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Post by Zack on Nov 9, 2004 9:01:03 GMT 10
Hi all, I am hoping someone might be able to help me out here. My hen who was sitting on 6 eggs, now only has 5. Checked the box this morning and got all excited as the egg that was due to hatch today had a hole in it and a little wing was poking out.......but the bad news is that the egg has been pecked while the chick was in the process of hatching!!!  My poorbaby died before it had a chance to hatch. My dilema is that I don't know who is doing the pecking. There are two chicks from the previous clutch in with mum and dad. They have fledged but keep dashing back into the box every now and again. I was thinking, because chicks are curious at that age they may have wonderd what was happening and pecked the egg?  Would mum and dad have killed the baby because the previous chicks are still there?? The rest of the eggs are fertile, but I only have one pair so I can't even foster them out. Any ideas and remedies would be great......getting a bit desperate here! Thanks Kazz |
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Post by josiedownunda on Nov 9, 2004 11:33:04 GMT 10
If mum and dad are happy and settled with the eggs it may be worthwhile removing the older babies and letting them concentrate on the soon to be new ones. It may have even been caused by the parents hunting the older ones out of the nest and a claw actually damaged the egg. The way I see it you are probably going to find it easier looking after the older babies than trying to raise all these new ones yourself so I would focus on the parents putting all their efforts into the new ones.
This is just my opinion and what I would do but goodness knows I have made mistakes before and learned the hard way! Maybe someone else has some input as well.
Jo-Anne
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Post by fischer on Nov 9, 2004 13:09:30 GMT 10
Hi Kazz, I would take both the fledgelings and the male away. At least that way you will know if the hen is doing it, if shes not,
you can put the male back with her and go from there. Jo-anne
is right, at the very least, its time to take the young away.
Hope this helps, Tony
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Post by hillcresttiels on Nov 9, 2004 15:24:53 GMT 10
Hi Kazz I totally agree with Jo-Anne the ist clutch should be able to feed on their own by now if i'm not mistaken so i would remove them! are you sure the hole wasn't a result of the newborn stuck to the membrane.....! >ps dont remove the cock bird as you will have bigger problems with incubation cheers frank |
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Post by fischer on Nov 9, 2004 16:32:50 GMT 10
Yes, that was bad advise Kazz, I really didn't think about the incubation  , Tony |
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Post by hillcresttiels on Nov 9, 2004 17:01:43 GMT 10
Hi Tony we all do that sometimes no probs lol cheers Frank
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Post by Zack on Nov 9, 2004 18:26:14 GMT 10
Thanks for the prompt replies I am pretty sure it is not dad as he is a model father (as Frank can vouch) has not put a toe wrong since I got him. First of all what does a hole caused by the membrane sticking to the shell look like? Is this a humidity problem? 2nd I am pretty sure it was pecked as it had beak marks all around the hole. The older chicks are eating themselves but they are still begging food from mum and dad. Do you think they will be able to cope by themselves as I don't think they will take too kindly to me trying to hand feed them this late in the game? Thanks Kazz |
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Post by josiedownunda on Nov 9, 2004 18:50:09 GMT 10
It will depend how old the chicks are. I recently had to start feeding my 2 pastelface chicks after mum and dad disappeared as they were only 5 and 6 weeks old. I have them in a cage inside and no amount of coercing will convince them that food comes from a syringe. What I have been doing is using a crop needle......they are fairly easy to feed that way. I felt they were still too young to get nothing at all even though they are eating by themselves. I don't usually handfeed with a crop needle but in this case I am not handfeeding to get them to bond with me....only to supplement their diet till they can feed themselves....once they can do that then it is out to the aviary. I am monitoring their weights now to see how they are going and in another week or so they will be 8 &9 weeks respectively so i will stop the feeding and see how they manage alone.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Jo-Anne
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Post by hillcresttiels on Nov 9, 2004 20:34:05 GMT 10
Hi Kazz it sounds to me like the chicks demise was self inflicted very rarely would another tiel succumb to those levels the marks you see around the egg could have been caused by the chick.when a chcick is stuck to the membrane it's egg tooth can only chip away in the one location causing a hole and eventually proving fatal as per photo cheers Frank  |
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Post by Zack on Nov 9, 2004 20:46:20 GMT 10
Frank, You could be right. The hole in the egg is all within reach of the chicks eggtooth.
There was still a bit of blood in the shell too. If the chicks membrane has stuck to the shell is there anything I can do if the chick is still alive or does being stuck mean certain death?
Is this problem caused by humidity or is it "just one of those things"??
Thanks
Kazz
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Post by hillcresttiels on Nov 10, 2004 14:41:22 GMT 10
Are you breeding indoors Kazz!
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Smiley
Bronze Member
Posts: 194
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Post by Smiley on Nov 12, 2004 21:45:13 GMT 10
I now hat you are saying there sorry i did not get to this early on...it could have been the humity..What I do is when they are ready to hatch in to just dribble some water into the the nest box...not on the eggs..Sounds like the poor guy mite have got stuck..Ifd you have had hot weather and no rain this could have have the problem.I have one right now that piped and even put a whole in the egg..I have the egg inside and it is not ready to come out..It has a lot of egg sack still..This dose happen some time,very reare...I am just keeping an eye on this one.weting it down so that the egg does not dig into the baby...
Natalie
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Post by Zack on Nov 13, 2004 14:53:12 GMT 10
Frank, They are inside at the moment but thankfully I have the aviary up and running now so they can go in there! Bit of an update, the 6 eggs that were being incubated. 2 looked to be pecked and consequently the babies died. One hatched and travelled too far from mum and dad....got too cold, was dead when I found it. One infertile (and pecked) Leaving 2 eggs. Which mum and dad have decided they don't want to sit on anymore!! I fear the chicks in these eggs are already dead as they are due to hatch any time now and when I checked on them they were stone cold!! I have put them in my makeshift incubator, but I have a feeling I am too late...again! Any ideas on what I should do? Kazz |
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Post by hillcresttiels on Nov 13, 2004 17:09:54 GMT 10
Hi Kazz you will probably find the chicks were deceased prior to the parents abandoning them unfortunately you have experienced the highs and lows of breeding,I think if i remember correctly you also had a few humidity probs in their 1st clutch and maybe breeding indoors has a lot to do with it, the usage of heaters, air conditioning all ends up being a factor along with other reasons of being indoors now that you are in a conventional outdoor set up the humidity factor will be minimised. If the hen looks healthy I would give her 1 more clutch cheers Frank  |
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Post by Zack on Nov 15, 2004 13:05:48 GMT 10
Frank, I am going to give Zack a rest as she needs to regain condition.
She seems a bit high strung at the moment..very jumpy.
I'll give them a bit of TLC and she should be right. For some reason she has shed all the flight feathers on her left wing. Don't know if she pulled them or not.
All the eggs are gone. I ended up with 4 fertile out of 6 but they were all damaged and died. So no babies this time.
Do you think I should separate them? If so do I keep them near each other or not?
Thanks
Kazz
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Post by hillcresttiels on Nov 15, 2004 15:33:15 GMT 10
Hi Kazz keep an eye on her as i hope its not an early sign of Giardiasis. Also i wouldn't bother seperating them as they will commence their moult if they dont breed again this season cheers frank |
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Post by kim1 on Nov 15, 2004 19:29:28 GMT 10
If a chick gets stuck in the shell you can help it out I have had to do this a couple of times, I watch for the first pip and give them a little bit more than 24 hrs for hatch, if the chick is to slow you can gently remove the shell but you need to make sure you dampen the inside of the shell with warm water I also mix a bit or Spark in the water, you gently pick away at the shell but need to check the membrane is damp and not dry, otherwise keep gently wetting it but don't get it in the chicks nose. often once the chick is almost out you can give them a tiny drop of spark to hydrate it and in a short while it will regain enough stength to break the rest away by itself
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Post by Zack on Nov 16, 2004 17:25:24 GMT 10
I came to the conclusion that the eggs were indeed pecked as one of the chicks in the egg was too young to have been hatching. Would still have another 3/4 days to go. Well they are out in the aviary and fresh air now, getting a well deserved break. Hopefully next season I might have a few more babies. Frank, What is "Giardiasis"? Never heard of this one before. If you have any info, would be good. She is growing the feathers back now though. Thanks Kazz   |
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, Tony
