Hen with yb laid again

[pigeonman007]

Have a pair rearing a single youngster which is 14days old today, just looked and the hen has laid this evening. Should I let her sit this egg and the next or float them under another hen and let this hen lay again when the yb is away, or just put another bowl in the breeding box so she can lay again in that, have bought the egg inside tonight and replaced with a plastic egg just incase it gets damaged. Will the cock carry on looking after the yb...

[gangster]

the hen will sit the eggs ok even though the youngsters there she will push them out of the bowl soon enough....

[The Navigator]

Can't see that it will be an issue.

[Guest IB]

It's normal for the pair to go down again when the youngster is around 14 days. The youngster will still get fed.

 

If you don't want the second round of eggs, replace them with pot eggs, but don't take the eggs away right away - the hen needs at least 10 days between one round and the next.

[pigeonman007]

Cheers lads

Will put it back in the bowl tomorrow morning, was just a bit worried if it got mucked on or trampled possibly

[Peckedhen]

I think that the YBs might break the new eggs, I'd put another bowl in the nest box.  Can you lock it to ensure she lays in the new bowl?  If not, I'd move the YBs to the new bowl and leave the eggs in the old one.  Yes, the cock continues to feed the YBs.

[jimmy white]

a hen usually lays quicker when rearing only one yb ,, nature should take care of them  

[peterpau]

Have a pair rearing a single youngster which is 14days old today, just looked and the hen has laid this evening. Should I let her sit this egg and the next or float them under another hen and let this hen lay again when the yb is away, or just put another bowl in the breeding box so she can lay again in that, have bought the egg inside tonight and replaced with a plastic egg just incase it gets damaged. Will the cock carry on looking after the yb...

 

Bugger me sounds like you are doing a good job to me  ;D

 

 

[Guest Paulo]

the hen will sit the eggs ok even though the youngsters there she will push them out of the bowl soon enough....

 

yeah I agree with Mick nowt to worry about

[GypUK]

At what age can you take the youngster out?

[Peckedhen]

I put my youngsters on the loft floor when their tails are as long as my thumb (about 1")  the cocks will continue to feed them. It helps bring on any any whose parents are poor feeders as they all get their crops filled. I never put less that six down, I don't know why, but when you put a several down together they don't get scalped.

[Guest Owen]

I usually find that when hens lay early like that, it is because they have been fed on extra rich feed. Seed. And obviously if she only has one youngster she will be more inclined to lay early. I have never found a problem with it. It is important to keep the nest clean because the eggs can get very dirty if you are not on the ball.

[little sam]

At what age can you take the youngster out?

 

Usually around 28 days, But as long as there fully featherd under the wing and picking at corn they SHOULD be ok,  

[Peckedhen]

I usually find that when hens lay early like that, it is because they have been fed on extra rich feed. Seed. And obviously if she only has one youngster she will be more inclined to lay early. I have never found a problem with it. It is important to keep the nest clean because the eggs can get very dirty if you are not on the ball.

 

Mine nearly always lay when the youngsters are around two weeks old - so are you saying I'm feeding them the wrong stuff?   Having said that, this year, for the first time, they haven't, I can only put it down to the very cold weather we've had - enough to put 'em off? :-/

 

 

[Guest Owen]

No. I am not saying that you are feeding the wrong stuff. It is just that in the past I have found that when I have fed a lot of rich food the birds go back to nest again very quickly. One year I fed Red Band and I learned my lesson. They were so busy mating that they neglected the babies.

[Peckedhen]

Ooh, I thought that Red Band was for getting them to trap, maybe I'm mixing it up with something else?  Mine have breed and wean for a month before pairing and then whilst feeding the young.

[Guest Owen]

Peckedhen, for the record, I have done all sorts of things, both good and bad. Some of my ideas have worked and some have been real clangers. One of the clangers was to feed a lot of Red Band during the time the birds were breeding. And yes I did use it for trapping, but I got a bit carried away and threw it down with gay abandon. This happened around 1965. In those days I could'nt stop the birds from going on the roof and I lost race positions because they would'nt trap. Often the birds would refuse to come to the loft until they were ready, and in spite of my outbursts of temper, they generally got their own way.

Plenty of water has gone under the bridge since then. These days I win races  and my birds are well disciplined and apart from the odd blip I am well satisfied with things pigeon. I know that I still have much to learn and I will do what I can to improve all the time. My aim is to win every race in the programme. I will not be happy until I have done it. Oh, and by the way, I do not use Red Band at all now, the birds do not need to be bribed to come in.

[Peckedhen]

Ah right, I understand now.   :)

Wish I could get my birds in when I want them - I can only do it by cutting right back on the feed...but, there again, for me its just the convenience of it - I'm not racing.