pairing up moving eggs

[micko and jack]

CHAIRDE  FRIENDS

I see from the threads that some of you have already paired up and some of you have birds on eggs and others have birds on chicks I hope you all have great success I was thinking about pairing up around the end of February mid March I'll see what the weathers like so heres my question as you all know we have fantails and they are an interest for jack (my grandson age 2) and myself and I'm after nice coloured birds now I have a good friend on site who is going to tell me what to pair to give me the colour but here's what I need to know if I pair all the birds at the same time and they all lay at the same time (and I know that may not happen) but lets say they do and 1 pair start to throw the colours I want and I decide next time they lay and I want to swap that pairs eggs to another pair the first pair will hopefully lay in about 10 days now if I put those eggs under another pair now that pair could have been on eggs maybe 7/15 days if they get the new eggs will the new pair know the eggs are taking to long to hatch and kick the eggs out or will they keep sitting on them until they hatch or should I stagger pairing maybe 2 pair 1 week 2 pair the next week and so on thanks mick

[OLDYELLOW]

write your pairs down in a book and the days that they lay and swap eggs within a few days difference  

[Guest IB]

The main thing to watch is that the foster pair have been sitting long enough to be able to produce crop milk.

 

Foster pair sitting between 4 days earlier and 3 days later than breeding pair is a fair margin. Further you go outside it, risk of no milk, or pair rising off eggs.

[Guest]

The main thing to watch is that the foster pair have been sitting long enough to be able to produce crop milk.

 

Foster pair sitting between 4 days earlier and 3 days later than breeding pair is a fair margin. Further you go outside it, risk of no milk, or pair rising off eggs.

 

Agree,we wouldn't foster eggs that were more than 4 days different for the same reasons

[steve]

you could also remove eggs you want young from as they are layed

and keep them till you have sitters for them

(remember to turn the eggs every day though)

[jimmy white]

also agree around 4 days either way,, but if their hatching over the 18 days , can manage an extra 6 days max, by boxing the cock for two days , letting the hen sit itself ,, then at a later stage boxing the cock for two days,[even repeating this a week later] then hopefully they will  sit for 22 days b4 eggs are chipping , this seems to encourage them to let them hatch, without comming off their eggs ,, but dodgy , and pushing it slightly , but have managed this ,,,,,,,,,6 days b4 the 18 days the parents would be able to form milk,,,,,,,one thing is if you manage to get a hen sit this long and hatch its first yb,s of the season,, it will make it very keen indeed