Advice wanted

[Talven]

So I have a pair of Bourkes 2yr Male 1yr Female having their first breeding season.

They are losing eggs to dehydration.

They have a cockatiel size breeding box which a friend made for me.

What I can't work out is the cause. Is it inexperience from the hen? Is the breeding box the issue? Is it the erratic weather we have been having this Summer?

Any thoughts from any experienced breeders? First time that any birds that I have bred have had this sort of issue.

 

[noodles123]

Are you breeding om purpose? I thought you were living in some restricted/rental situation as far as birds are concerned.

 

[Talven]

Yes attempting to breed on purpose as I have been asked to produce a hand raised bird for someone else. The birds are outdoors in a small aviary. The issues were with birds indoors.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

I’ve been breeding Bourkes for a fair few years now

What do you mean by loosing eggs to dehydration? Finding chicks dead in shell?

What is the nesting substrate being used?

I live in a very dry area and I don’t have dehydration problems, and considering Bourkes are native to the arid interior of Australia.

Do you go near the nest often? Disturbing the parents will have bad effects on egg growth

 

[Talven]

When I say losing to dehydration I mean finding the chicks dead in shell dried out. The infertile eggs are also dried out. Some rattling when moved they are so dried out.

Nesting substrate is pine shavings the same that I used when I was breeding Cockatiels.

It could very well be that the parents are being disturbed given the location of the nest. It's the same place that the Cockatiels were when we bred them here but at the time we didn't have the dogs. Didn't think of that until you mentioned it. The hen stayed in the nest box even if the dogs make a lot of noise nearby so I assumed she wasn't too bothered by the noise.

 

[noodles123]

You are not using an incubator, correct?
Are they breaking the shell a bit but not emerging fully?


I found this online but not sure if it applies as much outside an incubator...
"If the humidity is allowed to decrease after the chick pips the shell, the membranes within the shell can dry-out and stick to the chick. This prevents the chick from turning inside the shell and stops the hatching process. The chick eventually dies. If the membranes around the shell opening appear dried and shrunken, the cause is probably low humidity during hatching. This condition can occur quickly (within 1 or 2 minutes) when the incubator is opened to remove or assist other chicks that are hatching. When hatching begins and proper incubator conditions are attained, the incubator should never be opened until after all chicks are hatched and ready for placement in the brooder."

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Here’s an old breeders trick that might be worthwhile to give a go within the last week of incubation, spray the walls of the nesting box only very lightly with water just so it gives that extra bit of moisture and see how that goes.......still baffles me to be honest that chicks are dying of dehydration because I was breeding birds within the drought with 32 degree days and they were hatching fine. Let me know know how they go with the next clutch.

 

[Talven]

Here’s an old breeders trick that might be worthwhile to give a go within the last week of incubation, spray the walls of the nesting box only very lightly with water just so it gives that extra bit of moisture and see how that goes.......still baffles me to be honest that chicks are dying of dehydration because I was breeding birds within the drought with 32 degree days and they were hatching fine. Let me know know how they go with the next clutch.

Not the only one baffled by this mate although I think I may have worked it out. It looks like it may be the nest box that's the issue, at least in part. The rest of the issue is the direction of the airflow, the direction the nest box faces and the way the nest box is designed. It seems that the wind is blowing through the nest box keeping the humidity down.

I never noticed it was the wind blowing the substrate through the gaps until yesterday. I always thought it was the hen until I saw it happen yesterday with neither bird in the box. I might be way off the mark here but it fits the symptoms. I'll try changing the location of the nest box and try a different design. It can't make things any worse.

No not using an incubator. Eggs are left with parents. The chicks never survive long enough to pip the eggs.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Might be worthwhile to put a spout on the nesting box opening like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=nat...BA#imgrc=m7Pti0ax-BHJmM&imgdii=1T0mHNZfRtJirM , this might work in stopping the air flow removing all the humidity and also keeping the chicks warmer and safer when they hatch, get a hollow branch about 200mm long and nail that over the hole (make sure the hollow is a fairly decent size with the bottom of it having a 'lip' so the parents can perch on the edge before entering the nest).

If there is wind blowing through it would definitely be a significant contributor, luckily you have found this early because more than likely chicks would've died pretty quickly as Bourkes are what we refer to as 'light sitters', meaning that they don't sit on chicks and keep them warm for a very long time (usually about 2 1/2 weeks they discontinue sitting on them 24/7 i have found). Make sure to seal up all gaps with sheet metal or cardboard, and just staple or rivet some sheets on over the gaps.

They can be a bit hard to get going at first the Bourkes, took me 2 or 3 attempts before I got it right. Best of luck mate, they're great little birds and its always very rewarding getting a few chicks onto the perch

 

[Talven]

I added another nest box facing the opposite way and the hen pretty much moved in within minutes. She may just be checking things out but we'll see how it goes. If this clutch is another failure I'll probably split the birds up so she can have a break. Redesign nest boxes and see about changing location for next season.

I think Bourkes are a very under rated choice for a pet bird. Fairly quiet during the day, no messier than a budgie, males have a lovely call of an evening, once they are tamed they don't go back to being "wild" very quickly and they are a very gentle bird. Probably the best parrot for children to start with in my opinion yet they are not very common to buy.

 

[Talven]

Quick update None of the eggs were viable. I've taken the nest boxes away to give the birds a break and will try again next season. Out of the four eggs that she laid this time around three were dried out again. Possibly the hen is overheating them? as the fourth egg that was on the outer was OK.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Very odd indeed still, I just took all my nesting boxes down a couple weeks ago to to give my Bourkes a break until later in the year. Thanks for the update, let us know how you go next season