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Hi all hens are different as to when they start incubating properly. Are you sure she is sitting on the eggs, they will feel warm if she is. They usually lay anything from three to eight eggs but some go overboard and lay lots more. Being her first round it shouldn't be to many. Have fun breeding Cheers Jenny

That sounds like a plan LOL

Hi budgie_mad, Agree %100 with finnie. Just want to say you might want to treat your birds with ivermectin as they look like they may have the beginnings of scaley face. I would wait at least until she has finished laying though because you don't want to hanle her while she has eggs inside her. Just keep an eye on them for the moment. Good luck hope you have lots of babies. Cheers Jenny

Definitely scaley mite as Nadene suggested ivermectin will do the trick you may have to repeat the dose in a couple of weeks to clear it though. Cheers Jenny

Hi Phoenix French moult is a virus called polyomavirus and I think like all viruses it is evolving all the time and common practice within breeding setups is to rest them for six months or more so the birds develope an immunity then try again. The problem usually arises when you introduce new birds as they may not be immune to your particular virus and yours visa versa. I find also if you are going to have a problem it is usually in the second or subsequent nests as the virus multiplies with each nest unless killed by a disinfectant that kills the virus. Your birds have all been exposed to the bird in question so they should have developed an immunity. Cheers Jenny

Sounds like you are doing the right thing, I haven't really put a lot of time into taming birds in the nest only the ones I have to hand rear. From what other people have said they do similar to what you're doing. Mums are pretty resilient just watch they don't get cold. Cheers Jenny

They do look plum to me though photos can be deceiving. Won't be long now and you will know for sure the way they are growing lol. Cheers Jenny

Yes they would be spangle recessive pied if she is recessive pied as well as double factor spangle. Recessive pied is good for pairing dark eyed clears to as well. Cheers Jenny

Correct on the double factor spangle she will produce only spangles or double factors as well if she is bred with another spangle. I would breed her with a non spangle first to see what she produces. Cheers Jenny

No only visual cinnamons have the plum eyes. Cheers Jenny

Hi your albino hen must also be a spangle but being albino you can't tell visually. Also you mentioned that their previous baby was an opaline dominant pied yellow face mutant two grey female so unless one of your parents is yellowface there must have been another father in the picture. Cheers Jenny

That's what it looks like lol. I didn't realize the question had been asked. Cheers Jenny

I agree with Finnie about the top one. The dark eyed clear is more than likely a double factor spangle, check to see if it has iris rings or not though you can also get recessive pied double factor spangles which won't have iris rings. Breeding results will soon tell you. The second dominant pied male looks to be violet cobalt. How old is number six is he fully coloured? Number 8 hen looks goldenface cobalt recessive pied. Cheers Jenny

Hi Kathryn I've made that mistake with photobucket before as well when I tried to organize them into albums now they just stay where they are lol. As for telling if the eggs need calcium they do have a different feel to them and they are more porous and sometimes soft. It is possible she broke it accidentally in a flutter, just make sure you tap or scrape on her box so she knows when you are inspecting the nest. Cheers Jenny

Hi Kathryn she looks like a yellowface opaline cinnamon violet and it is the cinnamon that softens her colours a bit. I think in one of your nest shots there is a moulted feather that looks brown, on my monitor anyway. Her markings are dark for a cinnamon but it may just be the violet influence. Cheers Jenny

Hi Alpaca boy, If I was just going by the photos I would say hen but from your description and the fact that it looks male in the first photo I would say male with a hormone or iodine problem. Have you got any photos of him in between? Very pretty bird by the way. Cheers Jenny

Hi Harry what a pretty bird, I think he is a double factor spangle cobalt with very heavy suffusion. It would be interesting to see what he looks like after he moults. Cheers Jenny

Hi Kathryn, they are looking great some of them look to have plum eyes so maybe you might have some cinnamons, their colours will be interesting. Cheers Jenny

Hi Kathryn first time mums sometimes are not sure what to do, when the next baby hatches check to see if it is being fed after a few hours if not try to give it a weak feed of the hand rearing formula and check in a bit later to see if she has fed it. You may have to do this a few times and hopefully she will take over as it gets stronger and begs for food louder. If you had chicks that were a couple of days older sometimes putting one of these in helps. Cheers Jenny

Hi milkthistle and seeding grasses can also encourage them to breed. It is also wise to have at least two nest boxes per hen so there is less chance of them fighting. Make sure that mice can't get to the nest boxes also as they can disturb them. It won't hurt to put some nesting material in the boxes as it stimulates them by wanting to clean it out it also provides some cushion for any eggs. Cheers Jenny

She looks like she may also be a cinnamon on my monitor but it is a bit hard to tell. Cheers Jenny

Not a lot just give them good quality feed with high protein as they have to replace their lost feathers. Some will grow all their feathers back and will never have a problem, others may never fly but get around fine so long as they can access food and water. It is a virus so they have to develope immunity to it, you might find other's may have the same problem so you might have to halt your breeding for about six months. Cheers Jenny

Hi it does look like French moult to me with typical feather loss pattern of the disease. cheers Jenny

Hi Aus, finchbreeder is only half correct but so as not to confuse you to much your male is an opaline cobalt which is a sexed linked mutation and he is also carrying the ino gene which is also sex linked. What this means is that all of your opalines and albinos will be hens and anything that isn't are boys. Hope this helps. Cheers Jenny

Hi check to see if the stubs of the feathers are still there, he may be chewing them himself and usually the stubs will stlll be there but they will be frayed. Cheers Jenny