Egg Repair
John LaTorre, Port Charlotte, FL, USA

    Because breeders of Psittacula wait so long for nesting season to roll around, disappointment seems all the more acute for birdkeepers who open the nestbox only to discover cracked or broken eggs inside!
    Usually, these eggs will be discarded, in hopes that the hen will be induced to lay a second clutch.  Unfortunately, most birdkeepers do not quite realize that cracked eggs can often be repaired and successfully hatched.  It is really quite simple to make repairs, however you do need to incubate the eggs yourself.  So you will either need to invest in an incubator, or cultivate a friendship with  someone in your area who has one running every breeding season.  I have personally never repaired an egg and then inserted it back into the hen's nest as I have always rationalized that the hen would be more likely to notice the patch and attempt to remove it. 
    Before you attempt to repair a cracked egg, it must be clean.  Eggs can be soiled with fecal matter, blood, and other bodily fluids from the hen, and must be cleaned to minimize  the bacteria which could become trapped between the patch and the egg shell.  Bacteria will enter the egg through the cracked area and generally will proliferate inside the egg and kill the fetus.
    I have used distilled water, saline solution and a very dilute solution of peroxide to clean the shell.  It is important to warm the cleaning agent to a degree or two higher than the body temperature of the hen (and therefore the temperature of the egg), to insure that you don't inadvertently chill the egg while cleaning it.  Use a food thermometer to make sure your solution is between 98º - 100°.  You can dip a Q-tip™ or cotton ball into the solution of choice, and gently wipe the shell.  Do not immerse the egg in water, or any other liquid, whatever you do!
    Dried fecal matter can be gently sanded or scraped off the surface of the egg.  Use a very fine emery board or sandpaper, and be careful not to use pressure.  One must be very gentle when handling the fragile egg.  When you have cleaned the shell, you are ready to do the mend.
    For small hairline cracks, use Elmer's™ white glue in thin layers, spreading it with a watercolor artist's brush to cover an area just slightly beyond the fracture.  Two applications will usually seal the damage and prevent them from spreading; it will also prevent the escape of moisture from the egg through the fracture.
    More severe cracks which may cover half the egg, or small holes, or indentations, will require the addition of other material to the glue in order to strengthen the shell or seal a hole caused by nail punctures or by the beak of a parent when it is turning the eggs.  And a dent can also be caused by the birdkeeper when handling the eggs.
    For more severely damaged eggs, you must attend to cleaning the egg before you begin.  Then you apply a thin coat of white glue to the area and place a piece of thin gauze bandage over an area slightly larger than the damaged surface, pulling it taut.  Then another thin coat of white glue is painted over the gauze and allowed to dry.
    In a pinch, you can use a single ply of facial tissue instead of the gauze, and no doubt there are other substitutes you can use as well.  I have used white glue and gauze for many years, and believe it is best for me, just as other birdkeepers will swear by different types of adhesives and materials for the same job.  No harm in trying them all.  But I like the Elmer's™ white glue because it is nontoxic and water soluble.
    I have found that if the repair is in the area to be pipped at hatch time, you will have to remove the patch when the baby has pipped through the membrane, or it could be sealed in, and suffocated.
    To remove a patch, simply dab at it with a moistened cotton ball (use warm water), and the patch will lift right off.  Now the chick will be able to pip its way to the outside world.
    My personal philosophy is that it is worth the time and effort to try to save every single egg.  It's hard to describe the joy and elation of seeing a neonate emerge from a shell that once seemed hopelessly damaged.

This article was originally printed in The Quarterly Psittaculids Review/ Spring 1997.  Rewritten with permission from author.