feel like pulling out what hair i have left

[micko and jack]

CHAIRDE   FRIENDS

we having big big trouble with our breeding

the birds are laying ok

but seem to be SITTING as soon as the first egg is laid

which mean come hatching the first chick is near 2 days older

both parents are feeding the young ok

but at about 2 weeks old

its as if they stop feed the youngest (weaker) one

any ideas

 

A remove the first egg until the 2nd is laid  (if so how do I store it)

B if 2 pair go down at the same time (it doesn't happen often) put first egg to first egg and second to second

    hoping they hatch about the same time

C move the chicks first hatched in 2 nest in together

 

the way things are now we are only getting one chick per nest

and if the first egg hatched is a cock

we are only going to have a load of cocks

and its not for the want of feed

as once the chicks hatch each nest box gets a pot of feed

and one of water daily

plus the usual feeding morning and evening  

[Guest]

Mick, take first egg away and just store it in an empty bowl with some straw in, somewhere in the loft, at loft temperature. First egg will be perfectly ok like that. Just turn it 180 degrees after first day.

[OLDYELLOW]

if your feeding twice a day whilst breeding there probably not geting enough food they need to digest the corn to make milk ectra and need to keep this topped up but you can always swap odd yb so get same size on both nests

[micko and jack]

Mick, take first egg away and just store it in an empty bowl with some straw in, somewhere in the loft, at loft temperature. First egg will be perfectly ok like that. Just turn it 180 degrees after first day.

thanks for the help Bob

sorry another question

why would the parents feed the chick for a few weeks then just stop ??

 

 

[micko and jack]

if your feeding twice a day whilst breeding there probably not geting enough food they need to digest the corn to make milk ectra and need to keep this topped up but you can always swap odd yb so get same size on both nests

birds are feed twice a day but once the eggs hatch the nest box gets a pot of corn and water they are never short of corn thats what i dont understand i would look over it if they had NO feed but every morning there is allways corn left in the nest box pots and they get topped up

 

 

[pigeonpete]

thanks for the help Bob

sorry another question

why would the parents feed the chick for a few weeks then just stop ??

 

 

Are you getting this with alot of chicks? as im not saying there is, but could be an underlying health problem? ive had it rarely in the past! if the parent knows there is something up with the bird, they will kick it out, and not feed? just a theory not saying they are not healthy micko. :-)

[micko and jack]

happening in about 5 different nests i had the dropping tested and things are ok

[OLDYELLOW]

what are you feeding them mick ?

[Guest VINNIE]

hi if you are leaving corn in front of them all the time this could be the problem they are not eating there fill and could also lead to vermin. i always feed about 3 times aday but always take left over corn away try leaving the drinker out while feeding ,some eat little and drink lots not good for rearing just my opinion good luck cheers vinnie

[micko and jack]

what are you feeding them mick ?

 

young bird mix no peas (the peas are hard for the birds to get down) peanuts 2/3 times per week

they have pick pots in the loft black and pink  minerals (in different containers)

red brick and white grit (in different containers)

[pigeonpete]

Peanuts maybe your problem, i would never feed peanuts while rearing, are they human grade peanuts? Peanuts can carry alot of fungus, that would not affect obs, but could deffo have an impact on ybs? and they are hard to digest. Maybe clutching at straws here, but cant think of anything else it could be.

[micko and jack]

Peanuts maybe your problem, i would never feed peanuts while rearing, are they human grade peanuts? Peanuts can carry alot of fungus, that would not affect obs, but could deffo have an impact on ybs? and they are hard to digest. Maybe clutching at straws here, but cant think of anything else it could be.

allways human grade

i have read to many threads about the bird type

cheapest out of asda haha

 

 

[Guest Owen]

What is happening is not even slightly natural, so I would not think about measures like swapping youngsters or taking eggs away to replace them later. I think you should find the root of the problem.

I had similar problems years ago. The reason, in my case was that, I was feeding a too strong a feed. You need to be very careful with hot food such as peanuts, hemp, and especially the trapping mixes. All my birds wanted to do was mate and lay. They lost interest in the youngsters very quickly.

Another thing that will affect the attitude of birds to their young, is mite infestations. The birds will overreact and try to protect their eggs by sitting close. The result would be similar to what you describe. A good indicator of a mite infestation is the way you feel when you stay in the loft for a while. You will tickly and itchy. Mind you red mite is only active at night.

Yet another possible cause of your problem could be over aggressive cocks. They can quite easilly cause birds to be overprotective but I am not sure whether they would cause the parents to neglect one of their offspring.

Best of luck with solving your problem. Please let us know what the solution to your problem turns out to be.

[Guest IB]

Baffled with this one. I don't think its insects or illness, as both youngsters and probably their parents too, would be affected. I've had one egg of a pair hatch maybes a day apart, but there was never any problem with the youngsters being fed; if its two days apart, and the second one out always fails, then I'd be suspicious about genetic make-up of the parents, because what you are describing sounds very like a regular runt in the nest - if there is anything wrong with the youngster it leads to automatic abandonment by the parents.

 

You could prove a fault exists or not, by single rearing; as soon as the first egg is laid, float that under a foster pair, and give the breeders a plastic egg to 'sit' till their second egg comes along. That way both eggs will hatch at same time in different nests, and you can watch how each sibling progresses under different parents. If one youngster still fails, then in my opinion the breeding pair are not compatible, sounds as if there's defective genes coming together, creating a defective youngster, so best split that pair.

 

On feeding & neglect: I always have food (a breeding mix) & water in the box, and when the youngster is around 14 days I see what appears to be it being neglected as the pair go back down on eggs again, even with 12/14 day old youngster(s) still in nest. But I also see one of the parents always going to the box to feed the youngster (s).

 

I prepare for this in advance by taking the youngsters out the bowl and putting them on straw on the box floor. When I top-up the gallipots, I call them over, and they feed with their parents. With food & water in the box, the youngster (s) copy the parents and soon learns to eat & drink, and become self-sufficient pretty early on. The breeding pair have their bowl, or hunker down in the straw, so they are less likely to try and take over another box, lay on the loft floor, and being in the box all the time, youngsters don't get neglected.