HELP! My Conure's Eggs Hatched

[gracebowen]

Again im no expert but you may have to find a way to have a close look at the babies. From what ive read the babies should be weighed daily on a gram scale and they should gain a certain amount of weight every day. The nest box also needs to be cleaned.

In my thread Rex laid 2 eggs JerseyWendy put some links I found helpful.

How old are the chicks now?
Have you researched hand feeding in case you need to?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Quick question, do I need to change the parents diet since they are feeding the babies or can i just keep giving them their normal diet of pellets with some fruits and veges?

A high quality seed mix with pellets and plenty of fresh fruits and veggies and some sprouts 'should' be all they need.

Also how do I tell if the mom is feeding them? I hear the babies chirping a lot and i can't tell if they are hungry or cold and when i hear them sometimes i will look thru the hole in the box to see what she is doing and sometimes she is just sitting there.

You have to check and weigh the chicks daily (and keep record of their weight), preferably around the same time. Get the parent(s) to leave the nest box and block off the entrance while you do this.

 

[SilverSage]

Yes, the parents do need a different diet for breeding. Research the exact needs yourself. The diet differs even from climate to climate, as one type of food my be ideal in colder climates but contribute to crop problems in another. They need pellets, HIGH QUALITY (like volkmans) seed mix that is limited, egg food, lots and lots of greens, lots of other veggies, and a few fruits, but you should get in touch with a breeder who is located close to you about what exactly works around you. Disregard anyone who only feeds one or two items.

You should be able to see the babies crops emptying and being filled by the parents. You may be hearing the babies chirp for food, or you may be hearing them actually. Being fed.

Your babies should gain the amount of weight at which they hatched each day at first. I'm assuming you haven't weighed them so far? Go to Walmart and get a food scale that measures in grams, it should only cost around $20. You should be examining, weighing, and recording each day while the crop is at the same level each time.

 

[SilverSage]

I kept repeated candling. Like twice a week. I put the lock on to stop myself. It was like an addiction. I candled too early on the ekkie's but how do I know since I was out of town when she laid them.

I get the calcium thing. They have the calcium all the time. The pairs get the extra food calcium all the time in their diet.

I'm not happy about the chronic egg laying going on either. I didn't know the severe was a chronic egg layer until she had a mate. I took the nest box down, moved her cage, moved her cage to another level in the house and she still laid an egg. Won't letting her drop eggs just keep her dropping eggs and continue to make her a chronic egg layer. My next step will be to remove her mate.

I'm in the middle of packing my house up to move so sometimes other things get prioritized for me. Like getting the house ready for a sale versus putting up or taking a nesting box down one day or the next.

As for the Ekkie - I didn't realize that having a clutch once a year made her a chronic egg layer. Taking the eggs away a week after they lay the eggs will make them lay more. I didn't take them away from her my friend sitting for me did. Once she went the whole 28 days sitting on the new clutch in the spring she didn't lay another clutch until last week. The female ekkie is five.

As for the price...let's just say that the feeling around this area is to charge as much as you can because people will pay it here. I think that is sad.

I personally candle my eggs every day, I'm not sure why thinking twice a week would be too much? Especially if you don't yet know if they are fertile. You want the hen to be used to you getting at the eggs, as you will also need to check babies at least once a day in detail, weigh them and examine them, etc.

Be careful with artificial calcium especially with eckies... I'm assuming you know that they can suffer greatly from too much of anything in their system, as they are unable to pass the excess artificial.

Dropping eggs off the perch is a lot more likely to get her to stop laying, assuming you are also taking all the other appropriate steps to control her hormones, than giving her a box or any other nesting encouragers. Separating macaws can be quite hard on them and should be a last resort.

I highly suggest removing the nest boxes entirely until you are well settled in your new home. The disruption of moving is not healthy for a nesting bird, and can cause them to abandon their eggs, a tragedy for you if they are fertile. It can also cause confusion for young birds still learning e natural nesting cycle which you really want to avoide. In addition, if the eggs were to be fertile, you wouldn't have the time or attention to devote to the babies in that case, as chicks require a lot more attention than simply removing boxes, especially if something goes wrong, and especially if it goes wrong right away.

You implied that you chose the eckies because you had a layer. Parrots should not be laying eggs without mates; if they do, something is off kilter with them. That should be corrected before they are bred.

 

[Dopey]

I use paper towels and disinfectant to clean, and I pick them up with my clean washed hands.

That made me chuckle BECAUSE I love paper towels and I use them alot but sometimes I don't think of the obvious. Thanks!

 

[Dopey]

I personally candle my eggs every day, I'm not sure why thinking twice a week would be too much? Especially if you don't yet know if they are fertile. You want the hen to be used to you getting at the eggs, as you will also need to check babies at least once a day in detail, weigh them and examine them, etc.
Well, I love candling and you candle yours and some breeders don't candle at all. I've talked with a couple of others and they don't even check until after the birds have hatched. I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG....IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS FOR ME.
I do look in the box - especially with the ekkie because she lets me. With the macaws I'm more careful.

Be careful with artificial calcium especially with eckies... I'm assuming you know that they can suffer greatly from too much of anything in their system, as they are unable to pass the excess artificial.
Yep - I know.

Dropping eggs off the perch is a lot more likely to get her to stop laying, assuming you are also taking all the other appropriate steps to control her hormones, than giving her a box or any other nesting encouragers. Separating macaws can be quite hard on them and should be a last resort.

I highly suggest removing the nest boxes entirely until you are well settled in your new home. The disruption of moving is not healthy for a nesting bird, and can cause them to abandon their eggs, a tragedy for you if they are fertile. It can also cause confusion for young birds still learning e natural nesting cycle which you really want to avoide. In addition, if the eggs were to be fertile, you wouldn't have the time or attention to devote to the babies in that case, as chicks require a lot more attention than simply removing boxes, especially if something goes wrong, and especially if it goes wrong right away.
Yep - we all agree on this and I had removed the box but I didn't remove it soon enough.
I do have people on standby (with the appropriate incubators, brooders, and staff) if needed. They can take over at any moment for me BUT we are hoping it doesn't come to that.

You implied that you chose the eckies because you had a layer. Parrots should not be laying eggs without mates; if they do, something is off kilter with them. That should be corrected before they are bred.

Gotcha. We are trying to do the right things.

 

[SilverSage]

Paper towels are a life saver. Lol. I personally use Viva brand and yes, I'm crazy enough to get upset if the store doesn't have my brand! I feel like it makes a difference lol.

 

[MikeyTN]

Quick question, do I need to change the parents diet since they are feeding the babies or can i just keep giving them their normal diet of pellets with some fruits and veges?

I'm adding to what others have posted already. They offer breeder pellets to feed! The regular pellets are balanced diet, not made for growing chicks.

 

[Aquila]

Quick question, do I need to change the parents diet since they are feeding the babies or can i just keep giving them their normal diet of pellets with some fruits and veges?

I'm adding to what others have posted already. They offer breeder pellets to feed! The regular pellets are balanced diet, not made for growing chicks.

To add to this, I have my pairs on Mazuri pellets, of which they also have handfeeding formulas, but I don't know much on Ekkies. The conures would be fine with the pellets but Ekkies need a different diet, they do offer Softbill diets, lorikeets and frugivore gel diets, but I don't know if they'd be suitable.

 

[MikeyTN]

Quick question, do I need to change the parents diet since they are feeding the babies or can i just keep giving them their normal diet of pellets with some fruits and veges?

I'm adding to what others have posted already. They offer breeder pellets to feed! The regular pellets are balanced diet, not made for growing chicks.

To add to this, I have my pairs on Mazuri pellets, of which they also have handfeeding formulas, but I don't know much on Ekkies. The conures would be fine with the pellets but Ekkies need a different diet, they do offer Softbill diets, lorikeets and frugivore gel diets, but I don't know if they'd be suitable.

Personally I wouldn't offer pellets period for ekkies.....It's not good for them....

 

[SilverSage]

Eckies are a special case, though the original thread is about conures who should have pellets in their diet while breeding. Good, solid, balanced pellets AS PART of their diet.

 

[Northern Flights Aviary]

This is such an old thread but I have been incubating eggs and giving fake eggs to the bird parents. If I add a pipping egg in with the parents, I am seeing more dry out and I’ve lost four now that were close to hatching. There are live babies in with them and they are feeding them. I am letting eggs finish hatching in the incubator due to the humidity problem in the nest. Then slip new babies in with the parents. This is how it goes. Anxiously waiting candling, watching, anticipating then really a bummer when something happens like the eggs dried out. Safest for me to incubate until hatch. Breeding has been a huge rollercoaster. I’ve hand fed many from hatch if the parents double clutch and already had babies. While working and in college both full time. You can do it but it’s a huge commitment.