i am having problems still with my hen, i feel i cannot work it out. i took out the male yesterday and this morning i check the babies at 7 am they where chirping and had empty crops and the hen was not in the nestbox. i had to go out this morning and i have come home and it is 10 am and the babies are still chirping with empty crops. What do i do now.Could i take out the hen and put the male with the babies.

Edited June 25, 200817 yr by deb

The fact that the babies are crying out for food means they may take a hand feed from you Deb. Do you have any handrearing formula you could make up and try and get into them...with syringue or anything ?

If no handrearing formula, then some babyfood or farex ?

i have handrearing mix because i handraised my last clutch.Would the male feed them if i put him in and took the hen out, she is not even sitting in the nestbox to keep them warm.

Hard to say Deb. You could try....remove the Mum though for just a little while and then see what happens with Dad in there...you will have to watch closely....and see what develops.

good news, i remove the hen and put the male in and he ran straight into the nestbox and started feeding them.

Brilliant. How old are the babies now Deb ?

Stupid bird, i went and check them to make sure he was still feeding them and they are chirping and he is now throwing the nesting material out and stopped feeding them, the babies range in age from 15 days to 10 days.

Looks like you have a problem. I would say if you cannot hand feed them yourself you need to go out and get a crop needle and get someone to show you how to use it.

The worst things happen when only ONE PAIR is set up for breeding. If the parents fail so do the chicks. I always advise at least three pairs breed at the same time so fostering is available to help out where some parents dont quite work out.

Anyone who can help you learn to crop feed or do you think they will take a feed from a syringue or spoon ?

i know how to handraise so i will make up mixture and give it to them.i know i should have had more pairs breeding but i was not planning to breed yet but this hen made a nest on the grate of the quarintinee cage. Should i take the babies away from the parents all together or leave them in the nest but feed them myself.

Deb, if you are comfortable with rearing these babies then go for it. It seems neither parent is up to the task now. Do you have a warm place to keep them ?

i have a heating cord that i used for the last lot i raised.

Good luck, Deb. The size of your "family" just increased. Let us know how it goes

thanks for all your help,one of the babies is very weak and so i am not sure if he will make it.My husband is going to have fun, i am going away this weekend and leaving him with our 4 kids to look after, now he has also got 4 babies birds to look after for me.He help feed the last lot i handraised so he knows what to do.

As I see it,the hen is a non feeder,or the humans are putting there hand in the nest box to often & have put her off feeding the chicks,if that not the case,cull the hen.See as this is the second lot you have had to hand feed,I would be looking for a reason,this has happened.If it not a human problem.

Try and feed the ill chick ASAP and make sure it's super warm, but not warm enough to dehydrate...

I've heard of gatorade being helpful as a life saver sue to the electrolites in it, although haven'ts personally tried it myself yet.

i know my kids have been opening up the nestbox and looking at the babies even though they have been told not too. could that have upset the hen.i had to go out today and i could not find my heat cord ( have found it now) so i feed the babies and then gave them back to the mother but what i have noticed is that she has feed all but the sick baby while i was away.

Yes, Deb...interferance by the kids could have caused the anxiety by the hen. I suggest in future a locking mechanism on the nest box...even a screw holding down the slider on the nestbox lid. Keep the breeding situation away from the kids and only show them the chicks when the chicks are past the danger point. If this is what happened last time, you have worked out why and now have to change how involved the kids are in the breeding program.

Edited June 25, 200817 yr by KAZ

last time the hen flew out of the aviary and left the babies behind and she never returned.

Maybe take the sick little one away and try to raise it yourself... especially if the hen is not feeding it anyway. This would also give her less chicks to look after if she decides to feed them full term again. I hope things will turn out for this clutch. Don't be too hard on yourself, things happen and we learn. I'm sure your husband will do a good job with them, as he helped last time. Please keep us updated and have a great weekend away!

Update, the sick one is inside being keep warm and fed but still no improvement. The other 3 are in the nestbox with Mum with full crops.

So, Mum is feeding the bubs now, Deb ?

i feed them this morning than put them back with her to give her another chance and then i check them this afternoon and she had feed all but the sick one so i removed him.

Very good news, Deb

i have told the kids to stay right away from the breeding cabinet so i am hoping if she is left alone for a few days she might settle down and be a good mum.

I would keep tying the parents, maybe seeing the cock did feed them some, you may have not left him long enough, I put a young bird back with the cock that wasn’t doing well & at first he didn’t feed but then settled down & fed it well. Maybe if you give them a few feeds but always give at least one parent access [put back in the nest] they may start off again & it’s certainly better than all that hard work…just keep an eye on how they are going.