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Post by midnightserval on Sept 24, 2010 17:52:30 GMT 10
My conures are breeding, oh how exciting! THe female has 3 eggs as of today and she looks to be very determined to look after them as my little sweetheat is acting like the devil! My male is also extremely cage protective, how sweet.
I read on google the eggs take approx 25 days to hatch. Im not going to pull them as i dont have a incubator. I was actually told by somone that they wouldnt breed this year as i havnt had the male very long, but i caught them doing the naughty the other day...
So i will socialize them as the mum allows me to, plus i think its important for her to raise her first clutch.
She is a standard green cheek, and he is a cinnamon. ANy ideas what the offspring will be, I assume all standard?
Its been unepected, is there any fancy tips?
Thanks!
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Post by avinet on Sept 25, 2010 9:59:35 GMT 10
She is a standard green cheek, and he is a cinnamon. ANy ideas what the offspring will be, I assume all standard? Its been unepected, is there any fancy tips? Thanks! Congratulations - they must be pretty happy with their home to be breeding. The only thing you have to do is provide plenty of good food, and also make sure the hen has access to a calcium source, either shell grit, cuttlebone or a calcium supplement. Green cheeks ar enot big birds and if they lay several eggs without being able to replace calcium they could run into problems. With a normal hen and cinnamon male, and assuming no other splits, you should get cinnamon daughters and normal sons, so you will be able to sex them as soon as they feather up. cheers, Mike |
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Post by midnightserval on Sept 25, 2010 17:43:20 GMT 10
Hi, thanks for your reply! And the cinnamon daughters and whatnot is strange! Kina sucks because i prefer the girls and prefer the standard colouring! Oh well, ill love them.
Yeah i know they need a good diet, i was a bit concerned today as the female was acting her normal self and was playing outsode so i didnt know if she had dumped the eggs, but now she is back on them.
How will i know if the eggs arnt fertilized or go bad? I dont like disturbing her :/
Thanks! Sooo exciting!
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Post by nasosipi on Sept 28, 2010 22:03:10 GMT 10
Dear Midnightserval, Congratulations on your success with your feathered parents-to-be - its such and exciting time! As Mike said above - they must be feeling very happy and safe - which is a great credit to you  There is a brlliant Green Cheek Colour Inheritance chart available on the net - please take a look at www.conure.org/Resources/GCC_color_genetics_%202005.pdf You will find all the answers there - its an extremely helpful chart to keep handy If you wait until approx 10 day since laying... grab a pen light and place it close to the end of the egg - if fertile, you will be able to see feint red veins throughout the egg and if a bit further advanced you will see the chick starting to form.. Our green cheeks inubated for approx 21 days give or take a day or two or each chick During the breeding season, we have High performance Tropican pellets available at all times and we feed fresh fruit and vegies with sprouted seed every morning then milk arrowroot biscuit or whole grain bread in the afternoon... Once the chicks begin to hatch, we feed fruit and vegies twice a day - it really is amazing how much food they go through feeding their growing family. Checking on the nest once a day or every other day I find works for me with our birds - they quickly get used to the routine and seem to have accepted it without any problems - through talking to many people and lot of reading - I have come to understand its no real drama if she comes off the eggs in the first week - some hens incubate right from the first egg and others dont start incubating until they are finished laying - but the former is more common.. Good luck - I look forward to hearing about their progress Sonja |
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Post by midnightserval on Sept 29, 2010 23:54:48 GMT 10
Thanks Sonja, muchly appreciated.
Yes ie been spoiling them with many good quality pellets, and fruit and veggies, its such a exciting event!
I have been poking my head in every 2nd day or so, and alrady my female is over it and continues eating, my male is pretty aggressie and sneaks his way down and tries to bite me, but he has always been very cage defensive.
I have a incubator on the way, and was wondering, what time and age to people pull for handraising if at all? I would like to have them well socialized but i also feel bad about taking the mothers babies from her. I think she will make a awesome mother
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Post by lolwutburds on Sept 30, 2010 7:31:20 GMT 10
Usually they are pulled at about 3 weeks. Do you have hand rearing experience? If not, you might find it easier to co-parent with them. Take them out and play with them, but let the parents feed. You could try some warmed baby food (pureed sweet potato and pumpkin is available at the supermarket) from a spoon when they get a little older. This can help them to wean as it's a 'real' food and can be a great experience for you while you are learning. I know of a lady who co-parents with her ekkies and she has raised some goregous birds.
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Post by nasosipi on Sept 30, 2010 22:19:47 GMT 10
Hello again, I don't have years of experience, unlike others on the forum - I read a lot, talk to those who do have the experience, watch my birds to know their 'quirks' and apply common sense. To hand raise or not to hand raise... experienced or no experience... there is only one way to become experienced and that is to do as much research as possible and 'have a go'... Use the next couple of weeks to research, read and visit you tube - there are some amazing clips of hand raising/feeding young parrots - perhaps you can find a breeder big or small, nearby who will be happy to show you 'how to' - or your local vet or bird club even. For their first clutch, as lolwutburds has suggested - co parenting may be a great option for you ... would you believe there are even clips of co-parenting on You Tube! Where would we be without the wide world web! We can always learn a lot from watching mother nature - the challenge then lies in trying to replicate it ... I have two pair with young at the moment - one with 7 from 7 and the other with 5 from 7.. I chose to pull the chicks at 3 weeks initially then brought it forward to 2 weeks, as the chicks aged... the younger ones took to hand feeding much quicker... BUT - they are all just as accepting and now comfortable with us within only one week... I often find our youngest daughter with one of the babies tucked into a tissue lined beanie, giving it cuddles as she watches TV Like yourself, I wasnt entirely comfortable with taking all the chicks from the nest, so I have left 2 chicks from each clutch in the nest to let the parents raise them... I leg ringed them at 10-12 days with closed aluminium leg rings and popped them back in the nest box. Concerned about the dampness and odour of the next box a week after all the chicks hatched, I spoke with aussie forum member vankhari, who suggested changing the nest material... I now do this once a week, to keep it clean and hygienic - during this time, our daughters play with the chicks, while Mum and Dad enjoy some baby free time in the aviary... I pop my head in the nest box twice a day to check on, talk and play with the chicks AND to watch how they develop differently by staying with Mum and Dad.. I hope this helps Have fun Sonja There is a lot to think of - but - common sense is the key. |
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Post by Robyn on Oct 1, 2010 16:50:30 GMT 10
Congratulations, I hope all goes well .
There has been some very valuable advice here. I would also like to add when i first started off with my hand rearing almost 20 years ago, I found the ABK A Guide to Hand-rearing & incubation a god send. That book has everything you need to know about hand rearing, how to brood the chicks & how to wean. It was & still my bible & it's never far from my finger tips. Another ABK book i think is worth a mention is A Guide to Health & Disease.
Also a little word of warning careful with nest inspections sometimes the GCC can destroy their eggs or even kill the chicks. My pair are laying their second clutch. I try not to interfere to much until the chicks actually hatch. I then check every 3 or 4 days to make sure all is well. Only once did this pair destroy their nest, that was when they first started breeding.
I wish you heaps of luck as there is nothing like having your first clutch of chicks.
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Post by midnightserval on Oct 24, 2010 10:05:53 GMT 10
Well she would have laid the 7th egg around the 1st october by guesstimation, its now the 24th, ive pretty well lost hope, how much longer should i wait, and then in the case they are duds what do i do? Raisin is incredibly determined to sit on these eggs and i dont think she will quit on them very easily.  |
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Post by Robyn on Oct 24, 2010 13:28:14 GMT 10
Doesn't sound like you have been lucky this time round. It only takes 21 to 24 days from the time incubation starts so at around the time the 3rd egg is laid. So i would think you would have a chick by this if the eggs were fertile. Hold a touch to the eggs & you will be able to tell if they are clear. If so take them out & with a bit of luck she will lay again.
One thing more i would get the other bird sexed to make sure i have a cock bird.
Better luck next time. Fingers crossed.
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Post by midnightserval on Oct 24, 2010 18:26:31 GMT 10
They have been sexed and i have the paperwork.
Oh well, but i dont particularly want her laying again, wont that put alot of toll on her poor body? But she is so determined and tries to attack me for even looking at her, so im not keen on torching the eggs cos she will go ballistic at me!
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Post by Robyn on Oct 25, 2010 6:21:09 GMT 10
They can & do sometimes make mistakes in the Lab with DNA results.
You will have to throw the eggs out as it isn't a good idea for her to keep sitting on infertile eggs either. They do turn rotten & isn't nice when they break in the nest box.
Most hens whether in the wild or in our aviaries will double clutch should their first clutch fail. My Green Cheeks will have 3 clutches each year. As long as they are fed well & have access to calcium all the time it doesn't seem to bother them. I leave her with the chicks for about 4 weeks & by the time they have weaned she will have more eggs ready to hatch. So it isn't as if she will lay straight away.
I always candle my eggs at 14 days into incubation if none show any sign of fertilization i turf them. With conures as long as they have eggs in the nest they will sit. Last clutch my GC had 6 eggs only 3 hatched. The hen would not leave the nest for long until i removed the 3 dud eggs. Her babies are ready to be removed for H/R now.
Robyn.
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Post by bleedinggreen on Feb 23, 2011 9:10:11 GMT 10
Robyn that's a good point you made about removing the dud eggs once all fertile eggs have hatched. If the hen is still incubating while there are chicks in the nest she can squash them or cause straddle legs on the chicks.
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