Ravengypsy

Well the pins are comming in on the wings, looks like chick #1 is going to be a blue series, maybe grey, but definatly normal markings like the father. I'll try to get a new picture posted soon, he's 13 days old today. Egg #4 from Duchess is 4 days late and is probably DIS. I fostered out eggs 5 & 6 on the 5th, but they may have been fostered too late to save them, as egg 5 was due on the 6th and has not yet hatched. All three were fertile eggs and can see the formed chick inside the eggs. I'll remove the eggs after a week past their due date. I'm still crossing my fingers that egg 6 might make it. Hopefully round 2 will be more fertile, both hens were maiden mothers and the environment was a bit stressful durring the breeding process while we built the aviary and this may have caused some of the issues this round. But luckily there shouldn't be any further distractions when they start round 2.

HOW CUTE! Congrats on the babies, they look healthy.

hey norm, bringing up an old topic of yours... did you end up figuring out of these 'dusks' were the green form of a Slate and sex-linked? Kaz, do you still have that article on the 'dusk'?

Here is pictures taken a few hours ago, chick #1 is 8 days old (egg #4 is due to hatch tomorrow) -

adorable cinnamon spangle!!!

good to know Norm, I'm thinking what I'll do is let Duchess raise the older chick and egg #4, then let Dawn raise eggs #5 & 6.. so they both have only 2 chicks and then neither will be too bad off for round 2 to start around the same time in case of issues. Since I only have 3 pairs breeding right now, but only these two have eggs.

probably will have eggs within the week

Norm, that's what made me concerned to begin with.. that the fertile eggs might get addled in the original nest which is why I thought of swapping eggs for incubation. But my concern with that is as Daz pointed out the fact that this change in possible temperature could cause the eggs to not hatch either.

thanks Karen, I'll probably try that then. The first egg is due to hatch on Jan 3rd so hopefully it will work out.

would it be better then to just let the hen with the older chick try to hatch her fertile eggs... then just remove the clear eggs from the wouldbe foster hen and have her try again? I'm not sure why Dawns eggs are all clear, the pair may have all clear the next batch too... which was one of the reasons I thought of letting her do the fostering and give the fertile pair a chance to have more fertile eggs in the next round since she'd be better rested with only one chick.

both hens are first timers, thanks for the heads up Daz I didn't realize that. So if I were to foster them right before hatching, I should swap the day before it's due?

From what I've heard, my fertile eggs may not hatch from Duchess since the first baby that hatched is 9 days older than the other eggs that are due to hatch. And this may cause issues with such a long difference in hatch dates. So I'm looking for advice, as I want these fertile eggs to have the best possible chance to survive. Should I foster those eggs or leave them with the hen? Duchess (hen with the baby chick) has still been nesting tightly to her eggs so far (she's a good mom), I put a false egg under her to keep her from sitting too tightly since I'd removed the 2 infertile eggs. The other eggs under her aren't due until Jan 3rd (the same day as Dawns 1st egg is due to hatch if it wasn't clear). Would it be better to leave the fertile eggs under Duchess and let her try to hatch the rest of the eggs herself with the early chick and just remove the infertile eggs from Dawn next week and start new round of egg laying? Or would it be better to swap Duchess's fertile eggs with some of Dawn's infertile eggs and let her foster them since they are due the same day? Here is the info on the two pairs, they've both stopped laying eggs for this round. Advise is welcome Duchess: (currently has 1 baby and 3 viable eggs) 1 - L: Dec 07 // Hatched: Dec 25 2 - L: Dec 09 // Clear - removed egg 12/23 3 - L: Dec 14 // Clear - removed & replaced with fake egg 12/23 4 - L: Dec 16 // Due: Jan 3 (Fertile 12/23) 5 - L: Dec 19 // Due: Jan 6 (Fertile 12/23) 6 - L: Dec 21 // Due: Jan 8 (still showing clear 12/23, probably fertile) Dawn: (currently has 5 clear eggs) 1 - L: Dec 16 // Due: Jan 3 (clear egg 12/26) 2 - L: Dec 18 // Due: Jan 5 (clear egg 12/26) 3 - L: Dec 20 // Due: Jan 7 (clear egg 12/26) 4 - L: Dec 22 // Due: Jan 9 (still showing clear 12/26, too early) 5 - L: Dec 24 // Due: Jan 11 (still showing clear 12/26, too early)

(Laughing out loud).. I like Lotto... that's unique and fitting

glad to hear he made it okay, and he is adorable

Duke & Duchess had their first chick hatch (Egg #1) this morning on Christmas Day! The baby is healthy and has a full crop this morning, the hen has already eaten the egg shell. (eggs 2 & 3 were clear, eggs 4 & 5 are fertile, egg 6 is still unknown)

the breeder who has it currently sent me photos to my work email, I'll post them on Monday.. she has the bird in a show cage next to a normal and next to a cinnamon for comparison and the wings are darker brown than cinnamon but lighter than a normal and definatly brown (if i didn't know about brownwing I would have said it was a darkly marked cinnamon with no suffusion) the body color is full color. Eyes are black. the one she has happens to be a goldenface as well (the brother to my goldenface cobalt, Dawn)

I'm trying to do some research on brownwings to see if a bird currently in question among the judges here in the US might possiblly a brownwing .. and any information on brownwings to see if this may be a new strain or the re-emerging recesive strain. The breeder is curious about this as well, but doesn't have the inclination to try to work on the mutation if it is actually a brownwing and may hand the bird to me to try to work on in her stead. Anyways.. that's why I'm asking for information on brownwings if anyone has anything they know or can refrence. I've already done a search on google and gathered what I could online that I was able to find, but I may have missed things. I'll post pictures later that have comparison shots of this particular bird next to a normal and next to a cinnamon. I have heard rumors that others may have possible brownwings re-emerging as well in Australia and UK.. and if so would like to find out more. Thanks for any help.

Duke & Duchess currently have 5 eggs (12/19/07) Dawn & Dusk currently have 3 eggs (12/20/07) egg 1 from Duchess is definatly fertile and I can clearly see it filling with a chick and should hatch on Christmas day, however I think egg 2 is looking clear and unfertile at this stage (it was the egg I found on the side of the nestbox the day it was laid). I haven't candled 3-5 yet but will do so this weekend.

opalesence in a show bird would be a fault?

I've heard rumor that in colder months (aka lower temps) you are more likely to get males... whereas in warmer months (aka higher temps) you are more likely to get females... I am curious if anyone has noticed this?

thanks for those new pics of pied spangles... how pretty they are! and now that I know what to look for I can see the markings though faint. Saved those pics for future comparisons as I do have dom pieds and spangles in my aviary and never know when it'll show up

thank you all that is the info I was looking for! This helps alot.

so sad, I'm so sorry to hear about the losses Kaz.... has this hen ever had issues before and will you breed her again later?

Both pairs laid eggs today (12/16/07) The first pictures are of Dusk & Dawn (Egg #1): The pics below are from Duke & Duchess (Egg #4):

My second pair, Dusk (grey cock - 05 import from Germany) & Dawn (goldenfaced cobalt hen) just laid their first egg today 12/16/07.