thank you for the warm welcome l have joined the forum because today a hen in the aviary killed 4 of the 5 chicks in a nest so she could have the nest box there is 3 nest boxes in the aviary one is a twin and one is a single this is the first time l have had a aviary and what l am trying to find out is weather or not l should put the hen in with the baby as it has been injured but is about 4 weeks old and a fighter the baby looks very strong and l don't want to put hen in if she will kill it

what do you think l should do again thank you for the warm welcome Kazz

Hi Kazz, do you know which hen is the mother of the chick? If so, put her in with the chick in a separate cage if possible. It sounds like it was a different hen that killed the others. This is one of the problems with colony breeding. You really should have more nests than there is pairs (some recommend 2 nests for each pair) so that there is more choice and less competition for nesting space.

 

You can read about colony breeding and closed or cabinet breeding here:

 

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...=146&artlang=en

 

There are lots of other really good articles you can read in the FAQ section too.

 

 

Feathers.

Edited May 25, 200718 yr by feathers

Hi Kazz, do you know which hen is the mother of the chick? If so, put her in with the chick in a separate cage if possible. It sounds like it was a different hen that killed the others. This is one of the problems with colony breeding. You really should have more nests than there is pairs (some recommend 2 nests for each pair) so that there is more choice and less competition for nesting space.

 

You can read about colony breeding and closed or cabinet breeding here:

 

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...=146&artlang=en

 

There are lots of other really good articles you can read in the FAQ section too.

 

 

Feathers.

 

 

lt was a different hen that killed the baby's and l thought l had the nest and bird numbers okay as l only have 7 birds 3 hens and 4 cocks 1 cock is a juvenile and not quiet ready to be mated and 3 nest boxes l think the problem has been caused from the boxes being to close together

what l need to know is if it is safe to put mum in with bub she was raising 5 out of 6 eggs

You need more nestboxes than you have hens so the hens can choose a nest for themselves. The nests too close together can definitely be a problem as well though.

 

And, yes, if it was another hen that was harming the babies, putting the hen back in with the chick will be fine.

 

 

Feathers.

Edited May 25, 200718 yr by feathers

Yes a extra nest box & make sure they are all at the same height.

You need more nest boxes than you have hens so the hens can choose a nest for themselves. The nests too close together can definitely be a problem as well though.

 

And, yes, if it was another hen that was harming the babies, putting the hen back in with the chick will be fine.

 

 

Feathers.

 

Thank you for your advice Feathers bub is doing very well and l have a new problem l have become clucky LAMO if there is more than one chick to feed l will put the hen in next time but l think this bub and l are bonding bye the way my daughter has called it Tweety as it is yellow and has red eyes I will try to post a photo tomorrow of bub/Tweety if you have a week stomach don't look this photo is taken 24 hours after Tweety

was rescued

Edited May 25, 200718 yr by Kazz

Thank you for your advice Feathers bub is doing very well

 

I am so pleased that the chick is doing well, that's great.

 

l have become clucky LAMO if there is more than one chick to feed l will put the hen in next time but l think this bub and l are bonding

 

Ahh, it sounds as though Tweety may be a Lutino baby. The main thing is that the chick is healthy, either way.

 

I can't wait for the photos, even if they are a bit icky.

 

Feathers.

Edited May 26, 200718 yr by feathers

If the chick is 4 weeks old as you say, it will be fine if you want to finish raising it and are comfortable doing so. Most of them fledge at 4-5 weeks anyway. You just have to be sure it is eating well.

As others have said, in the colony breeding situation you have happening, you need TWICE as many nestboxes as breeding pairs.....and you need them far enough apart. There will always be a bird that wants another's nestbox. How big is the aviary you have them in ? Could we see some pictures of your setup so we can add anything more helpful to your situation ?

As I am the "author" of the Colony VS closed breeding topic in FAQs, you may note I have bred both ways in the past, and what isnt written down is I have twice suffered the loss of babies due to what you have just experienced. Having done so, I would not breed colony unless ....

I was sure of the pairs I had in there

I had massive amounts of space

Double the amount of nests

Had all day to watch out for trouble within the aviary relationships to circumvent problems quickly

...and I probably would only breed that way now, if there was absolutely no other choice.

But we all started somewhere with our learning curve and learning about birds and how to breed them. Its great that you are here and learning ( bit miffed about the name Kazz ) :budgiedance:

So, stick around and we will help you all we can.