One of my pair's have clear eggs when I candled them, other pairs are showing fertile that have laid after this couple....

 

Question:

Do you take the eggs away straight away or leave them till rough due date..???

 

Should I give her a break or let her lay again...she is with my best cock also....

 

cheers

If all eggs were laid more than 3 days ago since the last egg then i would take them away because an egg should show fertility after 3day of the hen sitting, leaving them there is a waist of time.

If all eggs were laid more than 3 days ago since the last egg then i would take them away because an egg should show fertility after 3day of the hen sitting, leaving them there is a waist of time.

i disagree sorry splat

i leave each egg till 5 to 6 days after its been layed as sometimes a hen wont sit on clutch till all eggs layed other times they sit straight up

sometimes mid lay

so i say after 5 to 6 days of the eggs lay date if not showing anything then take away

but if others are fertile leave in till one week off hatching incase you get a slow starter

its not really a wast of time if they sit cause can use as foster if need be

and leave them sit on all clear eggs and when eggs hatch date comes around take one egg and replace with another hens baby of one or two days old

that way they raise something and then second clutch should be firtile as feeding stimulates the cocks into contition after the seven week care of chicks leaving him rearing to go

if second clutch is infertile id toss them eggs and let birds fly a bit

But Gb if after all eggs are laid and it has been more than 3 days but lets say 5 for sure then , then it is a waist of time for the hen to sit any longer, Plus I do not put fertile eggs or babies under hens with infertile eggs as they are infertile for a reason. Hens that have infertile eggs don't seem to raise young (feeding) as well as hens that have fertile eggs. A top breeder told me this and I adhere to it as it makes sense.

But Gb if after all eggs are laid and it has been more than 3 days but lets say 5 for sure then , then it is a waist of time for the hen to sit any longer, Plus I do not put fertile eggs or babies under hens with infertile eggs as they are infertile for a reason. Hens that have infertile eggs don't seem to raise young (feeding) as well as hens that have fertile eggs. A top breeder told me this and I adhere to it as it makes sense.

well im not a top breeder but im telling you thats a crock as i have always gotten firtile eggs second round by encouraging to feed a clutch of two at most

you dont swap eggs you make sure you have a hen with say 5 firtile eggs due on same days or next day and you place the first hatched two chicks under infertile hen straight away as soon as they are found to be hatched best if they have been feed first and that the egg away as you place the chicks

so one hatched put in nest take a egg

two days on next chick place in chick take egg

then let her feed for three days and then take all eggs out that are left

the other hen will have her third chick by then and if by chance the hen isnt a good feeder than you simply place chick back with original mum one at time and the out come is productive as you know thatt the hens not good mum and you can just cull her but ive never needed to do that

and if she does feed good she raises giving less load to other hen and then next round possibly laying new fertile eggs due to being stimulated into new cycle

i have always done it that way always

i dont see it as a waste

i see it as a chance

every mother deserves a chance dosent she

Yes i agree with you Gb as I have always done it until this breeding season, but what I was told makes sense too but everyone has there own ideas.

But Gb if after all eggs are laid and it has been more than 3 days but lets say 5 for sure then , then it is a waist of time for the hen to sit any longer, Plus I do not put fertile eggs or babies under hens with infertile eggs as they are infertile for a reason. Hens that have infertile eggs don't seem to raise young (feeding) as well as hens that have fertile eggs. A top breeder told me this and I adhere to it as it makes sense.

I disagree with this totally as many a hen with infertile eggs in her nest has raised another hens babies or eggs fostered.

 

The problem sometimes with the show breeding fraternity is the OLD WIVE'S TALES that get passed along, mostly by an older generation of breeders and much of which is nonsense. This is not to say there isnt good info passed along too :hi:

Edited August 18, 201014 yr by KAZ

So cool I started off a debate here.

But Gb if after all eggs are laid and it has been more than 3 days but lets say 5 for sure then , then it is a waist of time for the hen to sit any longer, Plus I do not put fertile eggs or babies under hens with infertile eggs as they are infertile for a reason. Hens that have infertile eggs don't seem to raise young (feeding) as well as hens that have fertile eggs. A top breeder told me this and I adhere to it as it makes sense.

I disagree with this totally as many a hen with infertile eggs in her nest has raised another hens babies or eggs fostered.

 

The problem sometimes with the show breeding fraternity is the OLD WIVE'S TALES that get passed along, mostly by an older generation of breeders and much of which is nonsense. This is not to say there isnt good info passed along too

 

Sometimes the "older" generation of breeders have valuable information, they are the ones who have built the society to were it is today

 

Also, I thought you shouldnt move chicks under 5 days old, because of touching them, the hens won't feed or sit? Also, wouldn't the hen notice if the chick isn't theirs?

 

The problem sometimes with the show breeding fraternity is the OLD WIVE'S TALES that get passed along, mostly by an older generation of breeders and much of which is nonsense. This is not to say there isnt good info passed along too

 

Sometimes the "older" generation of breeders have valuable information, they are the ones who have built the society to were it is today

 

Also, I thought you shouldnt move chicks under 5 days old, because of touching them, the hens won't feed or sit? Also, wouldn't the hen notice if the chick isn't theirs?

I already covered that point about the older generation I believe

 

What you believe about the moving chicks thing is wrong information too. And no....the hens do not know the difference if a chick is theirs or someone elses. The smell of a chick is irrelevant as budgies have a poor sense of smell. I shift many many chicks into other nests and none are rejected. I will shift them from newborn age too and I do not wear gloves for the "smell of human touch on my hands"

Edited August 19, 201014 yr by KAZ

I move my chicks if needed but I rub the smell of the nest they are going into over their body so the the hen thinks it is hers.

I move my chicks if needed but I rub the smell of the nest they are going into over their body so the the hen thinks it is hers.

This is actually unnecessary. As budgies have a very poor sense of smell whether a chick smells like theirs or not makes no difference. The fosters accept any chick given to them ( as long as it isnt older and fully feathered and looking like an adult ) without the need to rub anything on them to change a "smell". It may be a habit you have developed Splat but its not a necessary one at all. I shifted around several chicks yesterday to even up some nestboxes and to get some smaller chicks in bigger sibling nests fed better. Noone of them got rubbed with anything and they were all well fed by the late afternoon feed. No rejections.

Edited August 18, 201014 yr by KAZ

But Gb if after all eggs are laid and it has been more than 3 days but lets say 5 for sure then , then it is a waist of time for the hen to sit any longer, Plus I do not put fertile eggs or babies under hens with infertile eggs as they are infertile for a reason. Hens that have infertile eggs don't seem to raise young (feeding) as well as hens that have fertile eggs. A top breeder told me this and I adhere to it as it makes sense.

I disagree with this totally as many a hen with infertile eggs in her nest has raised another hens babies or eggs fostered.

 

The problem sometimes with the show breeding fraternity is the OLD WIVE'S TALES that get passed along, mostly by an older generation of breeders and much of which is nonsense. This is not to say there isnt good info passed along too

 

 

I am in complete agreement with Kaz here. Just because someone is a top breeder doesn't mean they know their stuff either.

 

Wether to remove clear eggs or not will dpend on what is going on in the bird room. In mine for instance I have one pair who after a round of clear eggs have now raised two rounds from other nests and I might add in the case of a couple of the chicks better than the original mother who had fertile eggs. I have two hens who has addled their eggs so now as the eggs are laid they are substituted with false ones, the eggs they lay are moved to another hen who I don't want a second round from but will raise these chicks in fine style. Day before the eggs hatch I will transfer one egg back into original nest so it hatches under the mum and at least get her started on the rearing and then foster to her as I go along.

 

Rubbing stuff from the nestbox onto chicks is not necessary, as Kaz said budgies have a poor sense of small. This is a mammalian trait. Mammals have a highly evolved sense of smell and they are widely known to reject young that have an altered smell. Even adults captured during research sometimes have to be cleared of human smells when released back into the population for if not they may be rejected by the resident population.

 

The older generation is not a smart as some like to think they are. There are some real dummies out there! Being old does not equal smart!

Edited August 18, 201014 yr by RIPbudgies

I never once said this breeder was OLD, I said a top breeder. Anyway I only mentioned it to see what reaction I get But anyway I will still stick to my guns. I will continue to rub my babies maybe it is a habit I picked up but a couple of times I didn't do and the hens threw the baby out onto the floor. So I will continue with my ways. Maybe my birds are smart

 

If the birds can't smell much then how most books most breeders will tell you not to touch the nest (eggs/babies) if you have a different smaell on your hands for example a different hand wash or just had a smoke. >>> SO MAYBE THIS IS DEBATABLE TOO

Edited August 19, 201014 yr by splat

I never once said this breeder was OLD, I said a top breeder. Anyway I only mentioned it to see what reaction I get But anyway I will still stick to my guns. I will continue to rub my babies maybe it is a habit I picked up but a couple of times I didn't do and the hens threw the baby out onto the floor. So I will continue with my ways. Maybe my birds are smart

 

If the birds can't smell much then how most books most breeders will tell you not to touch the nest (eggs/babies) if you have a different smaell on your hands for example a different hand wash or just had a smoke. >>> SO MAYBE THIS IS DEBATABLE TOO

 

No, I think I said OLD. If you are saying things just for "reaction" does that mean you are trying to stir or does it means you are looking for a good healthy debate

Rubbing your babies must be a habit because of something you heard. I have never done it and havent had any rejections over thousands of chicks.

If the birds can't smell much then how most books most breeders will tell you not to touch the nest (eggs/babies) if you have a different smaell on your hands for example a different hand wash or just had a smoke.>>> SO MAYBE THIS IS DEBATABLE TOO

as to your last point.............YES, I for one will debate this.

The fact is there are far too many OLD budgie books out there, just as there are far too many OLD WIVES TALES still kicking around.

I dont believe the thing about smells on hands, parents rejecting a baby that has been handled or touched, parents rejecting an egg that has been "touched" , foster parents rejecting a baby that has a different smell on it, and the theory of smells on hands.

Since I have pretty much a no nonsense approach to most things I dont go to extremes with these theories and old wives tales ( and YES they mostly come from old school breeders who say things without thinking them through or even trying another method ) and I switch babies all around in nests like I did yesterday...........switched about 9 babies and all fed and cared for today.

SO MAYBE THIS IS DEBATABLE TOO

Debatable ? seems so.

 

source http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/bac...yths/myths.aspx

 

9. Parent birds will abandon a nestling if it has been touched by humans.

 

This is an amazingly popular myth despite the massive amount of evidence to the contrary. Think about the thousands of studies that involve monitoring nests, weighing and measuring the young. Consider that most of those nests are successful and that the adults return as soon as the intruders are gone. Factor in the millions of baby birds that are banded and fledge successfully. Remember the tens of thousands of bluebird boxes.

If birds were repelled by the scent of human beings and fled if their odor appeared on the nest, there would be wholesale abandonment of nests every year. Yet this myth persists, a "truism" handed down from generation to generation. Its origins may lie in the fact that human scent can be disruptive to birds' nesting success. It is not birds, it is mammalian predators that follow scents, and if you approach a nest too often, or too closely, you may well be leading a predator to the site. The next time you visit, the nest will be abandoned. Voila! The birds smelled you and ran.

There are very good reasons for staying away from bird nests. Birds may find your intrusiveness offensive for many reasons, but one of them is not the way you smell.

Edited August 19, 201014 yr by KAZ

Yes I am looking for a good healthy debate , Julia Gillard and Tony Abbot can do so why can't I

Oh boy the amount of old wives tales I've heard! The hobby is chocka block full of em. I've been told a normal hen bred from a sex linked cock can make sex linked chicks of either sex if she is 'dominant' enough in her genes.

 

I love the one where I repeatedly get told to put all my blues back to greens or they will lose their colour. Why? the only difference between greens and blues is the yellow production and blues dont produce any yellow so why do i need greens? Good colour birds produce good colour birds, bad colour birds produce bad colour birds. There is no mix and match - add a bit of 'green' to your blues to bring up the colour? "Skies made from cobalts have stronger colour, dont pair sky to sky".

 

On and on and on it goes.

What it boils down to is everyone has their own idea and ways of doings things.

Even when given advice good or bad I take it in to consideration but I still do things my way.

The point is my way works for me.