Hi all,

Well today when i got my two babies out to play (29 and 27 days) there was a new egg in the box. They don't have any missing feathers and seem to be getting fed, but am still worried the mum could turn on them. Should i get the babies out before she gets the chance or should i just wait and see how she goes.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Jaff

Hi Jaff. Hens will often start laying their second round of eggs whilst there are still youngsters in the nest. I've had this happen frequently. Its good to keep a close eye on things in case the hens do become annoyed with the chicks. To date, I haven't had any hens, or cock birds for that matter, turn on the chicks. In fact a lot of my pairs seem to play happy families with mum, dad, up to 6 chicks and a new clutch of eggs in the one nest box - very squeezy. The main issue I have had is that the chicks tend to kick/knock the new eggs around the nest box as they are moving about and climbing in and out, and the eggs often become addled. I've lost a number of second clutches this way. If you have another pair who are laying eggs at the same time you could transfer the egg to them. Otherwise I would suggest you leave things as they are, watch carefully, and remove the chicks at the first sign of trouble or as soon as they are weaned.

At 27-29 days your chicks should nearly be ready to fledge, can you remove chicks to floor of cage with Dad? Leaving Mum to lay her next clutch in peace would save addled eggs. Dad should still feed the chicks even if they are out of nest box. Or as suggested use the wait and see approach .

I have a fairly high cage (99cm) but have seen him go down sometimes. Until recently the hen was feeding them nearly all of the time ( after she was fed by cock) so am not sure what to do. They are looking to get out and are testing the surroundings, so should i put them down the bottom and see how they go?

in this scenario i often will move the chicks to a nappy cage and leave the hen, cock and eggs to themselves. if the youngest are not yet fledged ill put a nest type enclosure into the cage, really just some where for them to hide and gain some confidence. if they are not feeding themselves ill put some egg and biscuit mix on a finger and as they are trying to bite me they usually get the idea pretty quick that its food. i also find that older chicks will feed the younger ones.

not saying you should or shouldn't just the way i do it and it has worked well for me.

Thanks for all the advice.

I will try and give them some egg and biscuit mix like you paulie and see how they take to it, I might also set up something on the bottom of the cage as the oldest is already trying to either get out or look at the world.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Jaff

Are either of these options alright for the two little ones?

I had to put the towels up as my cats were a little intrigued :/

 

http://i43.tinypic.com/2e66a0m.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/27xqqs5.jpg

 

The babies are hiding in the little cave, but the parents haven't gone down yet which makes me a little worried. I have food and water down there for them, and the younger one was starting to eat well off my finger, but im still worried.

Regards,

Jaff

 

Update-

The eldest chick is up the top with her parents now, but the younger one is still down the bottom alone and i still haven't seen either parent stay down there. The cock went down to check it all out, but came straight back up. Izzy ( the eldest chick) is sitting up top alright and could even fly a little bit But i am still worried about the younger one not getting fed. He has millet, seed, egg and biscuit moistened with water and water down there.

Regards,

Jaff

Edited November 28, 201311 yr by Jaffa

Do you know if younger one is cracking seed? Does it call for food from Dad? If older chick is back up top did it climb or fly back to nest box, if parents are not worried about it being back at nest maybe they would still feed chick, if it's put back into nest but be on guard in case they do hunt it.

 

On the other hand if it's cracking seed it could be having a pick here and there on it's own enough to keep it going until it learns to eat more. Just to mention I was told to feed egg and biscuit dry as it can get contaminated quickly if wet, going sour etc. not good to leave it for any length of time. Others could advise that have used it more than I. I usually give it to breeding pairs when feeding chicks but I give it dry.

Hi Robyn,

The eldest was able to fly a little bit, not very well though.

The eldest ended up going into the nest box last night so i put the little one in as well. The parents seemed fine with it.

Should i try with them down the bottom again?

Regards,

Jaff

UPDATE-

I tried them down the bottom again and he younger one has made it up the cage a little, but doesn't seem to be asking for food like the older one. The older one asks for food every time mum or dad is around, but the younger one doesn't seem to.

Regards,

Jaff

UPDATE-

I ended up having to move them both into a cage as mum was starting to attack them.

They are both able to crack seed which is great. They are hiding at the bottom of the cage so i put some seed down there for them.

Regards,

Jaff

Hi Jaff,

Sorry I'm just catching up again, if they are both cracking seed you should not have to worry about them feeding themselves. Better to move them out of harms way if Mum is on the war path, they can do a lot of damage, even kill chicks if they get too bad. Just keep the seed etc in reach for chicks. I find once they decide to get up onto perch they seem able to fend for themselves from there on. I leave them in the "kindy" cage for a couple or three weeks before they can go into Aviary without any problems.

Robyn is absolutely right. Your 2 chicks should be fine now. Perhaps you give them some millet spray as well, as hat will encourage them to eat. Don't worry if the chicks lose a little weight to begin with as that is perfectly normal.