on.  One day he walked in my office and shook his finger at me and said, "You just wait, you just wait, y'all are drinking way too much pop."  This because I buy it when it's on sale and it lasts a very long, long time.  And, by the way, neither my son nor I are overweight.  Older people just can't (anyways he can't) realize I am 53 years old and have lived on my own without his valuable input for a long time.  He just doesn't have anything else to do. 

The thing that really bugs me is when he comes over and just plops down in here when I am working and I tell him he can't be in here when I'm working and he gives me all kinds of excuses ("I can't see read what you're typing") and I have to just keep the screen minimized until he goes.  He just doesn't get it.  The other day I told him to go over and check on my cousin's new fence, and that got his train of thought going in a different direction and off he went.  He called me one day and told me not to commit to the big diocesan pledge thing that's going on, that I am to tell them I am a single parent just barely scraping by, etc., etc., and I wanted to tell him I am not quite that destitute yet, but I just agreed. 

Oh, and I have an extremely screwed-up sister, too, who Dad thinks can do no wrong and her son is the greatest, etc., etc.  Oh, the stories I could tell about her!  Well, it was me who gave him a place to live after Katrina and it was me who gave him my couch for his new house because he didn't have one (another delusional idea, he thinks he is broke), not her, so I just keep quiet and keep civil and remind myself he's old.   When it gets to be too much I tell his sisters, who tell him to back off then he does for a while.  All part of life. 

I always have my TV on in the next room just for noise and every now and then to catch something going on. If it was turned off now I think I would be asleep! 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 lb chicken breast, skinned, boned, cut into 2 x 1/2 inch strips
  
• 1-2 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin (not in original recipe)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion
  
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, strips
  
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, strips
  
• pizza dough, for 12 inch pizza (you can use refrigerated pizza crust if you like)
  
• 1/2 cup mild salsa
  
• 2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

• Heat oil in large skillet.
  
• Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently until lightly browned.
  
• Stir in seasonings.
  
• Add onions and bell peppers, cook an additional minute or so until vegetables are crisp-tender.
  
• Heat oven to 425°.
  
• Sprinkle pizza pan with semolina flour and press dough into pan.
  
• Pre-bake dough until it is a very light golden brown, about 6 minutes.
  
• Remove from oven and scatter chicken over crust, spoon salsa over chicken, spread vegetable mixture over that, and finally, top with cheese.
  
  
• Bake for another 15 minutes until crust is golden brown.

You are having a time of it, aren't you! 

This is not an uncommon problem.  Many birds lay eggs anywhere and everywhere and don't sit until the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or more clutch has been laid.  Breeders use those birds just to get the eggs and then put the eggs under another female who is sitting and she becomes the surrogate mother.  What they do is put a hole in the bottom of the nest so that when the eggs are laid they fall down the hole to the pan where the breeder can get them before they are consumed and/or broken by the parents.  Cool, huh?  I had a pair of Quakers who were fantastic layers but ate every darn egg before I could get to them.  I know that's not what you want to do, but this is how the pros handle bad sitters.  Or they use an incubator which automatically turns the eggs every couple of hours if the hen won't sit. 

Some birds eat the eggs out of boredom.  Some eat them because they are craving calcium.  Do you have cuttlebone in the cage?  Is it within easy reach?  Make sure it is.  If they are not using it, you may need to add a calcium supplementation to the female's food or she could become egg-bound trying to lay (egg gets stuck in the vent and bird dies.)  Consult your vet if she is not using the cuttlebone, as too much calcium is a really bad thing.  Watch the male for the culprit as well.  He may be low on calcium but since she is the layer you have to be especially careful of this when she is laying.  You have to know the proper dosage to add to her food and don't let the male eat the extra calcium if he doesn't need it because you don't want to overload his system.  If they are both eating the cuttlebone well, that is a good sign.  

If she starts to sit and you don't want the babies, remember to substitute another WARM (in your hands warm) item such as a small marble or a bead that resembles the egg so that she will sit for her 28 or so days while her body recovers from laying or else she will continue to lay and lay until she is dead.  They all need a period of rest between laying.  Check out bird supply sites on the Internet for fake eggs. 

If it gets to be too chronic, remove the male from the female to keep her from laying, at least while she builds her strength back up. 

My bet is a calcium deficiency perhaps in both birds because either one or both are not just playing with them/breaking them but eating them as well.  Don't add a calcium supplement without checking with your vet first.  You have to get the correct diagnosis and then the correct dosage. He/she can feel the birds bones and do an assessment, etc.  Find someone who really knows exotics. 

Be sure their diet consists of more than seeds.  Get them to eat some pelleted food.  The best is Harrison's I was once told but do whatever works.  Seed alone leads to malnutrition.  This goes for all birds of whatever type.  Also green veggies like Romaine which has calcium and they can drag a small piece around and play with it as they munch on it.  Small as in thumbnail size at a time.  My finches got carrot strips, broccoli florets, celery leaves, peas, etc. as toys to play with.  They had a ball and it was all natural. 

Best of luck! 

storage and other stuff.

Not like I'll ever own one, but they're pretty to look at.  Cat

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/4819/felist.html

Emeril says to put the eggs in the pot with the  cold water, and wait for it to boil, when it's a rolling boil, shut off the stove, and cover the pot for 13 minutes - and voila!!  Perfect hard-boiled eggs!!

*S*