Nest Material

[chickabee]

six babies in one box do a lot of pooping, can I change the nest material as it is very smelly.

[lovemytiels]

Hi Deb, I do clean the nesting material of my tiels when there are babies as it does get very dirty quickly. As long as the parents don't get too distressed, I put the babies in a icecream container lined with a towel & do the job very quickly. It shouldn't be too much of a problem but if the babies are young don't let them get too cold. Hope i have been of some help. Cheers Anna

[Catbird]

I change my nest material while the chicks are still in the box too. Same method as Anna - out of the box, into an icecream container, old material outm, new material in, chicks back in.

Once I had the most horrible experience of putting my hand in the box and feeling something squirming around inside, but the chicks were all in the corner. This was in December and it had been very hot. A fly had gotten into the box and the nest material was crawling (litterally) in maggots - it was revoulting!! So now I always change the nest material about once a week once the chicks get to 2 weeks old.

I know of people that use bran as a nesting material and add mealworms to the box. Apparently the worm keep the box clean and feaces under control.

- Claire

[josiedownunda]

I also change the nesting material often. At least once a week until 2 weeks old and then every second day after that. I have noticed that once the heat arrives , if we get some rain it takes no time at all for mould to start growing and the pile of poop gets huge! All my breeders are used to me doing this so it doesn't bother them at all. I usually do it in the afternoon when i feed them so the parents are usually pretty occupied filling up on fresh food for the babies and it doesn't worry them. It also gives me a chance to quickly check the babies over for any problems they may have plus check for lice and mites etc. Always use the exact same sort of bedding material though as changes like a new smell or colour can deter some birds.
Jo-Anne

[chickabee]

Hi Anna and Claire

I have been handling the chicks since they hatched, so they and the parents are used to me mucking around, yesterday I too noticed a blow fly in one of the boxes and i got thinking about horrid maggots not something I want in with the chicks, so it looks like I'll be doing a material change thisarvo ;D
I was worried that I might change the humidity in the box and upset the little ones.

and come to think of it, I do remember reading somewhere about maggots in the bottom of native birds nests and how they keep the bottom of the nest clean,......but still not something I want just at the moment