First Fertile Clutch

[Forever16]

Hi Everyone. New to Forum ... First Post.

We have a Green Cheek Conure (F) age 4 & a Cinnamon Conure (M) age 1. They had their first Clutch last month, 4 eggs (2 came out Regular and the other 2 Deflated), all not Fertile. Then they had another Clutch late April/ early May (5 Eggs). We just Candled 4 out of the 5 Eggs and all of them are Fertile.

Both Parents are in the same cage and their Nesting Box is in their cage as well. Our questions are ...

1) Do we leave the Chicks in the Nesting Box after they hatch or do we put them in a Brooder Box?
2) If they stay with their Parents do we need to regulate Temperature?
3) Do we need to Hand Feed (Schedule Hand Feeding) or do we let the Parents take care of the Feedings?

Any help would be Appreciated!

[Dragonlady2]

Hi and welcome to the forum! I am not a breeder and hopefully Quakerella or someone with breeding experience will be by to help. I will say, however, that it is probably best to let the parents raise the chicks for the first month. I think the research indicates that the chicks are better adjusted this way. Given that this is their first clutch I would potentially be ready to assist with handfeeding as a supplement.
Have you handfed before?

My bigger concern is that the female may have issues with calcium depletion, given that she has laid 9 eggs in a month. Are you boosting her calcium intake?

[LesliesBabies]

My breeder said the chicks should stay with the parents 10 days. Double or, in this case, triple the mother's calcium intake. After removing the chicks, you must regulate their temperature at first and decrease it over time to allow the chicks to adjust to room temperature. Continue syringe feedings until weaned. Such a simplistic response to a hard question!

[Dragonlady2]

From my perspective, the answer isn't quite as easy. There are concerns regarding the temp of the formula, how much to feed, recognizing if there are crop issues etc. If this is a first time clutch for the female, there may be concerns regarding her ability and instincts regarding feeding. Experience or a strong support person (another experienced breeder) is really important if breeding birds...jmo.

[Quakerella]

Welcome Steve and Rhonda,

I will try to assist all I can. I am currently handfeeding cockatiels and quakers.

There are many things to think about and it can be a little overwhelming for a beginner. I am assuming from your questions you are considering hand rearing. If this is the case the first this I would suggest to you is contacting an experienced breeder or vet that can show you the proper technique for hand feeding. Your formula needs to be the proper consistency for the age of the bird. I have had to mix two different feedings for the same clutch due to the age difference. It also needs to be the proper temperature, between 103 and 105. The amount fed is important, you don't want to underfeed and the birds will not get required nutrients, and you don't want to overfeed as you could stretch the crop or they could aspirate if the food is pushed back up.

You do not need to handfeed. I raised beautiful fully tame lovebirds many years ago and they were raised by the parents. The parents had great trust in us and we were able to take the babies out for socializing and they were okay with this. I have found with quakers that they require more socializing and handfeeding is best to have tame birds.

I band my babies at 10 days and pull from nest box at 2 weeks. This will depend on how many babies are expected. If having a large clutch I have to pull the first three just after the forth one hatches. This way the mother will devote all her time to the smallest. I put all babies in a brooder until they are feathered. Not full feathered, but feathered enough to keep them warm. Room temperature will also regulate when they are taken out of the brooder. If the babies are being raised by their parents there is very little need to regulate the temperature, as long as it is not freezing. The parents will keep them warm in the nest box until they are ready to fledge.


I hope this helps a little:th_smile:

[Forever16]

Hi and welcome to the forum! I am not a breeder and hopefully Quakerella or someone with breeding experience will be by to help. I will say, however, that it is probably best to let the parents raise the chicks for the first month. I think the research indicates that the chicks are better adjusted this way. Given that this is their first clutch I would potentially be ready to assist with handfeeding as a supplement.
Have you handfed before?

My bigger concern is that the female may have issues with calcium depletion, given that she has laid 9 eggs in a month. Are you boosting her calcium intake?

Thank you for the information. I've read to leave Babies with Parents for at least the first 10 days to a month. The Mother is very attentive and is always watching her Babies (Eggs). Baby #1 Hatched this morning so anxiety has kicked into overdrive right now and we are freaking out to figure the best course for Parents & Babies. We don't want to do anything to jeopardize the growth.

Answers:
1) No we have not. We didn't expect them to have eggs this quick since the male was only 1 yr old. Lol!
2) She does get her calcium intake from her pellets which she eats a lot of, plus she eats her seeds, millet, fresh apple and carrots daily not including her hydrated fruit.

[Forever16]

Thank you for the information!

- - - Updated - - -


My breeder said the chicks should stay with the parents 10 days. Double or, in this case, triple the mother's calcium intake. After removing the chicks, you must regulate their temperature at first and decrease it over time to allow the chicks to adjust to room temperature. Continue syringe feedings until weaned. Such a simplistic response to a hard question!

Thank you for the information! We're taking notes from all the information we're gathering.

[Forever16]

From my perspective, the answer isn't quite as easy. There are concerns regarding the temp of the formula, how much to feed, recognizing if there are crop issues etc. If this is a first time clutch for the female, there may be concerns regarding her ability and instincts regarding feeding. Experience or a strong support person (another experienced breeder) is really important if breeding birds...jmo.

Thank you again. We will consult with the Parents Vet to get a professional opinion as well.

[Forever16]

Welcome Steve and Rhonda,

I will try to assist all I can. I am currently handfeeding cockatiels and quakers.

There are many things to think about and it can be a little overwhelming for a beginner. I am assuming from your questions you are considering hand rearing. If this is the case the first this I would suggest to you is contacting an experienced breeder or vet that can show you the proper technique for hand feeding. Your formula needs to be the proper consistency for the age of the bird. I have had to mix two different feedings for the same clutch due to the age difference. It also needs to be the proper temperature, between 103 and 105. The amount fed is important, you don't want to underfeed and the birds will not get required nutrients, and you don't want to overfeed as you could stretch the crop or they could aspirate if the food is pushed back up.

You do not need to handfeed. I raised beautiful fully tame lovebirds many years ago and they were raised by the parents. The parents had great trust in us and we were able to take the babies out for socializing and they were okay with this. I have found with quakers that they require more socializing and handfeeding is best to have tame birds.

I band my babies at 10 days and pull from nest box at 2 weeks. This will depend on how many babies are expected. If having a large clutch I have to pull the first three just after the forth one hatches. This way the mother will devote all her time to the smallest. I put all babies in a brooder until they are feathered. Not full feathered, but feathered enough to keep them warm. Room temperature will also regulate when they are taken out of the brooder. If the babies are being raised by their parents there is very little need to regulate the temperature, as long as it is not freezing. The parents will keep them warm in the nest box until they are ready to fledge.


I hope this helps a little:th_smile:

Thank you for the Welcome.

We found information on this forum regarding food temp and feeding times. We want to give the Parents most of the job but we also want to make sure we are prepared if we need to step in and help feed.

How can we tell if the chick is not getting enough food or attention from the Parents? What signs do we look for? Also, when they are in the Brooder, do we place the Parents in the Brooder for feeding or should we be hand feeding by then?

Thank you in advance.

[Forever16]

Thank you for the Welcome.

We found information on this forum regarding food temp and feeding times. We want to give the Parents most of the job but we also want to make sure we are prepared if we need to step in and help feed.

How can we tell if the chick is not getting enough food or attention from the Parents? What signs do we look for? Also, when they are in the Brooder, do we place the Parents in the Brooder for feeding or should we be hand feeding by then?

Thank you in advance.

One more question ... Do we remove the egg shells from the Nesting Box after they Hatch?

[Forever16]

Hi Everyone. New to Forum ... First Post.

We have a Green Cheek Conure (F) age 4 & a Cinnamon Conure (M) age 1. They had their first Clutch last month, 4 eggs (2 came out Regular and the other 2 Deflated), all not Fertile. Then they had another Clutch late April/ early May (5 Eggs). We just Candled 4 out of the 5 Eggs and all of them are Fertile.

Both Parents are in the same cage and their Nesting Box is in their cage as well. Our questions are ...

1) Do we leave the Chicks in the Nesting Box after they hatch or do we put them in a Brooder Box?
2) If they stay with their Parents do we need to regulate Temperature?
3) Do we need to Hand Feed (Schedule Hand Feeding) or do we let the Parents take care of the Feedings?

Any help would be Appreciated!

Also ... What would be the recommended brand for Formula for the Babies?

[Quakerella]

Congratulations on the hatching of the first chick


How can we tell if the chick is not getting enough food or attention from the Parents? What signs do we look for? Also, when they are in the Brooder, do we place the Parents in the Brooder for feeding or should we be hand feeding by then?

You will be able to tell very quickly if the parents are attending or not. 1) You will be able to hear the babies being fed. 2) look at the crop of the baby (pouch in the front) it will be bulged and you will be able to see the food through the skin. If you are letting the parents raise the babies, just leave them in the nest together. The parents will keep them warm. The only time you will need a brooder is if the babies are pulled from the nest because the parents are not feeding, or you decide to hand feed. If you pull the babies they will require feedings thoughout the night. I will suggest you get yourself a small digital kitchen scale. If you have to hand feed the babies, you will want to weigh them every day to make sure they are gaining weight. I weigh mine before the first feeding of the day.

There is no need to remove the shells from the nest. The mother will eat them to replenish her calcium.

There are many opinions regarding formula. Check with your nearest pet store to see what they have readily available. Personally, I am a dedicated Hagen user. I have seen too many recalls from various other companies and Hagen has a large Avicultural Research Institute that tests for many years before providing to the public. Just my personal opinion.