Hi every1 i have a problem 1 of my hens went missing yesterday to her old loft when i picked her up today her cock wasn't sat on the egg's and they were cold to touch i have returned her today and she is sat back on them will the damage already be done they are due to hatch out in a few days couldn't get to pick her up yesterday and thought the cock would sit tight but not sure how long he has been off the egg's any advice plz guys and gal's

leave them under her until 4 days has past after the due date

i have had this and there were fine.  just hatched later.

if nowt has hatched after that then maybe they are dead..

jon

Thank you jon will keep my fingers crossed and no birds will be flying out for a while now as i can't afford to loose any young as i haven't had them that long and want to breed some young before it is to late in the year but so far i have had no look with it i have had smashed egg's abandoned egg's and lost bird's

Jimmy

Depends how long eggs were left. The later they are in the incubation period the less likely they are to hatch if they get left, but it all depends how long the cock had left them. All you can do is give them a few days and a max of two days over when they were due to hatch.

Eggs get cold very quick when not sat, and also depends what the temperature was when left unattended. Hope they come off for you.

it can only have been about 2 hours from my last check to me bringing the hen back as i have been out checking he was sitting them all day so i will keep you all informed on what happens

they will normally be fine upto 24hrs unattended.

Phil

Quoted from jimmy_84

it can only have been about 2 hours from my last check to me bringing the hen back as i have been out checking he was sitting them all day so i will keep you all informed on what happens

Should be fine then being at this time of year, if it was winter would be doubtful.

hi every1 just checked on the egg's and they are chipping out so the chicks must be ok

is this a bad sign just been out to check on egg'a and there is blood all over bowl coming out of both egg's. The parents won't go in box fluttering like mad when i close them in so i have let them out in loft i am devastated as i presume that the blood is a bad sign

Has anything 4-legged got into the box? Even fighting shouldn't cause the damage you describe. The parent birds wanting out suggests something nasty has happened in there.

i am not sure what has happened in there i will be keeping a close eye on thing's been told maybe a rodent got in what should i do if this is the case how do i rid myself of this without causing any harm to my bird's dog and also my children as they play in the garden

Can you see any signs of a rodent?  Droppings?  Any signs of a cat - look for footprints in the dust. I can see when a cat has been on my sputnik by the footprints on the glass.

I wonder if this explains why the cock left the eggs the other day. They usually wait till the other bird relieves them before they come off. :-/

hi guys been out in loft most of the morning and let my birds out for a fly while i cleaned out the loft. When they birds were up in the air a magpie turned up in my garden and started towards the loft entry landed on my landing board and i am sure it would have come into my loft if i wasn't in there i have found no evidence of a rodent been in the loft does anybody think my problem could be this magpie i will see if it returns again tomorrow while my birds are out flying

Get rid of the magpie,if it can get into the loft it will take eggs and young birds.

i will do how can i do it should my lad has a BB gun in  the loft which i confascated will the get rid of it

let it in make sure it can not get out then go in and sort it out

let it in make sure it can not get out then go in and sort it out

will do

What a real shame.  We have regular magpie visitors in our garden, and I've not had any problems with them so far, but am making sure the sputnik entrance is only open enough to let air in, rather than an unwelcome bird.  A good warning, but really sorry about your eggs.  I can imagine how you feel :-(  

No shame about it, its the way these birds live in the wild, roaming from nest to nest eating any eggs and youngsters they find. Around here they hunt in packs of 3/4. There have been stories on here and in the pigeon prress about magpies entering pigeon lofts and tearing apart youngsters in the nest. You don't wan't them in the garden, and you especially don't want them in the loft. I always chase them away.

Take the point that trapping it in the loft seems quite straightforward, but remember you have pigeons in there. Those that are in the loft will be terrified and if they get out, will stay out; those that are out when this thing visits, are likely to stay out too. So be warned, and be careful.

i have decided that my loft will remain closed for a week or so and everytime i see this magpie i will get out my BB gun and shoot at it hopefully it will do 1

I wo9nder if you could basket all your birds and move them away from the loft.  Leave the trap open and hope the Magpie come in...if he has found eggs before, then he will probably try again.  Once yoy have dealt with him, release your birds back in the loft and they will be none the wiser.
Good luck in sorting this.

I wo9nder if you could basket all your birds and move them away from the loft.  Leave the trap open and hope the Magpie come in...if he has found eggs before, then he will probably try again.  Once yoy have dealt with him, release your birds back in the loft and they will be none the wiser.

Good luck in sorting this.

i cant do that as i have a pair on egg's due to hatch in next couple of days and another have laid their 1st egg today

i could try boarding the boxes up of these pairs and move the rest into my old rabbit hut for a few days only worry the hut is to small there will be 6 birds the hut is 2ft tall 2ft wide and 4ft long i am also going to use this when i split my cocks and hens

do you know anybody near you with a larson trap?

no whats a larson trap phil

for catching magpies

i may be able to get 1 a pal of my old man's use to keep a hawk and use to catch mags in a trap to feed the hawk i think it was many years ago when i use to visit him will give him a ring

if you know any gamekeepers they will have them and idealy you want a decoy bird from another area as the ones in your area will go into the trap to attack it!

Phil

yes magpies are classed as vermin as they kill all youngsters in the nest such as black birds thrushes,anything that has a nest in bushes or open land,a friend of mine caught 37 2 years ago it doesnt matter how many you catch theres allways onother to take there places ,they also feed on dead rabbits ect that lies dead on the roads after been run over by cars ect
if youve a chance of getting rid of them you do so.cheers

                                                                                  billy

my father usualy catches 40 - 50 a year but because they are territorial others move in from other areas although they don't get the problems they used to before the restriction was lifted.


Phil

cheers phil

Quoted from IB

No shame about it, its the way these birds live in the wild...

I meant a shame for the eggs/baby birds - not the magpies.

my chicks from my other pair hatched in the night here is a foto of 1 of them

Quoted from IB

No shame about it, its the way these birds live in the wild, roaming from nest to nest eating any eggs and youngsters they find. Around here they hunt in packs of 3/4. There have been stories on here and in the pigeon prress about magpies entering pigeon lofts and tearing apart youngsters in the nest. You don't wan't them in the garden, and you especially don't want them in the loft. I always chase them away.

Take the point that trapping it in the loft seems quite straightforward, but remember you have pigeons in there. Those that are in the loft will be terrified and if they get out, will stay out; those that are out when this thing visits, are likely to stay out too. So be warned, and be careful.

Ours stayed out for days after we had a squirrel raiding our loft, never realised it was a squirrel till we trapped it, no longer welcome in the garden ;) best to deal with it asap :-/