abuse towards eggs

Question
HI! our parakeet had layed 7 eggs last month and none of them survived.SHe layed on them and all, but at times did not. I ended up throwing them away because they were not fertile. I checked. Anyway,she layed an egg in the cage saturday and another monday and yesterday.We had a nesting box for the first round but were not expecting this one. Yesterday before the 3rd egg was layed , she had pecked and made holes in one of the first  ones.I took it out and trew it away because she destyed it. I then took the other and put it in the nesting box and hooked it to the cage. WHen she layed egg 3 I put it in th ebox also. Well, she went in and nested on them. Later last night, I heard a comotion and looked in the box and didnt see the 2 eggs. We finally looked and found 1 way down in the straw but she must have ate the 2nd egg.I totally flipped out.What do I do? I wrapped the surviving egg in fleece to keep it warm and so she wont eat it . Can I use some form of lamp to keep it warm in a tank?what do i do ? im taking any other eggs she may have to .

Answer
Hello sheri!First off, dont worry. This is completly normal behavior for a female keet. Not all females know how to take care of babies. Some lay the eggs and then destroy them or kill the babies once they hatch. Its good you threw the eggs away because they will rot quickly. I had a female who laid a batch of 6 eggs and killed them all. Next brood, killed all of them again. YOu can guess what happened next. One of my other females however layed 7 eggs and raised all 7 babies! Do you have a male in the cage? If not then remove the box. She has no reason to lay if their is no male. If there is a male and you still wish to keep trying, keep the box. If she continues to destroy her eggs then take out the box. she will loose calcium and other minerals from laying so much. Eggs are full of protein so its normal for a female to eat it. After the baby is born the female will eat some of the egg shell and the other stuff. The egg you have in fleece will most likley not survive. The egg needs to be at a perfect temp and its so hard to raise a baby keet from day 1. I suggest taking the next box out because she is just wasting her energy on laying eggs that wont hatch. Just remember that this is normal for a first time female budgie. and you are doing nothing wrong. good luck!