I have experienced my first hen slaughtering her chicks to make room for clutch number two in the nestbox. What a great disappointment. First chick to go was a beautiful dark green chick from my dark green / split lacewing cock and lacewing hen. The chicks had been fostered to another nest....a dark green normal hen chick and another a grey green normal hen. The youngest chick was attacked by her own mother the lacewing and had a lacerated scalp that bled profusely. I stopped the bleeding and found the two chicks a foster nest where they were accepted and fed along with two other chicks. But 3 days later the chick with the lacerated scalp succumbed to a brain infection as the cut was much deeper than first examined. The chick was euthenased. All went well in that nest, but suddenly the dark green chick at 3 and a half weeks of age was out of the nest everytime I looked. So, in short, todays toll is the dark green chick I was enjoying looking at and the two foster siblings in that nest ( a DF white spangle and a dom pied grey spangle ) were killed by the mother/foster mother as she decided they were in the way of her starting round 2 of breeding. Couldnt anticipate this happening as all signs were good.

I really miss this chick

 

 

the other two, I have no recent photos of

:budgiedance:

Edited November 28, 200717 yr by KAZ

It happens so quick Kaz,They are going okay & in half an hour,they can be scalped,It becomes very trying.In most cases they are the better babys,You will have to put a mark against that hen.Remove chicks at X weeks. :angel1:

I'm sorry Kaz :budgiedance:

:angel1: :budgiedance: . Sorry Kaz.

hugs Kaz he was beautiful :budgiedance:

Sorry to hear about your losses Kaz, sadly we have to take lots of knocks, all we can do is go on & hope for better luck in the future. As you know I had a few attacks like that of late, but luckily so far they haven't been fatal as was your case. I lost a few nice hens of late that I just found dead. When they happen so fast there's is little that we can do.

 

 

To us life is not perfect, but it continues to move on…on Friday 23^rd last I lost my Dad 91 years old, yesterday my eldest daughter had my first Granddaughter 28^th.

Edited November 28, 200717 yr by Norm

l'm so sorry Kaz :budgiedance:

Sorry to hear about your losses Kaz, sadly we have to take lots of knocks, all we can do is go on & hope for better luck in the future. As you know I had a few attacks like that of late, but luckily so far they haven't been fatal as was your case. I lost a few nice hens of late that I just found dead. When they happen so fast there's is little that we can do.

 

 

To us life is not perfect, but it continues to move on…on Friday 23^rd last I lost my Dad 91 years old, yesterday my eldest daughter had my first Granddaughter 28^th.

Yes Norm, breeding is all about the ups and downs. More downs than ups some days. I think pet types were easier to breed than show types.

Sorry to hear about your Dad Norm. 91 is a good innings in anyones book and even though we expect these things it all comes as a a bit of a shock when it happens. First granddaughters are something to be joyful about though, and I am really enjoying mine now. She is at the stage where you can make her laugh :budgiedance:

Sorry Kaz :budgiedance:

Kaz.. came home tuesday to find my first scalping. Cock did the deed and is lucky I didn't ring it's neck. Hen was a Holmes and Howard recessive pied Dave paid $260 for. She is now raising 5 chicks instead of 6.

Sorry for all the sad news guys

Kaz.. came home tuesday to find my first scalping. Cock did the deed and is lucky I didn't ring it's neck. Hen was a Holmes and Howard recessive pied Dave paid $260 for. She is now raising 5 chicks instead of 6.

Bad news Daz Doesnt pay for us to get our hopes up sometimes

Oh no Kaz that's horrible. It really makes you wonder how killing your own babies to make way for more, really fits into the scheme of survival of the fittest . It's sad when you get your hopes up and they are suddenly dashed like that.

Norm, I'm really sorry to hear about your father, but that is great news about your first granddaughter

Thanks guys …yes Kaz I think you are right about the pet & show ones, some of the better type birds [show ] have been the main ones that are having infertile eggs. And instead of having 6, 7 or 8 babies your lucky to get one two or three. I have some pet types that even in cabinets the young are out of the nest straight onto the perch, like they are if bred in an aviary. The others leave the nest & build a pile in the corner & often after removing them to the aviary it’s weeks instead of a few days, even if only one parent was show type, before they make it to the perches. At least this is the experience I’m having. Most of my bought birds are being mated to unrelated birds & if they have a problem like one that I have that can’t fly, I mate it to a strong bird with no sign of problems & I will select heavily from the young. I have some nicer type birds that now on their second moult they are having trouble flying, because they have lost too many wing feathers at once, I hope to cull as many problems out as I can. If I buy a bird of good type & it seems to have problems they will get one generation to improve…like if they don’t feed I will foster, but if that young one when it grows up does the same it will be culled from breeding. I think it’s better even if a bird shows real promise for showing, but carries other problems, in my opinion, it’s better to drop it from breeding, as problems breed other problems & then you have years of trouble instead of just the once off.

Thanks guys …yes Kaz I think you are right about the pet & show ones, some of the better type birds [show ] have been the main ones that are having infertile eggs. And instead of having 6, 7 or 8 babies your lucky to get one two or three. I have some pet types that even in cabinets the young are out of the nest straight onto the perch, like they are if bred in an aviary. The others leave the nest & build a pile in the corner & often after removing them to the aviary it’s weeks instead of a few days, even if only one parent was show type, before they make it to the perches. At least this is the experience I’m having. Most of my bought birds are being mated to unrelated birds & if they have a problem like one that I have that can’t fly, I mate it to a strong bird with no sign of problems & I will select heavily from the young. I have some nicer type birds that now on their second moult they are having trouble flying, because they have lost too many wing feathers at once, I hope to cull as many problems out as I can. If I buy a bird of good type & it seems to have problems they will get one generation to improve…like if they don’t feed I will foster, but if that young one when it grows up does the same it will be culled from breeding. I think it’s better even if a bird shows real promise for showing, but carries other problems, in my opinion, it’s better to drop it from breeding, as problems breed other problems & then you have years of trouble instead of just the once off.

I totally agree with everything you have said here Norm. :sad: