parkeet eggs

Question
QUESTION: my parkeets are in a hugh wooden cage my husband built, she has layed 8 (broken of course)eggs on the floor, we have a nesting box in there,they have not gone to it should it be up off the floor, or is it ok on bottom?
thanks
ANSWER: Nest box placement really doesn't matter. I've had cockatiel's and parakeets lay eggs and hatch them in their food dish. For some reason they just didn't like the nest box I provided. What size nest box do you have? What size is the opening? Also hanging some vines etc around the entrance hole could entice them over.

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

QUESTION: it is a regular parkeet nesting box, i got it at pets mart
the hole is bigger than a 50 cent peice it is a 6x8 maybe.

Answer
OK, so  the nest box is the perfect size, I would continue putting nesting material in there until they get tired of throwing it out, I would also lower the perches and put a soft material on floor of cage (like wood shavings) When the eggs fall we have a better chance of them not breaking. As they are laid if they are not broken I would place them in the nest box. The hardest part is just having patience. As long as you provide all the basic things they need, nature will take over and when they are truly ready they will do what needs to be done.