Comet

Thank you so much, Dave, you folks and the generous knowledge you share have made this experience a success for us all -

Three is the magic number - you folks are right it seems - Dad is in the cage alone with them and their little hutch - not an ice cream box but a similar cardboard apparatus that I've had ready. He is feeding them and not seeming aggressive. The chick with the bloody eye is definitely a needy chick, very eager to be fed. Right up to dad, following close, and not getting aggression at all. On another note, the (oldest) chick that dad lunged at two days ago seems to be trying to fend dad away, lunging and biting at him. he avoids he, feeds everyone else, then tries to go back to her, but again, she fends him away. She seems pretty protective of the other chicks. Is this typical behavior for older chicks? Thank you, experts. Very, very much!

Okay, that's 2 that say it's probably mama... she is in there with the chicks now and seems completely uninterested in them, where as the father is calling out, and the chick with the bloody eye even came out from beneath it's shelter and called the father. shall i put the father in with the babies alone and keep mama bird away from them?

Thanks Dave, The one reason I think it's the dad is because the mom has gone out of breeding condition, while the father is still flirting and trying to mount her. Two days ago I noticed he was a little firm with one of the chicks and kind of lunged at it - didn't make contact, but looked like he really wanted to. Will the mother still want to attack the chicks if she is out of breeding condition?

I came home today to this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/bet...h/bloodyeye.jpg I have 2 females and one male, the father. I have removed him to a nearby cage, and the other female has been isolated in her own cage since breeding began, so it was either the father, the mother, or one of the other chicks that attacked. From what I've read, the father seems more apt to be the aggressive one at this point. No chicks have officially left the nest box. oldest chick is 32 days, youngest will be 4 weeks on sunday. I have seen some of the chicks trying to crack seeds on their own. Can the mother finish the job by herself, or do I need to intervene somehow? If so, how? the chick is fine, albeit a little nervous after the trauma. thank you in advance for any advice...

Thank youRobyn That picture you posted makes me feel better. The poops are much better today as well - no wet ones when I cleaned. Perhaps the chick was just converting to eating on its own more. I remember reading that post by Kaz now and today I put way more seeds, and two new millet sprigs in with the babes. You folks are priceless :hooray: Beth

Thank you Dave. I am putting millet and seed in the nestbox. I have a feeling the older chicks might be nibbling but I haven't seen it yet. The oldest chicks are 3 weeks old today; their eggs hatched a few hours apart. I am attaching an example of the hiding behavior. This chick will do anything to keep in the dark including running inside my shirt. In the picture it is hiding beneath the other oldest. The youngest chick turned 2 weeks today. Only this one chick does this. Thank you again, I'm a bit worried about it. Beth

Hello all, I have been studying your forum for quite a few months now but have never felt the need to pose a question until now. I have 2 1/2 year old parents with their first clutch of 5 chicks. Everything has been going exceptionally well, however over the past couple days I have noticed that the oldest chick is behaving quite different from the rest. It likes to keep a low profile, so to speak. While its siblings seem rather interested in looking around while I'm cleaning the nest box, the oldest does everything it can to bury it's head in the dark. When returned to the nest box it buries itself as deep as possible. It will also give a loud alarm chirp that gets the rest of the chicks going... It doesn't seem to have any developmental problems that are visual. Although always seemingly frightened it is as energetic as the rest... however, today when cleaning I noticed while its stool is mostly formed, it is much more wet than it's siblings. A puddle was under the partially formed stool, slightly yellowish in color. Could this chick be ill? And how, with what? I thank you in advance for any help that can be passed along. If anyone wants more info or needs pictures, let me know and I can provide them. Beth