gestation period?

What is the gestation period of the females?

4-6 weeks.

Awesome, thanks so much for the reply. You were a huge help.

Originally Posted by Ian S.

What is the gestation period of the females?

My females average around 22 days for gestation periods. 4-6 weeks seems a bit high but I suppose it's possible.......... I usually just mark the calender at 3 weeks (21 days) and start setting up for egg laying on day 18.

Glad you got your answer

Thanks Mike, greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the late response I gotta start remembering to subscribe to the threads I post on and reply to. The female ended up laying on the 20th day. It was her first clutch and she threw 22 eggs. Only like 6 were good, but thats still a huge clutch for a first timer, No??

how do you tell if the eggs are any good?

22 eggs for a first year female is a good solid number. That number may increase with her next clutch though. (again in about 3 weeks).

Good eggs will be white and firm to the touch. A bad egg will be brown or yellowish, possibly dimpled and possibly look like a raisin in texture.

how many eggs do they usualy have in a year

It all depends on the female. A female can have anywhere from 1-6 clutches in a year. More than 6 have been documented but they are very rare. The average clutch size can be anywhere from 16-40. It's basically impossible to predict how many eggs you will get in a given year.

"The average clutch size can be anywhere from 16-40. It's basically impossible to predict how many eggs you will get in a given year"

Exactly!! Which means, start saving up for those huge feed bills!