Please can you help me? My hen has had 3 chicks which are almost leaving the box (just the youngest one is still in), but the hen has layed a new egg today (the male is not in the same cage, so it can't be fertile).

 

Does it mean, she will stop feeding the chicks (the two older ones can eat on their own, but the small one can't I think)?

Should I remove the egg or leave it in?

 

I could see one of the chicks feeding the small one, but the hen chases him away.

 

 

I'll be happy for any advice

Please can you help me? My hen has had 3 chicks which are almost leaving the box (just the youngest one is still in), but the hen has layed a new egg today (the male is not in the same cage, so it can't be fertile).

 

Does it mean, she will stop feeding the chicks (the two older ones can eat on their own, but the small one can't I think)?

Should I remove the egg or leave it in?

 

I could see one of the chicks feeding the small one, but the hen chases him away.

 

 

I'll be happy for any advice

 

She is "cycling". Hens are often good for up to three consecutive clutches and the timing sounds right. They throw the near ready to leave chicks out to make room for the new clutch of eggs. Even if the male is not there - she may be cycling anyway.

 

HOWEVER - Why is the male not there? Perhaps he was being aggressive (and thrownig the chicks out - that's "normal"in the wild). Normally the male should be left in with the hen to assist with feeding and to "guard" the nest while she is taking time off. As the chicks grow the male and not the hen tends to take over feeding responsibility and this prevents the hen getting exhausted from doing all the work. It may be too late to re-introduce him and at this point he might be quite aggressive to the chicks as they want the nest for a new clutch. This is normal behaviour and the intent is to get the chicks to get on with life and seek other birds - this also has the benefit of keeping the gene pool well mixed.

 

Take the egg out? If you get a whole new clutch then no - they may actually be fertile (you might have missed the act and the hen remains fertile for days after mating - that is how she produces a clutch over time). If you get a clutch I would get the chicks into another cage and get the male back in to stand "guard" and to assist fully this time round. Then make sure you break the cycle so you don't get another clutch again!. 3 in a row in the wild is not unknown but that is why their life span is so short.....

The male was attacking the chicks, so I've separated him (about a month ago), so they couldn't mate since then. He is in a cage under them - feeding them through the bars sometimes. I'm waiting for the last chick to leave the nesting box and then I want to remove the box. The hen looks quite tired, so I think it would be better for her to rest now.

Do you think the youngest chick is going to be okay? I'm not sure if she is feeding him.

Edited February 20, 200619 yr by Nerwen

You should probably let her sit on these infertile eggs until she gets sick of them or else she might just keep laying and laying.

graeme - the dad was hurting the newly hatched babies and at that point only mum is feeding, when left for the whole time she can and will continue feeding until they are weaned.

 

 

If you let her sit on the egg make sure they are addled (shake them so the yolk breaks inside) that way nothing will hatch. I didn't think it was possible but hath read in the later budgie mag that one hen had fertile egg in the second round after not having a male with her since the start of the first lot.

 

I think once the young one is out of the box a lot you can safely remove it, since without contact to the male and the lost of a nest site should stop her.

Thanks a lot to all of you. The youngest one is almost ready to go out (the whole day he is sitting in the hole of the box), just a couple of more days I think.

When he eats on his own and staff, I'll remove the box with the egg.

Every day I put the two older ones to the new cage just for a while to get used to it and they have more space to practise flying, etc. . They love it - Mayo (the one with shorter wings) has problems a bit, but he is trying hard. His sister climbed to the top and he is trying to work out how she got there :hap: . I'm still watching them, if they need some help. He won't probably be able to fly like the others, but he looks like he could be able to fly/jump from perch to perch, I'm hoping