Posted: Thu May 01, 2014 2:53 am Post subject: URGENT!! Fostering + egg swapping URGENT!!
hi,
I have a few kakarikis sitting on eggs at the moment. there was hardly any bedding in one of the boxes so i added some more and mixed it in with the old stuff and now the hen doesnt want to go back into the box.
Is there any way of encouraging her to sit back on her eggs?
Or could i take those eggs and put them in another kakarikis box or put the eggs in a budgie or a bourkes box?
Here are the options of foster parents; 1 kakariki sitting on eggs with 1 chick (reliable parents), 1 kakariki sitting on eggs but keeps discarding them and only had 1 surviving chick last year, or I also have a bourke sitting on eggs or i could swap them with the eggs of my budgie who lays infertile eggs
Any thought??!!??? Your help would be greatly appreciated!!! Shocked
I have a few kakarikis sitting on eggs at the moment. there was hardly any bedding in one of the boxes so i added some more and mixed it in with the old stuff and now the hen doesnt want to go back into the box.
Very unusual for kakariki unless 1st time parents or hand raised...
Normally one can remove chicks for a few days, even trap the parents in the nesting box, dismantle the aviary, move it 100 miles , reassemble, hang the nesting box on the wall..unscrew the hole cover and will carry on as if nothing happened....
Even so , new parents, best just leave alone.
Once they have decided that the nest is no long a secure place to raise chicks they will move on to the next nesting box.
Fostering... yes, kakariki and burkes make excellent foster parents... so long as the eggs are viable...
I would tend to hedge the bets, divide between all the options, see what works for future knowledge/ options that work best. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
the pair bred very late last year and only had 2 survive (probably due to the cold). Maybe she'll lay some more and if she does im leaving her in peace!
I gave all the eggs to the hen with a young chick and she pulled the eggs under her straight away.
How long can hens leave the eggs without the fetus dying? im in england so the eggs probably go cold quicker here.
Also do you know if there is a non toxic pen i could use to mark the eggs and where i could get one from?
you would be very surprised how cold temps can get and still breed in outside open aviaries
We get down to frosts of 3/5 degs C and nps.
Unless temps get up around the high 20s and above it would be very rare to see a hen out of a nest....
I had a theory some yrs back.. Old threads, about infertile eggs not actually being infertile , but act as hot water bottles if the hen leaves the nest. Also as the chicks hatch , for the 1st few days, the remaining eggs are stacked so the chick are upright for feeding etc ,Something we noticed originally when having a cctv camera in a nest for the full pre egg to adult period. And this being common with most birds.
Therefore I strongly suggest NEVER pull infertile eggs out.
I know candling is common practice (checking fertility with a light thru the egg)..we did so many years ago, but was not long before the 'curiously ' worn off....and the number of healthy adults per number egg ratio increased.
I would not suggest there is a common factor, because there where others, like refining diets, change nest box shapes etc happening around that time to.
Quote:
I gave all the eggs to the hen with a young chick and she pulled the eggs under her straight away.
yep rem that when I did so 1st time...was rather a very rewarding feeling.
And its a good sign to
Did u mark them... Sry should have mentioned that before..another after thought mistake we made way bacl
we use a dot from a perminet marker on the small end of the egg...small dot... Only reason for that end is it doesnt seem as noticeable , and easy to find if in the same place on all eggs
I dont know about toxicity of a "small dot"
We where breeding red crown and yellow crown, and if a little lazy in separating the young from the parents it can be very difficult not grabbing one of the parents... So red crowns often raised yellow and visa versa
an acquaintance raised a Smaller Sulphur crested cockatoo under a kakariki.
The biggest thing is leave then to it.. keep the water fresh and consistent good varied diet with protein.. Protein espec when chicks are being raised.
You will be surprised some times how big they get as an adult.
Sry for the long post... waiting for dinner .. now ready _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
act as hot water bottles if the hen leaves the nest. Also as the chicks hatch , for the 1st few days, the remaining eggs are stacked so the chick are upright for feeding etc
That is really interesting. We never check for fertility or remove any eggs until the hen has discarded them to the side of the nest box. Didnt actually think they served a purpose, I am always just too scared to remove fertile eggs
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