hole in a egg

Question
QUESTION: hi!
i have 3 keets and 2 mated. the first week they layed on egg and the mother didnt really pay attention to that egg. 2 days later a secong egg appeared but the second egg had a hole in it. the next day, all the eggs were gone. i think that the mother ate them. why?

ANSWER: Hello Katelyn and thank you for your post.
The mother probably did eat the eggs, which is not unusual for birds to do.  She is probably lacking in calcium.  You can get calcium blocks at your local pet shop.  Cuttlebone is fine for Parakeets, but I prefer to use a regular calcium block.
She will eat off of the block what her body needs to stay healthy.  
Also, be sure to offer her fresh fruits and vegetables every day. They will be not only a great treat for her, but they will help her to keep in good health.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: will she continue to eat her eggs? also, she layed another egg in the morning today but later, i found the egg on the bottom of the cage. is it because it is infertile?

ANSWER: Hello again Katelyn.
If she is not getting enough calcium in her diet, she will continue to eat her eggs.  There is calcium in the shells, but there is not enough to keep her healthy.  She can actually die from a lack of calcium if she lays too many eggs without supplementing the calcium that she loses from each egg.
The egg at the bottom of the cage is probably infertile, but candle it to be sure (unless she is not sitting on it at all).  You can candle the egg by holding it up to to the lit end of a flash light and looking into the egg.  If it looks clear inside, then it is not fertile.  If you can see little red lines going through it, then it is fertile.  The little red lines are veins.  If she does not sit on a fertile egg, then you'll have to incubate the egg and hatch it yourself.

Please let me know how she's doing.

God Bless.
Dianna

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i gave her a a calicium block and i put the egg back inside the nestbox. is that bad?

Answer
Hello again Katelyn.
If it was the egg that you found on the bottom of the cage, it can be discarded.  She may lay another one or two eggs and as long as there is a calcium block in her cage, she shouldn't eat the eggs.  The new eggs that she lays (if any) can be left in the nest for the time that she will sit on them.

God Bless.
Dianna