Egg With Brown Spot Peeping

[Kazoo 0]

Hi:

My hen Kazoo and her six eggs saga continues. I have been spooning eggs that have rolled out of her nest occasionally. Just a minute ago, I picked up one, which had a huge brown spot on it, and it started peeping. A faint, high pitched, but definitely peeping sound. Other eggs have some brown spots on them, too. Is this a bad sign? They otherwise appear white. It doesn't look like bird poop. The eggs otherwise look fertile, except for one, which is pinkish.

 

Is this the sound of a chick about to hatch? Or is something horribly wrong here? And in any case, what should I do, or is there anything I can do about these eggs? 18 days after the first one would have been the 30th of October.

 

Thanks in advance

[Dave_McMinn 0]

You have to remember it is not 18 days after the first one is layed, it is 18 days since incubation begins.

 

There is not much you can do. I am not sure what the brown spots mean but if I was you, I would not do anything but wait. This is the hardest period, waiting for the eggs to hatch, and being so close. the more anxious you are, the more you will check, the more you wills tres the hen, the worse results you will achieve.

 

Relax, stress less, and see what happens.

[Kazoo 0]

Baby hatched last night during the night!

I lined cage with some millet and clipped some above the nestbox entrance. It is moving its arms and legs, peeping quietly, and seems as though its head is too heavy to lift. Is that normal?

These are first time parents. I am going to leave them alone for the day. When should baby be fed by? I read the post about possibly needing to feed. When should I check to see if gullet has food in it? Right on day one? I understood they need to be fed the first day or they will die.

I am a first time budgie breeder, and this is my very first chick. Any advice on what to do next would be greatly appreciated. I have completely covered the front of the cage where the nesting box is, for privacy for them, and black door on access end of nesting box is in place.

[renee 0]

Baby hatched last night during the night!

I lined cage with some millet and clipped some above the nestbox entrance. It is moving its arms and legs, peeping quietly, and seems as though its head is too heavy to lift. Is that normal?

These are first time parents. I am going to leave them alone for the day. When should baby be fed by? I read the post about possibly needing to feed. When should I check to see if gullet has food in it? Right on day one? I understood they need to be fed the first day or they will die.

I am a first time budgie breeder, and this is my very first chick. Any advice on what to do next would be greatly appreciated. I have completely covered the front of the cage where the nesting box is, for privacy for them, and black door on access end of nesting box is in place.

Well you'd want it to be fed by first thing tomorrow morning. Sometimes a maiden hen takes her time in figuring out that she has to produce crop milk and feed it. Do you have a more experienced hen lined up to foster it to?

[Kazoo 0]

Baby hatched last night during the night!

I lined cage with some millet and clipped some above the nestbox entrance. It is moving its arms and legs, peeping quietly, and seems as though its head is too heavy to lift. Is that normal?

These are first time parents. I am going to leave them alone for the day. When should baby be fed by? I read the post about possibly needing to feed. When should I check to see if gullet has food in it? Right on day one? I understood they need to be fed the first day or they will die.

I am a first time budgie breeder, and this is my very first chick. Any advice on what to do next would be greatly appreciated. I have completely covered the front of the cage where the nesting box is, for privacy for them, and black door on access end of nesting box is in place.

Well you'd want it to be fed by first thing tomorrow morning. Sometimes a maiden hen takes her time in figuring out that she has to produce crop milk and feed it. Do you have a more experienced hen lined up to foster it to?

 

I do not. I understand I can sterilize an eyedropper and mix up some baby rice pablum or some yogurt and run some around the outside of her tiny beak to give her a first feeding, which I plan to do in about 5 hours from now (about 12 hours after she hatched) I haven't been home to check and see if mom fed her or not. But is this right? Does anyone have any additional or better suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance

[robyn 0]

Hi, When you check chick if it has whitish look in crop it will have been fed, parents will feed it on it's back for first few days, if it's squeaking and active they should feed it, you can check it's crop it won't be much at first, it's head will be floppy for a while. They don't need box covered, they need good access to food and water etc. If they feed first chick all should be well for others but keep checking to make sure. Mum should cover chick and Dad may be in box as well. Good luck with it , first times the hardest.

[Kazoo 0]

Hi and thanks for your response:

 

I took it out and it looks active and healthy but I'm not exactly sure what a "whiteish crop" looks like -- it is so tiny! Can anyone refer me to a picture of a newborn chick with a full crop for comparison?

[Hamish 0]

You will be able to tell if the crop has anything in it. If it is empty it will just be pink all the way down its neck and will be uniform size down the neck.If it has been fed, you will see a bulge of clearer skin with white crop milk on the insde of it. It'll be located about 5mm from its beak in a new born chick. It is a very stark contrast so you should be able to tell by looking.This chicks a bit older but this is what it looks like.

 

http://www.parrotmaniauk.com/files/2_days.3.JPG

Edited November 7, 2009 by Hamish

[Kazoo 0]

Thank you so much for posting this picture Hamish. I did see a yellow bulge that was much smaller than this, however it was definitely there. I think I was getting confused because the crop has been described on this board as being at the base of its throat, when in fact it seems to me more in the upper torso/lung area. I appreciate you taking the time to post this picture. And am now feeling really relieved, as I had purchased bird pablum, sterilized a glass eyedropper and bought a thermometer because it was born about 20 hours ago now, and I knew it needed some nutrition within the first 24 hours. So hooray! my first time mom has fed her chick, and this chick is very relieved....

[robyn 0]

Great news, now you can rest easier. Great picture Hamish would have helped a lot. A picture paints a thousand words etc.

[Dave_McMinn 0]

Relax and do not "over-check" on them. Comments like "I took it out" make me wonder why. If the mum is feeding it, and you can tell this by looking, then leave it alone. If you want the hen to abandon the chicks, then keep checking constantly, as that will stress her.

[robyn 0]

Hi Kazoo, just had a thought on what Dave said earlier. If Mum lays say 3 eggs and only sits after that would all three hatch together, or still 2 days or so apart?

Mine all 'sat' from first egg so I was just curious. Have you had any more hatch? The pinkish one is probably clear. Cheers.

[Kazoo 0]

Hi Kazoo, just had a thought on what Dave said earlier. If Mum lays say 3 eggs and only sits after that would all three hatch together, or still 2 days or so apart?

Mine all 'sat' from first egg so I was just curious. Have you had any more hatch? The pinkish one is probably clear. Cheers.

 

Good question:

Mine only started sitting after the 5th one was laid, because I had to remove 4 eggs she laid at the bottom of the cage and put them back in after she laid the fifth (which I also had to place in the nest box) I didn't mark the eggs. There are now 6, with one hatched and a second one peeping as of last night, so I'm thinking another one is soon due to hatch. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I can answer your question. Cheers.

[Kate 0]

That's an amazing picture of the baby chick! Great job.

 

It's hard not to feel like a "co-parent" but you have to give them a chance to use their instincts.

 

During egg stage I couldn't find the dad in the cage so I opened the nest box and saw mom and dad both in there, with dad sitting on the eggs. Without thinking I gently put my hand in to shoo him out so I could check the eggs, and momentarily he leaned back and gave me the "eee-eee-eee" machine noise before jumping up and flying out. I could have kicked myself for doing that to him on impulse.

 

I am SO LUCKY he resumed his duties feeding mom, etc.-----I could very easily have disrupted their rhythm of responsibilities, by butting in like that.

[Kazoo 0]

The chick has died. I found her in the corner of the nesting box far away from the nest. I read on here about possibly warming them back to life, so cupped her in my hands and blew warm breath onto her for about 20 minutes, but she was clearly dead. After checking last night and being convinced that mom had fed her, (I'm referring to 'it' as a 'her') I decided (given my anxious tendencies) that the best thing to do was trust them to do their job and give them their privacy. So I moved my computer out of the office and made sure they weren't disturbed at all for the day. When I went in at about 5:30 p.m. to check on them, I found the chick. I had bought everything necessary to feed her, but decided it wasn't necessary because mom had assumed the duties. I'm not sure what happened, but I am frequently having to spoon the eggs back into the nest, so I think she moves around alot in there, and thus the chick ended up at the far side of the box. Her skin was so translucent I'm not sure if she was injured, died of cold, or of starvation. I'm amazed at how much grief I feel, and remorse that I did not check earlier.

Edited November 8, 2009 by Kazoo

[robyn 0]

Sorry about your chick Kazoo, just when things started to look positive. I f Mum didn't cover chick during night, or day for that matter it could have died from cold. I suppose it's very cold there now anyway. Stick with it the others may do better if they hatch. I don't think you could have done any more yourself. Keep us posted on the other eggs.

[Kazoo 0]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, Robyn.

[renee 0]

The chick has died. I found her in the corner of the nesting box far away from the nest. I read on here about possibly warming them back to life, so cupped her in my hands and blew warm breath onto her for about 20 minutes, but she was clearly dead. After checking last night and being convinced that mom had fed her, (I'm referring to 'it' as a 'her') I decided (given my anxious tendencies) that the best thing to do was trust them to do their job and give them their privacy. So I moved my computer out of the office and made sure they weren't disturbed at all for the day. When I went in at about 5:30 p.m. to check on them, I found the chick. I had bought everything necessary to feed her, but decided it wasn't necessary because mom had assumed the duties. I'm not sure what happened, but I am frequently having to spoon the eggs back into the nest, so I think she moves around alot in there, and thus the chick ended up at the far side of the box. Her skin was so translucent I'm not sure if she was injured, died of cold, or of starvation. I'm amazed at how much grief I feel, and remorse that I did not check earlier.

Maiden hens can be notoriously difficult which is why it is always wise to put a couple of pairs down at the same time with a guaranteed back up 'super Mum' among the mix so you can intervene and foster a chicks that isn't getting fed. However, sometimes that is just not possible because you only own one pair.

 

A healthy chick is bright pink when it is born. Unhealthy chicks have a 'yellow belly' which indicates the yolk sack in unable to be absorbed properly or are a whitish colour or are bright red. Any chicks with these characteristics have been infected while in the egg or from their parents or have a genetic misnomer. These chicks will not survive and many times the parents will simply not feed these chicks and they will die.

 

To reduce the instances of unhealthy chicks it is very important that your budgies are themselves very healthy to begin with. Many breeders give their budgies an extended course of doxycyline before beginning to breed.

 

Best of Luck with the next chickies and keep us posted!

[Kazoo 0]

Thank you for the information and well-wishes with subsequent chicks. The first one looked extremely pink, active and peeping when born, however i may have missed something, given this is my first time also. The mom has quite a skitterishness about her, and I do wish I had a backup super foster mom, unfortunately, this is not an option.

[renee 0]

Thank you for the information and well-wishes with subsequent chicks. The first one looked extremely pink, active and peeping when born, however i may have missed something, given this is my first time also. The mom has quite a skitterishness about her, and I do wish I had a backup super foster mom, unfortunately, this is not an option.

 

Aaaahhhhh. Skittishness is not s good sign I'm afraid. Ideally you want a dopey, placid hen. But you need to work with what you've got so TRY not to disturb her. A look in the morning and late in the afternoon is all you need to do. Remember a chickie can go for many hours without being fed. Its peeping stimulates the hen into feeding it. Leave her alone and fingers crossed Nature will take its course.

[Kazoo 0]

All 6 eggs/chicks have died. The second and third died while trying to get out of the shells, which I could see happening this morning, the fourth one died but all I could find was half the shell. The fifth egg wasn't fertile (pink) and the sixth egg was thrown out of the nest. The hen took the mason lid jar of food and pulled it over the nest - it could have been accidental, but she'd clearly had enough. :rip:

[renee 0]

All 6 eggs/chicks have died. The second and third died while trying to get out of the shells, which I could see happening this morning, the fourth one died but all I could find was half the shell. The fifth egg wasn't fertile (pink) and the sixth egg was thrown out of the nest. The hen took the mason lid jar of food and pulled it over the nest - it could have been accidental, but she'd clearly had enough. :rip:

 

Oh that is really bad luck.

 

Sounds to me as if she just isn't quite mature enough yet (psychologically).

 

Give her a complete rest, remove the nest box, and wait and watch. When she is ready again to go down she will let you know.

 

Or alternatively you may decide not to bred with her ..... it's up to you.

[Kazoo 0]

Hi Renee: Thanks for your response. I agree with you about the maturity in her being quite young, and also her temperament is not ideal. It was obvious she found the whole experience terrifying and stressful. The box has been removed, and I have given the cage a good cleaning. I hadn't planned on this breeding, it just sort of happened, so I tried my best to support it. Would a hen possibly have a different experience if this were to happen again? i.e. have a better mothering instinct? Or do they tend to be the same kind of moms from the get-go?

Edited November 9, 2009 by Kazoo

[renee 0]

Hi Renee: Thanks for your response. I agree with you about the maturity in her being quite young, and also her temperament is not ideal. It was obvious she found the whole experience terrifying and stressful. The box has been removed, and I have given the cage a good cleaning. I hadn't planned on this breeding, it just sort of happened, so I tried my best to support it. Would a hen possibly have a different experience if this were to happen again? i.e. have a better mothering instinct? Or do they tend to be the same kind of moms from the get-go?

 

Hard to say Kazoo. You can't get away from the fact she has had a very negative first time experience, who's to say she will from now on associate breeding with stress and bother?

 

I have had it go either way, some hens go on to become wonderful mothers - one was a complete psycho and never did get the hang of it.

 

What I will say for certain is that good mothers produce good mothers. :rip:

Edited November 9, 2009 by renee

[robyn 0]

Hi Kazoo, Well that was a totally awful outcome for you after all your care and concern. Don't let it deter you from trying to raise more birds at a later date. Mark it all down to experience, but sad in any case. Better luck next time. :rip: