Yellows seen breeding...

[HouKen]

We saw my yellowfoots were breeding yesterday. How long before she will lay her eggs?

 

[FLINTUS]

Doesn't necessarily mean the mating was successful.

 

[HouKen]

Understand that... Other yellowfoot keepers, how long does it generally take? Is there a specific season in Texas??

 

[Len B]

The first year my female laid an egg she had never been with a male, I found a single egg in her outside pen just laying on the ground, The next year still no male and saw no eggs, but she may have made a nest, not sure. I obtained a young male the next year, still no eggs or nest digging seen. I adopted a adult redfoot last Sept and had them together (all 3) inside for the winter, She laid 7 eggs in Jan and 4 more in Feb. not sure if none, one, or both males mated with her. The eggs are still in the incubator. With the setup I have her in for the summer I will probably never know if she lays eggs or not unless I find babies. In Jan and Feb when she was ready to lay there was no doubt what she was getting ready to do by her actions, so I watched her closely so as to collect the eggs before they were damaged. Basically, about time after mating for eggs I have no idea. Just watch for changes in her actions.

 

[tortadise]

I have some that lay as late into march. But most lay in the winter for me. From about December to February

 

[Baoh]

There is no answer we can give you that is going to be correct except by coincidence. Can be two weeks after a successful mating. Can be seven years after a successful mating. My previous females always used to lay in the late spring through early fall and not necessarily in any particular timeline to any particular mating event. My one large female I have now, though, has been gaining a ton of internal mass this season, but has not yet laid (nor has she ever mated with a male yellow foot, but she has now mated with a couple other animals). A lot, unfortunately, of my non-YF females are winter nesters (this is extremely inconvenient for me). It may be that this particular female YF I have is a winter nester. If so, she will be the first winter nesting YF I have happened to have.

 

[HouKen]

Thanks everybody will have to keep an eye on her. Should I look for any signs such as going off feed?

 

[Len B]

The first year my female laid an egg she had never been with a male, I found a single egg in her outside pen just laying on the ground, The next year still no male and saw no eggs, but she may have made a nest, not sure. I obtained a young male the next year, still no eggs or nest digging seen. I adopted a adult redfoot last Sept and had them together (all 3) inside for the winter, She laid 7 eggs in Jan and 4 more in Feb. not sure if none, one, or both males mated with her. The eggs are still in the incubator. With the setup I have her in for the summer I will probably never know if she lays eggs or not unless I find babies. In Jan and Feb when she was ready to lay there was no doubt what she was getting ready to do by her actions, so I watched her closely so as to collect the eggs before they were damaged. Basically, about time after mating for eggs I have no idea. Just watch for changes in her actions.

Just for information, This female laid 6 eggs this afternoon. She never went off feed she just acts different (i don't know how to describe it) I think you will be able to tell when she is getting ready to nest.

 

[Yvonne G]

My two females are interested in laying now. The weather has been a bit on the cool side.

My younger female is full of rocks, and her cloaca is quite swollen, but she's also full of eggs. I'm having trouble getting mineral oil into her to aid in getting rid of the rocks, and may have to resort to a vet visit, but I have one egg from her in the incubator, found in their house two weeks ago.

The other female deposited one egg on top of the ground three days ago and it is also in the incubator.

I have a very active-breeding male.