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Post by avinet on Nov 14, 2008 21:39:38 GMT 10
It's Quaker breeding time now and that means lots of babies to hand rear. I started rearing 12 on Tuesday, 5 blue and 7 green, and the photos of the two tubs of babies follow. Fortunately our staff love raising Quaker babies, they are the cutest babies of all, so we have divided them into three groups of 4 and I'm doing one group and two of the staff in the shop are doing the others. cheers, Mike   |
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Post by Jane on Nov 17, 2008 16:28:27 GMT 10
What lovely bundles of fluff ;D Are they pine pelllets? I find them really good for that  Seems to keep the chicks pretty clean. |
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Post by avinet on Nov 17, 2008 16:59:32 GMT 10
The bedding we use is called Max's cat litter, available from supermarkets. It is made from compressed rice husks produced when white rice is milled. The supermarket packs are a bit expensive but it can be bought at some produce stores in 12kg bags for around $20 to $25 and works out quite cheap. We sell the 12kg bags but I'm not sure if other pet shops carry it.
Mostly we sell it to be used as a substrate for reptiles and it is ideal for many lizards and snakes if an owner wants something easy to clean but is better looking than newspaper.
It has the advantage that if the baby decides to experiment and eat a bit the pellet just digests as normal food - plenty of fibre! In a tub with babies, it is quite absorbent and the babies stay cleaner than on paper towel or similar stuff, and it will absorb moisture very effectively. Eventually it will start to crumble to a powder when it reaches the end of it's useful life - those tubs with 4 quaker babies in each tub (they have been split up since the photos) will get changes every two to three days.
I wouldn't be keen on pine pellets as a bedding for babies. I would think if they swallowed one then it could cause a blockage.
cheers,
Mike
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Karen
Addicted Member
Posts: 97
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Post by Karen on Nov 18, 2008 16:23:56 GMT 10
oh they are so cute! I admit I was put off quakers when I bought an adult pair - everytime I stuck my nose outside they screamed! I couldn't wait to sell them as they just became louder despite my attempts to have them used to me.  Luckily I have regained my love of them when I was told handraised ones are nothing like the noisy monsters I used to have.  |
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Post by meandem on Nov 18, 2008 17:18:16 GMT 10
Oh my gosh  They are just the cutest quakers I have ever seen. 12.......yep, more sleepless nights hey? I wish I was living closer to you Mike, I would love to pop in and see all these gorgeous babies, I am so glad you share the photos with us. My quakers are sitting tight, so keep your fingers crossed for me. |
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Post by angelicvampyre on Jan 14, 2009 15:06:49 GMT 10
Wow just stumbled in and found this topic, know it's a little old. Can you give me some tips or could you point me in the direction of some info on hand raising quakers? I have just commited to buy 4 adults and breed with in partnership with a friend and it's unlikey that we will handraise the first few rounds but after that we might look into it.
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Post by sypher on Jan 14, 2009 20:21:54 GMT 10
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Post by angelicvampyre on Jan 15, 2009 8:03:13 GMT 10
Thanks so much will order a copy!
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Seems to keep the chicks pretty clean.
They are just the cutest quakers I have ever seen. 12.......yep, more sleepless nights hey? I wish I was living closer to you Mike, I would love to pop in and see all these gorgeous babies, I am so glad you share the photos with us. My quakers are sitting tight, so keep your fingers crossed for me.
