Why were the eggs squashed or destroyed?

[Blood Rayne]

My 3yr old female and 1.3yr old male have been mating and she laid 4 eggs over 5 days. she had been spending alot of time in the nesting box and coming out for food occasionally. I would check the eggs when she was out by taking a pic with my phone. About a week later two eggs had been squashed/destroyed too bits and then another week later the same thing - there wasn't much left of the eggs at all. What would have happened to the eggs? Was it an accident or did she destroy them?

[ringneck]

I'm very sorry this is happening. What type of nesting box are you using? The best boxes for ringnecks are ones that are deep, roughly 1 1/2 feet in depth. Also, the box should have a ladder from the entrance hole to the bottom of the nest box. Most nesting boxes have a wire ladder already installed--this is a must.

If you have one of these boxes, try a boot shaped box as the female will not be able to crush the eggs as easily when she enters / exits the box. In a boot shaped nesting box, the eggs are almost always in the back corner and the female has to travel to them by walking.

Also, does your female get scared when you walk near her nesting cage? If so, give her lots of privacy. My very first pair of ringnecks were very skittish so I had to do all cage chores during the night. I was careful to not make noise and it worked. Try whistling before you enter their site so they know you're coming around the corner. This will help the female not get a sudden surprise.

Hope this helps ,

IMRAN-C