help i think mum may be plucking baby

[missmad]

here, need some advice as i think mum may be plucking her only baby, he is three weeks tommorrow. have noticed a few small bald patches where there should prob be feathers but havent really worried but noticed tonight he has a few missing from his head and have found little feather quills (or whatever they are called) in the nest box, what do i do? she is also spending quite a bit of time out of the box is this normal as the chicks grow bigger? any advice please.....

[BUUZBEE]

is he the only baby? if so, you will need to remove him. it sounds too early to be out of the box, but if he is, it could be moms way of say "& stay out!" she might want to have another clutch.
this is something very serious, that you will need to take into consideration, as to whether or not you breed her again. hens can do some serious damage to babies, they can ruin feather development, hindering them flightless, then can damage eyes, and worse yet, kill them.
how developed are his feathers? is mom still feeding him? how do you have the set up for them, is it just mom, dad, and baby/ies? you might want to consider removing mom & letting dad finish raising him, dads are very good at this! sylvester took care of bruce, hugo & grace when i had to remove mum.
i know, a ton of questions, but its all info i need to answer properly! lol

[missmad]

yes he is the only baby, i have checked out pics of other babys this age and he has def been plucked alright, how do i know that the male will feed him, i have to say this baby does not really call for its food, could that be the problem? the mum as far as i have witnessed has not entered the box since yesterday and i dont believe the chick has been fed at all not sure how to see at this stage if the crop is full, what do i do, please help urgently as if i wait another day or so for answers to these questions im afraid the chick may die...

[Joey]

Is there anyway you could handfeed him/her or them?Or is there anyone in your area a breeder perhaps that have other clutches that they can foster teh baby or show you how to handfeed him/her or them?Please get help you can loose the baby very quick.

[missmad]

am off soon to get some hand rear formula and well see how it goes, have removed mum and housed her elsewhere cock has not been in to see the baby as of yet, how often do i need to feed the baby? and do i just remove the box and keep baby in it? anything else i need to know, how do i know when the baby has had enough food?

[Joey]

:eek: OMG DO NOT START HANDFEEDING IF YOU ARE UN EXPERIENCED!!!STOP PLEASE READ ABOUT HANDFEEDING BUDGIES AND REASEARCH YOU CANNOT JUST FEED TEH BABY HANDFEEDING FORMULA STAIGHT FROM TEH BAG IT HAS TO BE WARMED TO A CERTAIN TEMP,FED A SPECIAL WAY SO YOU WONT CHOKE THE BABY,PREVENT PROBLEMS IN THE CROP,HE/SHE MUST BE KEPT WARM AT A CERTAIN TEMP....PLEASE FIND SOMEONE EXPIEREIENCED OR READ A LITTLE.

[missmad]

well good news is just before i went out to get formula the cock went into the box and fed the baby, i have just checked again now and the crop is full so i will leave it to dad and hope all goes well, as for handfeeding of course i wouldnt just go out buy some stuff and hope for the best i am aware that it would need to be at a certain temp etc and if i had to do this i would get expert advice first so dont panic!

[missmad]

also dad is not sitting with tha baby although he is feeding, will he be warm enough? he is inside and outta the weather and it isnt too bad temp wise...

[BUUZBEE]

yes, he should be fine, dad wont sit with him. if you think it gets too cold, put a lamp nearby to regulate the heat.

im glad dad took over, they are smart that way! so sorry mom did this, i hope there is not too much damage done

[missmad]

seems to be o.k will let you all know how he is getting on

[BUUZBEE]

thats good. since he's not a "newborn", lol, he is that much stronger, so it will be that much easier for him to survive. dad will be teaching him to eat soon, too.

keep us posted