when do you pull your green cheek conures from nest?

[brianlinkles]

So I have heard so many different opinions on pulling green cheek conures from the nest that I thought "why not hear some more?" No seriously I am trying to make a decision, I have three babies in the nest box right now, the first was born on May 22nd, the second on the 24th and the third aprox. a week ago. I have decided to pull them all at the same time. I have heard from both camps, those that pull a few at a time, leaving the youngest in the nest and those that pull all at once. I have heard several horror stories from a number of breeders that first tried the pulling partial clutches. I want to avoid this scenario like the plague so I have decided on pulling them at one time. (I know it's rare for this to happen with gcc's however I'm not chancing it) This said I am wondering when I should pull them. I have been checking on them and I think the oldest is starting to open it's eyes. I was told by my breeder to wait until this one has opened it's eyes and has the start of pin feathers. I want to make sure that I can still put the leg bands on when I pull so I don't want to wait too long.
I would love some more advice. This is the part I don't want to mess up. (well I don't want to mess any of it up! LOL) My breeder said that the smallest will just have to be pulled earlier than you normally would and that I may have to feed that one more. My breeder doesn't put the birds in small "butter type bowls" but I'm wondering if I should place one in the brooder or should I just let them huddle together like they are now. I have also heard different amounts/times to feed them. Anywhere from 4 times a day to every 2-3 hours. I have hand fed many birds but these are younger than I am used to.
I would love to hear from breeders!

 

[crimson]

oh this brings back memories....good ones!. plenty of questions and everyone important!!
I have learned pulling the chicks 3 weeks and after seems to be a bit of a battle, meaning, they are already against you, sort of speak. they will lunge,run away etc....
if you pull them between 2.5 and 3 weeks that is the perfect time to do it.

pull all three at once, and put them all together.don't separate them. I put stuffies in my brooder, and they love hiding under them, or cuddling up to it....it makes them feel safer, even though it's not mom or dad.

I feed them every 4-5 hours, all of them, on occasion you will have to feed the youngest one an extra feeding, you have to make sure the crop is ENTIRELY empty, if your not sure, you can go another hour to be safe....and they won't starve, they won't be happy, but they'll be fine.
**the first feeding your going to have to see who needs to be fed and who doesn't**
sometimes the parents don't feed all the chicks at once.
once you get into a routine, all the feeding will work out at the same time.

make sure you have pre-boiled water(for at least 10 minutes) I boil a huge pot, and put the water after it has cooled down in a large sterile mason jar.
always make sure you have brand new syringes, once used you can boil them again and re-use,(maybe twice) just make sure you put them in a sterile container, with a lid so not to contaminate them.
btw, make sure when you put the syringes down, say on your counter, put them on a freshly laundered towel or paper towel, same goes for the forks etc...and make sure those forks are super clean.

++I'm editing like crazy here something else that is very important, when mixing the formula, you make on the thinner side at 3 weeks of age, so it will run off the fork or spoon, as they get older you can thicken it up, but not clumpy.
one of the things I always thought was a challenge was, after you mix the formula and let it set, it thickens up, then you have to add more water. by then the formula is getting cold, I know some breeders who heat the formula in the microwave, and then stir it plenty until you are certain there are no hot spots.
then I read if you use the microwave to heat it up, it kills the live bacteria in the formula, which I never knew....always learning
what I do now is I use one of those crock dishes, it keeps the formula really really hot, so no need for a microwave any more.

You can also fill up a measuring cup with super hot water, once the formula is mixed and you fill the syringe with it, place the syringe into the measuring cup. the hot water will keep the temperature of the formula fairly consistent while your feeding your chicks. Always make 3 syringes, one for each bird.
the formula cools down exceedingly quickly so it's best to keep it hot while your feeding the other chicks, that way you shouldn't get any crop infections.

your first feeding of the day will tell you when your last feeding time will be, for example if your first feeding is at 7 am, 11:30, 4pm, then 8:30 should be your last one for the night, and then it will start again the next day.

every breeder has there own way of doing things, my breeder friend taught me and she was totally anal
she told me the one thing that will kill a chick is lack of cleanliness.....wise words.
if you have any more questions, no matter what they are you can always pm me.(I'm on here quite a bit)
there are a few good breeders who have a fountain of knowledge with breeding, so I would definitely follow their advice as well.


the first few hours/days will be nerve wracking until you get into your routine, remember to enjoy the experience and take pictures!!! ...especially when you remove them from the nesting box, those are the best photos. good luck

 

[brianlinkles]

Thank you! So much good advice! I feel like I have never fed a baby before! LOL I have it's just they are all different sizes, well two are almost the same and the youngest is so much smaller! I have weaned smaller birds but I am used to weaning larger birds like greys and macaws. I am excited to start the whole process but so sad to take them from their parents. They are such great parents and I know they are going to be upset! I am however looking forward to doing a good scrubbing of their cage. I am a clean freak and I have been doing the barebones minimum so as not to upset them! Hopefully they will double clutch and we will have more babies!

 

[crimson]

me too, I feel guilty for removing the nesting box from them.
that is the most difficult part, it's tough to get them both out of the box at the same time, I usually try and do it when both are eating at the same time.

I will deliberately put their dish on the opposite side from where the box is, so they will be distracted when I remove it....sometimes I give them millet or something they will not turn down when offered.

it will only take them a few minutes to calm down after they realize the box is gone.

 

[brianlinkles]

Crimson, I wasn't going to take the whole box. I was just going to pull the babies and then clean out the box. I was then going to put clean shavings in , incase they wanted to lay again. I'm hoping maybe they will double clutch. I read that I could get them out of the box then slide a paper plate in between the cage and the box so that I could do all of this. I checked on the babies this morning, the oldest was so cute with it's big eyes looking at me. The middle one is about to open it's eyes probably today and of course the little one is going to have it's eyes still closed when I pull them tomorrow. I feel quite confident about pulling the bigger two tomorrow however the little one is making me a bit nervous! I am so excited however to start interacting with these little guys! Now on to parting with them when I sell them! That is also a hard hurdle, yes?

 

[crimson]

yes, it is, especially the first time.
you very well may end keeping one of them for yourself.

just make sure you are ok with selling them, if not, hold off, until it feels right.
make darn sure they are eating on their own for at least 7-10 days before finding them homes....birds do tend to regress sometimes.

I've kept many birds from breeding for one reason or another, then ended up finding them homes later on.

I've also kept birds to myself

as for the box, now I understand, I think double clutching is genetic, but I may be wrong.

don't fret over the little one, the smaller ones tend to develop, climb,fly and eat much sooner than their older siblings....I've seen it many times before.

I'm not sure about this, but this is a educated guess why people pull all of the babies from the nest....remember once you disturb the nest, and remove some chicks, and leave others behind, some parents will become hostile due to the disturbance.
I strongly recommend pulling them all, he's only 2 days behind the middle one, I know he is smaller, but a week from now he'll be as big or bigger than the current size of the oldest one.