DECEMBER, 1989 "BUDGIE NEWS" (BY Max Johns) (Courtesy Budgie News. Mar/April
1963 )
DON'T INTERFERE WITH THE BREEDING PAIRS MORE THAN
NECESSARY.
Many setbacks can occur during the breeding season, but it ought not to
be assumed that disaster regularly befalls every breeder.
With knowledge and
understanding, plus keen and attentive observation of all that happens in the
breeding cages, steps can often be taken to overcome obstacles as they arise,
and with a little forethought, much can be done to lessen the risk of many ever
happening at all. Sometimes a hen that is sitting on eggs or chicks will leave
the nest and show no further interest in motherhood. Provided this desertion is
noticed in good time little harm should result. The contents of the nest can be
placed under one or more pairs of foster parents. Most pairs that are breeding
will usually accept eggs and/ or chicks, although it is sometimes unwise to
introduce new youngsters over three weeks old. Many fosters do not favour fully
fledged chicks being thrust upon them and,although their disdain may not be
noticeable, trouble could result. Where possible the older babies should be left
with the parent cock bird and in most cases he will continue feeding them. Place
them in an open topped box on the floor of the cage and wait a couple of hours
to see if they are getting attention. If not, then hand feeding may have to be
resorted to.
LOSS OF CONDITION
There are three main reasons that cause a hen to desert her
responsibility. The first is a loss of breeding condition, possibly brought
about because matters were forced in the early stages when the hen was not at
the peak of condition. The second is due to an objection being taken to the nest
box. It may be that the box, when taken out for inspection, was not returned to
its original position, or perhaps the first box was replaced by another during
the process of cleaning. A strong smell of disinfectant can also cause a hen to
desert her nest.
Therefore, it is advisable to leave the nest box alone,
other than scraping out any excess excreta, for the fulli period of incubation
and rearing. If the boxes have to be cleaned out or changed this task is better
left until the young are out in the cages.
Another reason for desertion is
when the hen falls sick or suffers some discomfort. For example, a foot can
swell owing to an abrasion caused by grit getting lodged under the closed ring.
A hen will, in most cases, continue her duties if the ring is removed and
the leg washed and treated with an antiseptic ointment.. A hen that has suffered
from the other two complaints, however, should be rested, until the following
season.
It is not uncommon for a hen to die while she is breeding. Generally
she is found on the floor of the cage, but not always so, and eggs in the box
may be chilled. It is worth trying to save these eggs by placing them under
foster parents after warming them in the hands. If there are young in the nest,
and very much depending upon the age of them, the cock bird may have taken over
the duty of feeding. Provided he continues to do so, all is well. If, however,
the young are found to be cold and apparently lifeless make every attempt to
revive them. Chicks deprived of food and body warmth pass into a state of coma
before finally succumbing from the effects.
Switch on the hospital cage to
attain as near as possible 100 degrees fahrenheit, and while the temperature is
building up enclose the young into the cupped hands and breathe on them to
provide extra warmth. Sometimes, even before the hospital cage is used a
twitching will be noticed and within half an hour movement should be obvious on
the paper covered floor of the cage, and then the time has come to place them
under suitable foster parents.
LEGS SPREAD OUTWhen a chick is two or three
days old its legs may be seen to be spread out. At this tender age it is
impossible to tell whether the cause is rickets or due to the mother sitting too
heavy. In either case it is advisable to take the baby away and place it under
foster parents, and substitute an older one of five or six days.
To relieve
the pressure from the mother's body weight ensure that there are at least two
eggs in the nest at all times. Clear eggs can be used if they are warmed
previously. After the youngest chick is two weeks of age the practice can be
discontinued. By this time they will be stronger and more likely nestle under
the wing of the parent rather than below the body. Unfortunately, I know of no
cure for rickets and the affected youngster is best destroyed if it develops
with the legs spread wide apart. This complaint will rarely arise if a
sufficiency of vitamin D is absorbed by the parent hen before breeding
commences. Cod liver oil, which is rich in this vitamin, can be added to the
normal seed during the autumn and winter months, and as calcium is vital to
strong bones, this mineral should be offered all the year round in the form of
cuttlefish bone.
NIGHT FRIGHTAt any age, but more often when
the youngsters are under three weeks old, a parent bird may deliberately kill
one or more in a nest. Often there seems to be no apparent reason for this, but
one explanation of why parents turn vicious is that they undergo a fright. Mice,
sudden noises and flashing lights at night all serve to bring on this strange
panic that we call "night fright". Another cause could be the outcome of
fostering out youngsters. Maybe one of the foster parents does not take kindly
to these strangers it could be that some birds have this wicked streak in their
make-up brought about by a condition of which we have no knowledge. To give an
instance, I once had a young hen that killed her first born chick, she hatched
the second one and promptly disposed of it too. The remaining eggs were fostered
out and on the second round I took one more chance with her but she again
destroyed the first born chick. As she did not exhaust herself from feeding, I
allowed a third round and fostered all the eggs before hatching time. The
following year, as there were not enough cages to spare for hens that would not
rear successfully, I experimented with this bird once more. Its first youngster
hatched out and it was fed, then the second and the third and so on. With the
second round and in subsequent years, this hen proved to be a model mother,as
good or better than any in the aviary.
|
