>I have a pair of quakers that are giving me fits.  They lay 5 to six
>eggs but they almost never hatch.  When they do hatch it is never more
>than 3 babies usually only one.
Have you taken them in to see a vet recently? I had the exact same thing
happen with my Jenday conure pair. They would lay 4 to 5 eggs; only one
would be fertile and hatch. The rest were clear. I had a FULL physical
done on both of them, including bloodwork and fecal cultures. They had a
mild bacterial infection; not enough to make them SICK, but we felt it
affected their fertility. We treated them with antibiotics, and set them
up to breed after they re-tested "clean". First clutch was the same
thing--one baby, out of 5 eggs.
But they went BACK to nest, and laid 4 eggs. So far, 3 were fertile
(although I fear that two of them may have died during development). I
am happy anyway, because at least we've gotten more fertile eggs in a
clutch than ever before. It's a start.
Other things you need to consider are:
Are the perches sturdy? If the birds can't get a good contact during
mating because the perches bend or move, or if there isn't enough
room for them to manipulate while ON the perches, that can affect
fertility.
You might also think of trimming back the feathers over the vent area
(CAREFULLY!!!) before setting them up--if the feathers are too thick, it
may affect sperm transfer to the hen.
Let me know what you have and haven't tried yet.
--Kathy
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