I caught my hen and cock mating this morning... and I don't want them to. I have a 16 day old chick in the nest, the mother is not in full condition (underweight) and I want her to take a break from breeding and laying again. Is the chick still too young to remove the mum and let dad take over? Please let me know, I don't want to risk the hen's health by letting her lay another clutch.

Edited September 27, 200816 yr by chrissy0705

Its a worry isnt it ? Yes the chick is too young and the hen is really starting too early. The risks you take when a hen want to start again is her removing or attacking any chick in the nest to acchieve her new clean nest. Do you have any others you can foster the chick to with other chicks ?

Is it an only chick ? That would explain her starting early on the next clutch.

More info please

Its a worry isnt it ? Yes the chick is too young and the hen is really starting too early. The risks you take when a hen want to start again is her removing or attacking any chick in the nest to acchieve her new clean nest. Do you have any others you can foster the chick to with other chicks ?

Is it an only chick ? That would explain her starting early on the next clutch.

More info please

 

 

I have two other breeding pairs but no eggs from either one yet.

This was the only surviving chick in a clutch of 5 (2 never hatched and 2 hatched and died)

Can I take the chick from the nest and put it on the floor of the breeding cage in the ice cream igloo and let dad feed?

Will the mum throw her out or hurt her before she lays an egg or after the eggs start coming?

You could try the icecream tub igloo with lots of wood shavings for warmth. Might need to put a warm lamp on the cage near the tub....the tub will neeed to be open topped so Dad can see the baby. Its all a risk. Do you have any friends nearby with chicks in a nest of a similar age and the baby can be fostered ?

Edited September 27, 200816 yr by KAZ

You could try the icecream tub igloo with lots of wood shavings for warmth. Might need to put a warm lamp on the cage near the tub....the tub will neeed to be open topped so Dad can see the baby. Its all a risk. Do you have any friends nearby with chicks in a nest of a similar age and the baby can be fostered ?

 

No, I don't. My sister in law and my mother in law are the only two people close to me that have birds and they have a total of 3 teils and 2 keets, but all of them are very young (just a few months old).

 

Should I wait for the igloo or do it now before there is an egg? Mum seems to be fine with the bub so far, still feeding and in the nesxt box... ? When would I see signs of trouble?

Wait and watch

I agree with Kaz - It is 16 days old now, and after mating 7 - 10 days a egg is laid so you have a good window of opportunity there with the igloo method. At it will be 23 - 26 days old if all goes to plan ....

Should I do the igloo now at 16 days old or wait a for the first egg??? I don't want to remove her if there are no issues, but I don't want to wait too long and it be too late... So igloo now or in a week? Oh, and if I put the igloo in, how far away from the nest box should I put it? My cage is 48" long (FYI).

Edited September 28, 200816 yr by chrissy0705

Should I do the igloo now at 16 days old or wait a for the first egg??? I don't want to remove her if there are no issues, but I don't want to wait too long and it be too late... So igloo now or in a week? Oh, and if I put the igloo in, how far away from the nest box should I put it? My cage is 48" long (FYI).

Leave it as it is and wait and watch. No igloo for now. Risks with the igloo are that Dad also decides to ignore the baby in an igloo and proceed to just worry about impregnating the mother. If Mum isnt getting mean or tossing the baby out of the nest ( please watch closely for that ) it will be okay for now. As Neat says you should have some more days before an egg. More days the baby has to grow and be fed in the nest all the better

Edited September 28, 200816 yr by KAZ

Agree with Kaz 110% mate. Wait BUT watch Good Luck

okay guys, thank you so much. all is well as of this morning so I will keep an eye on things and keep you updated. thank you.

okay so I take it this is a further sign that my hen is getting ready to lay again. This morning I checked on the chick (whom at this time is still doing well) and I notice alot of the bedding I had in the next box was gone. I looked outside the nest box on the breeding cage floor, and sure enough the hen has emptied almost all the nesting material from the box. I have not caught them mating again since the other day, but I'm assuming this is another step closer? How much longer do you think I have? I also wanted to know how I'm suppose to tell if the chick is or can eat seed yet? Do I try to introduce it in the nest box along with the millet or do I try to see if he'll take some out of my hand? He's 19 days old now, how old will he be before he can try to eat seed on his own??

Edited September 30, 200816 yr by chrissy0705

After mating I think eggs arrive at around 10 days.

 

I personally think 19 days old chick is still young and usually chicks of age over 4 weeks will start trying to eat on their own.