Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:36 am Post subject: Nest Box too small?
Hi all
havn't been here for a while,my daughter was sick in hosp and then I got sick.All's well now and back into the breeding season.
My pair of yellow fronts are sitting on five eggs so far I'm not sure if they are fertile? I havn't seen them mating but i've only had them 4 months so my expectations are not that high.He feeds her like a good husband should but the nest that they chose is a cockatiel nest box.Got a feeling its going to be way too small if any of them do hatch,but can I move them to a bigger box?
What are the rough internal dimensions and can u post a pic.
I have moved nesting boxes with mum inside to new flights nps.
I have also moved a pair to a new flight and nesting box, where they have only laid 2 eggs nps and they where a pair of yellow crown..thu I do not know, if those 2 eggs where include in the 3 that did not hatch. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
back Princess.
Dont worry too much about the size of the box. We had a clutch of 5 eggs hatch in a box that was only 6 inches square. We then added 2 more young so that made 7 young plus mum all in at once. We found it actually worked better while the young still had their eyes closed. After 2 weeks we changed the box to a bigger one (8 inches square) and the hen was straight back in to feed. So my advice would be to see how many hatch and make a decision to upgrade the size when and if required. As Steptoe has said Kakariki will pretty much adapt and wont abandon the nest if you do have to put in a larger nest box down the track.
After 2 weeks we changed the box to a bigger one (8 inches square) and the hen was straight back in to feed
Cool that makes me feel a lot more confident next time.
Ever added a chick from another nest to a different nest with chicks?
We have taken yellow crown eggs and swapped with red crown a nest.
The reasoning that one can pick siblings from the parents very easy later, it can be difficult to pick which birds u wish to net/move when they are flying around the flight. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Steps,
We have added young chicks from one nest to another when the cock bird suddenly turned aggressive toward the young chicks. In order to keep a tab on which young are from which parents we use a split leg ring band. These rings can be easily opened and removed once the birds are weaned and ready to move. We choose not to leave the rings on the birds in case of getting them caught whilst flying in the aviary.
We also have 3 different size nest boxes and use the smallest ones with hens who are prone to scatter the eggs when sitting. The smaller box keeps the eggs tight and increases fertility rates. If a large number of chicks hatch we then increase the box size as they grow. There is also a second method which we have also used. This is to place a smaller wooden frame inside the box so that the hen lays her eggs in the middle of the box and keeps them nice and tight. As the chicks hatch and grow simply remove the square box section so that the chicks have room to move.
Steps,
We have added young chicks from one nest to another.
I know this is off-topic but I wonder if it is also possible to add eggs from one nest to another. And, how do I make a distinction between the different chicks after they hatch.
Hi Guys i have moved eggs from box to box and i use texter to mark them. I have heard of people using food colouring on there down when they hatch and then ring them when older, but you need to hope two of them dont hatch at the same time. I have a couple of rubino eastern rosellas eggs under some of my kakas at the moment but they are a bit easier to pick. Cheers Kev
Peter,
We often take eggs from pairs that we know have a bad record in raising their chicks. Sometimes the hen will leave her eggs early or pluck the young once they are born. These eggs are marked and placed under reliable hens. If the number of eggs then gets too high we candle the eggs and remove infertile eggs.
The trick to this practise is to have a couple of pairs of normal coloured pairs. That way it is easy to tell the mutations from the normals. Here in Australia the normal coloured pairs will breed more readily than the mutations and if you time the nestings correctly it is relatively easy to swap the eggs around.
We have completed another bank of aviaries and by the end of this year should have 40 pairs of Kakariki set up. This will mean we can rotate the birds and rest pairs whilst others are breeding. We are also in the process of setting up an incubator and handraising system as well.
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back Princess.
