Second clutch

[sunna]

the second clutch has 8 eggs (actually the pair laid 9 but one got damaged as the youngest of he first clutch still sleeps in the nest.. i am seperating them on friday)
one egg hatched today 11th march 2009.

here the the parents and the the first chick :D yay!!

[rachelle83]

Good Luck, they are gorgeous parents!

[enicol6]

There are those pics. So cute. I love the little pink babies. Are all fertile or are you just waiting to see?

[sunna]

i checked the eggs on the 4th march and then there were 7 eggs and 4 were fertile for sure.. this is the first time m checking the nest and handling eggs.. a totaly new experience for me :D and i am loving every moment :D

[sunna]

Good Luck, they are gorgeous parents!

thnx rachelle :) m so excited :D

[Mikey666]

nice looking clutch and beautiful parents

[Zeena]

congratz!!! the parents are so beautiful :)
I can't wait to see the babies, you're gonna have a whole family of dominant pieds, i'm kinda jealous ;) :p

[Jen144]

Congrats!! Coincidence or what, one of my pair has 9 eggs (though 2 were fostered while the female was still laying) and 8 are definetly fertile..and the first baby hatched on the 11th!
Anyway, congratulations, I hope all goes well for you and you get some beautiful healthy babies! The parents sure are gorgeous. :)

[sunna]

thanks to all.. a second chick hatched today :D but i am missing one egg :S m worried that it might have hatched and got buried in the bedding.. i dont want to take the eggs out now.. what do u suggest? i am worried :(

[oreo123]

most likley it was not firtil and the mom eat it or she mabey threw it out

[Robin's Nest]

Aww! Congratulations! You must be so excited! :D

[enicol6]

I don't know the answer other then to say to look for it. If it hatched you may have not seen the baby and they eat the shells. I would make a new thread so that people will see it. They may have better answers for you then me :)

[Bethany]

aw!:D
Congrats, the parents are beautiful!:D

[sunna]

If it hatched you may have not seen the baby and they eat the shells.

but if it hatched then the baby should be there.. unless it died n got buried in the bedding :(

I would make a new thread so that people will see it.

thats a good idea.. i will do that today.. thanks a lot for the help..

oh, by the way how are your babies? did you find out what colors they are?

[sunna]

most likley it was not firtil and the mom eat it or she mabey threw it out

i cleaned the cage that day and i did not find any egg thrown out on the floor.. do moms eat infertile eggs?

[sunna]

hey all.. i know its been a long time without n update,, well, ive got great news.. last i informed that there were 2 chicks and now there are 4 :D the chicks hatched on the 11th, 14th, 18th, and 20th march :D three more eggs are there but i think one is spoiled.. i dont want to touch the eggs until all hatch.. here is a pic of all four babies :D

[enicol6]

SO pink and little. Mine are almost grown :) Mom and dad must be busy busy :) Congratulations. :)

[SusanBudgies]

Adorable! :thumbsup: I can see tiny tail feathers sprouting from #1's cute birdy butt.

I highly recommend a flashlight such as a SerpentLight http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/fourteen/serpent.htm for candling. The flexible neck enables you to candle the eggs without touching them. I bought mine on eBay.

[sunna]

Adorable! :thumbsup: I can see tiny tail feathers sprouting from #1's cute birdy butt.

oh ya... i didn't notice.. hehe.. #1 is a yellow pied for sure like the parents.. i think #2 is a blue (both parents r split for blue)... cant wait to know for sure :D

[sschlitt]

it is so neat! I can't wait to see what colours they all are. They look so sweet.

[sunna]

hi all
i lost one chick :( my dad wanted to see the nest while i was at work and the chick got caught between the nest door when he was closing it :'(
it was chick #2, the one i was suspecting to b a blue. he/she was 11 days old. RIP baby blue, i am so sorry :(
my dad said that he would never check the nest ever again. and my friend gave a two/three day old chick. so there are 4 again and no more eggs have hatched.

miss you baby blue :(

[enicol6]

I am so sorry to hear about the baby. :( It must have been very upsetting to discover that. :(

[Guthwulf]

Got caught in the door? What sort of box set up is it?

[sunna]

it opens from the side. n he didnt c the chick poking its head when he closed the door :( he should have been more careful.. he shouldnt have checked the nest while i was away in the first place.. :mad:

[Jazz4Tj]

Oh sunna, I'm sorry about the loss :( how very sad.

[stacey101]

Beautiful parents! and congrats on the chicks!

[sunna]

thank you all for your condolences.. i think about baby blue and miss my little baby blue everytime i check the nest :(

the rest of the chicks are healthy and growing fast. here are some pictures. the youngest is a chick from another pair from one of my friends.

[sunna]

dean, here r some pictures of the nest.

[enicol6]

The chicks look great! I am sorry again about Baby Blue. I am sure you will be sad for quite awhile. People do take liberties with nest boxes. I know I have to police mine when I have guests. They think they should just be able to look whenever. :(

[sunna]

the babies r growing beautifully and m waiting impatiently for the eldest to leave the nest.. here are some pics.. the eldest is 30 days old for today.. the others are 23 days, 21 days and 17/18 days..
the first two chicks are double factor dominant pieds right? and the youngest is a double factor dominant (cobalt?).. (the youngest is fostered from another pair)

[Rebeccaveggie]

They are so cute! What pretty colours!

[sunna]

some more pics :D

[sunna]

They are so cute! What pretty colours!

thanks rebecca :) i am excited about the double factor dominants.. did not get any double factors in the previous clutch..

[enicol6]

They are just beautiful ! :)

[kimhosken]

the chicks are lovely

[sunna]

my third chick has some blue feathers on its belly and tail :) just like its dad :D so i am assuming this is a yellowface type 2. once this pair is done with the third clutch i will give them a brak and pair the cock with a blue series to confirm this. here are some pictures on the baby with blue feathers.

[sunna]

the hen has started layin eggs again.. laid the first egg yesterday, 15th April 2009.. there are still 3 chicks in the nest.. last chick will leave the nest in a week.. will it be ok for the eggs if the chicks are still in the nest? or shall i remove the chicks and place them in a seperate box on the cage floor?

[Guthwulf]

The eggs will be fine if you are going to go for another round. What round is this? Im sorry i havent really been following this thread so i dont know :P

The hen will lay usually when the youngest chick is 2-3 weeks old, and hopefully it will have fledged at about 4 weeks old so there wont be many eggs laid by that time. The oldest chicks can be taken out if they are over 4 weeks of age and you can be sure they are able to eat by themselves. I wouldnt really bother unless you have a nursery cage with other chicks that can help them learn to eat.

If on the other hand this is the third round or you dont want any more eggs, just remove mum, remove the eggs and let dad take care of the chicks. Problem solved :D

[sunna]

thanks Dean.. this is the third round and the final round before giving a break.. i have a problem with my male.. he's not very "parently".. he does not feed the chicks.. during the first clutch i had to remove the last chick when she was 3 weeks old.. i kept her in a box on the cage floor and it was still the mom who fed her.. i have not seen the dad feed a chick even once during the two clutches although he feeds the mom all the time ;)
my worry is that the eggs might get damaged as they are being kicked around in the nest when the chicks move around.. will the chicks from the first batch feed 3-4 weeks old chicks? the youngest from the previous batch was feeding the oldest in the second batch when she came out and now she is eating herself..
i want the eggs and i want the chicks to be healthy too.. can i have both?

[Guthwulf]

From the sounds of it, the chicks from the first clutch should be fine staying with and teaching the chicks from the second clutch, provided those chicks are fledged and beginning to eat already. The older chicks can show them the rest ;)

As far as dad goes, some dads just dont feed chicks. He will constantly feed mum, who then has an instant supply of food for chicks she didnt have to get herself, so dont feel that dad isnt contributing. In this case, i would advise caution about a third round with regards to the parents. If they appear dull in colour, drab, skinny, haggard, low in energy, or anything out of the norm then i would probably give them a rest. Consider how long they have been cooped up and lacking exercise! They will be losing muscle tone and possibly fat stores depending on the number of chicks raised and the associated strain.

As far as eggs go, is there any nesting material? I have no concern for eggs myself, because i know that the nesting material cushions babies and eggs and there is nothing but the walls to bash against. However the eggs are usually snug and half buried and dont move around much unless mum nudges them under her. Of course the more foot traffic you have, the higher the chance of an accidental puncture or addling. But there is a balance in all things regarding whether to keep or remove the second round chicks, allowing a third round etc. It all revolves around what is the best or healthiest option for all involved.

Im sure you'll consider these factors and make a decision you feel is best for your birds. I know how hard it can be to resist a third round when things have been going so well! But consider that the more rest you give them now, the better they will be when you breed them at the end of the year or next year (whenever your next season is). Best of luck!

[sunna]

thanks a lot Dean.. really helpful information..

i took time to reply to this post as i wanted to observe the parents and take a decision. the parents look fine.. the mom is healthy and active. and i have decided to go for the third round. i am making a cage now to seperate the first and the second batch babies from the parents as the first batch is maturing now and could cause stress for the parents even though the cage they are in is not small. (they have already started eyeing the nest, hehe).. i removed the second baby of the second batch from the nest and she is fine and being fed by the first batch chicks. there are two more babies in the nest now.
after this round will be a long vacation for parents. :)
i am from maldives and as it is a tropical country, its always season here :D hehe.. this environment also causes a prob when it comes to babies as they want to breed as soon as they mature (by mature i mean, as soon as their cere color changes - 3 months :eek:).
yes there is bedding in the nest and as you said the eggs are half burried most of the time and dont move..
because i am going for the third round, please dont assume that i didnt consider your advise. i thought about what you said, and the information provided helped me to make the decision. thanks again..

[Guthwulf]

I cant say either way about a third round. It really does come down to the breeder knowing their birds. If you go for this third round and experience no problems, you'll be able to better associate which birds COULD do a third round because you have experienced it before.

If things go wrong, then you also know reasons why you might want to hold of a third round in future! Best of luck :)

[sunna]

hi.. been away for a while as got crazy busy at work.. now for updates.. Guthwulf, i guess you were right. the female ate the eggs after the 4th egg.. it could have been because i changed the calcium block to a new brand and the female had not eaten it then.. whatever reason, the 3rd clutch was eaten and now the pair is in rest. as you said, now i know why to hold off a third round...
there are some breeders here who go for a third and even i fourth round (which i also wasnt too fond of) successfully.. guess it works with experience and also depending on the pair...
all the babies are healthy and very active.. its so lively in the cage now :) i exchanged three dominant pieds from the first clutch to a grey cinnamon, a T2 yellowface sky blue and a green dilute... my babies went to good hands, probably the best in Maldives :D so i have no worries about them... will post pics soon..
thank you all who viewed this thread, commented and helped me out.. you guys are the best :)

[FrankieGomez]

You are so lucky im new at the whole thing to.. mine are due next friday and so on.. i cant wait for my babies to hatch but yours are very pretty i cant wait to see what the babies will look like. Love the birds.

[miss parakeet]

well done sunna!..best of luck to you and the chicks..be sure to post pics and keep us updated:D