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). 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!

 

[karen256]

I hope all goes well - if they are first time parents (it sounds like no eggs from their first clutch hatched), they might not always take great care of the babies. Hopefully they will though.

1) Leave the chicks in the nestbox. For the first 10 days or so, you should not really do anything with the babies, except to peek in once or twice a day to be sure they all look healthy and fed. But, in the event the parents don't care for the babies properly, you will want to at least be prepared to set up a brooder for them. A small aquarium with a heating pad and a good thermometer can be used.

2) The parents will do a good job of keeping the babies at the proper temperature. The only issue would be extreme cold or temperatures over 100 or so (incubation temperature). They should be offered a large dish of water for bathing daily, so they can wet their feathers if needed to maintain the correct humidity.

3) You usually don't need to hand feed the babies, but they will be easier to find good homes for if they are handfed or at least tame. And sometimes, handfeeding can become necessary if the parents don't take good care of babies. You should try to check on them daily, especially when they are very young. You want to be sure they have food in their crops. Newly hatched babies sometimes take some time to finish absorbing the yolk before they beg for food, so it's ok if they aren't fed immediately, though.
Since they're first time parents, they might be overwhelmed with 5 babies so the biggest thing to watch for is that the younger babies get fed. If they aren't being fed, you might try offering some supplemental feedings or pulling the older baby or two to handfeed - but don't handfeed unless you have experience with it or can be shown how to feed by a vet or breeder.

If the parents are taking good care of the babies but you want to handfeed them so that they are tamer, then you want to pull the babies when they're around 2 weeks.

Or, they can be left with their parents and you can just take them out of the nest and handle them once or twice a day while the parents continue to feed them. Co-parented babies like this may not seem as friendly when they are weaned and ready for new homes, since they tend to be more interested in birds than people. Usually they are better-adjusted birds and once settled into a new home and getting lots of attention, they will quickly become just as tame as a handfed baby. The trick is finding a new home for the baby that understands they may need to be a little more patient with the bird for the first few weeks.

 

[Forever16]

Thank you for all the information. The First Clutch was a no go and we are crossing our fingers on this one. We just want to make sure we are prepared when they hatch. We have few questions so far ...

1) What is the proper temperature for the Heating Pad in the Brooder and how long do we leave the Babies in the Brooder after the 10 days or so with the parents?
2) Any suggestions for Formula/Supplements for their feedings if we need to hand feed?
3) What type of syringe do we need for them?

Thank you in advance.

 

[AzaleaMist]

You can use a bent spoon or a regular syringe or an actual feeding syringe that has a different tip. I’ve used regular syringes and kaytee handfeeding formula, regular version.
I have never seen any other brand near me.

 

[karen256]

Thank you for all the information. The First Clutch was a no go and we are crossing our fingers on this one. We just want to make sure we are prepared when they hatch. We have few questions so far ...

1) What is the proper temperature for the Heating Pad in the Brooder and how long do we leave the Babies in the Brooder after the 10 days or so with the parents?
2) Any suggestions for Formula/Supplements for their feedings if we need to hand feed?
3) What type of syringe do we need for them?

Thank you in advance.

I don't remember precisely the usual schedule for changing the temperature but mostly you just go by the babies' behavior and feather development.
You want the heating pad under only half of the brooder, with some layers of towels between it and the babies. The babies will probably be starting to get pinfeathers in. You could probably start at 90 degrees on the warm end of the brooder and lower it around 5 degrees a week (either by adding another layer of towel and moving the heating pad so it's under slightly less of the brooder) until they are at room temperature.
A 10 day old baby is able to waddle around to where they are comfortable so temperature is much less critical than with a younger baby, as long as they can choose where to go.
If you find all the babies huddled together in the warm end of the incubator (and possibly less interested in food), then they need to be a little warmer.
If they are in the cooler end, wings out, panting or skin looking more red, they might be too warm.

They should stay in the brooder most of the time until they are mostly feathered out. As they get more feathers in, they can come out for longer periods of time to play and explore. The warmer you keep your house, the more they can be out too.

 

[iamwhoiam]

If mom and dad are taking care of the babies there is no need to pull them. Leave them in the nest box. If you monitor and find that they are not being fed or mom or dad are hurting them then you will need to pull them.

If you wind up having to pull them and put them in a brooder you can monitor temperature and humidity with something like this. https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Econ...26844957&sr=1-6&keywords=exo+terra+hygrometer I used this with my babies but I also observed their behavior...such as huddling a lot or panting to help guide with the temperature.

I used Kaytee Exact hand feeding formula and generally syringe fed but you can use a spoon instead. I had little baby spoons but my baby red-bellies preferred the syringe.
If you wind up pulling the babies it's also important that you weigh them daily so you will need a gram scale.If you have never hand fed you may want to contact a breeder or vet and have them show you what to do.

You can still work on taming them with mom and dad doing all the feeding by pulling them once a day and handling them but wait until they are about 3 weeks old, give or take, and don't do this if it upsets mom and dad.You can also share in the feeding by giving them one feeding a day but, once again, only if it doesn't stress or anger mom & dad. They may decide not to feed the babies any more if you do this.
I did partial hand feeding with one clutch of babies and it worked well for a while but then got too confusing and I wound up pulling them at 6 weeks of age. I would generally pull my red-bellied babies at 3-4 weeks of age but wanted to give the partial hand feeding method a try.

 

[Forever16]

You can use a bent spoon or a regular syringe or an actual feeding syringe that has a different tip. I’ve used regular syringes and kaytee handfeeding formula, regular version.
I have never seen any other brand near me.

Thank you for the information. We are going to purchase formula & syringes in case Parents aren't feeding. As of now Baby #1 hatched on 5/22 (Sunni), Parents seems to be doing everything right as of now.

 

[Forever16]

I don't remember precisely the usual schedule for changing the temperature but mostly you just go by the babies' behavior and feather development.
You want the heating pad under only half of the brooder, with some layers of towels between it and the babies. The babies will probably be starting to get pinfeathers in. You could probably start at 90 degrees on the warm end of the brooder and lower it around 5 degrees a week (either by adding another layer of towel and moving the heating pad so it's under slightly less of the brooder) until they are at room temperature.
A 10 day old baby is able to waddle around to where they are comfortable so temperature is much less critical than with a younger baby, as long as they can choose where to go.
If you find all the babies huddled together in the warm end of the incubator (and possibly less interested in food), then they need to be a little warmer.
If they are in the cooler end, wings out, panting or skin looking more red, they might be too warm.

They should stay in the brooder most of the time until they are mostly feathered out. As they get more feathers in, they can come out for longer periods of time to play and explore. The warmer you keep your house, the more they can be out too.

Thank you for the tips for temperatures. Baby #1 is doing well. Mother & Father are keeping Baby & Eggs warm ... room temperature is at 80 degrees.

 

[Forever16]

If mom and dad are taking care of the babies there is no need to pull them. Leave them in the nest box. If you monitor and find that they are not being fed or mom or dad are hurting them then you will need to pull them.

If you wind up having to pull them and put them in a brooder you can monitor temperature and humidity with something like this. Amazon.com : Zoo Med Economy Analog Dual Thermometer and Humidity Gauge : Tank Thermometer : Pet Supplies I used this with my babies but I also observed their behavior...such as huddling a lot or panting to help guide with the temperature.

I used Kaytee Exact hand feeding formula and generally syringe fed but you can use a spoon instead. I had little baby spoons but my baby red-bellies preferred the syringe.
If you wind up pulling the babies it's also important that you weigh them daily so you will need a gram scale. 1iyou have never hand fed you may want to contact a breeder or vet and have them show you what to do.

You can still work on taming them with mom and dad doing all the feeding by pulling them once a day and handling them but wait until they are about 3 weeks old, give or take, and don't do this if it upsets mom and dad. ou can also share in the feeding by giving them one feeding a day but, once again, only if it doesn't stress or anger mom & dad. They may decide not to feed the babies any more if you do this.
I did partial hand feeding with one clutch of babies and it worked well for a while but then got too confusing and I wound up pulling them at 6 weeks of age. I would generally pull my red-bellied babies at 3-4 weeks of age but wanted to give the partial hand feeding method a try.

Very useful information. Thank You! Parents seem to be very attentive. Mother, keeps Baby & Eggs warm plus feeding Baby. Mom comes out to eat and drink. Father keeps Mother, Eggs & Baby warm plus he feeds Mom & Baby. Parents are doing everything they need to do. Baby is eating every 1 1/2-2 hrs. We feel we won't need to pull them but we will judge that as more hatch.

What are your thoughts on Banding the Babies?

 

[Garet]

My lovebird lost his leg thanks to a band. I wouldn't do it if I was you. It cut off the circulation and damaged the nerve endings in his leg. If we hadn't removed It, it may have cost his life. I also had issues with him getting his band caught on things and hurting himself.

It was basically a month long ordeal and very stressful on him. He wound up dropping nearly half his weight before his leg fell off.

 

[finchly]

I band mine. You have to get the right size bands, plus in my case (finches) a size up and down both so you can fit the band - therefore avoiding problems like Garet encountered.

Curious - why did you wait until now to research all these topics?

 

[iamwhoiam]

I never banded my red-bellied babies and all of my birds that were banded have had the bands removed.

 

[AzaleaMist]

I use plastic ez clips for my doves. My Quakers and one budgie are banded with metal bands and I wonder if I should remove them but the Quakers probably need them.

 

[Forever16]

My lovebird lost his leg thanks to a band. I wouldn't do it if I was you. It cut off the circulation and damaged the nerve endings in his leg. If we hadn't removed It, it may have cost his life. I also had issues with him getting his band caught on things and hurting himself.

It was basically a month long ordeal and very stressful on him. He wound up dropping nearly half his weight before his leg fell off.

We decided not to go with Bands and leave them natural. Sorry to hear about your feather baby having complications.

 

[Forever16]

I band mine. You have to get the right size bands, plus in my case (finches) a size up and down both so you can fit the band - therefore avoiding problems like Garet encountered.

Curious - why did you wait until now to research all these topics?

We decided not to go with Bands and leave them natural. We thought about banding them for identification purposes but as of now we seem to be able to tell all 4 of them apart. We didn't think about banding them until 2 of them were hatched, but like we mentioned we decided not to go with banding.

 

[Forever16]

I use plastic ez clips for my doves. My Quakers and one budgie are banded with metal bands and I wonder if I should remove them but the Quakers probably need them.

Thank you for your input. We decided not to go with Bands and leave them natural.

 

[Garet]

We decided not to go with Bands and leave them natural. Sorry to hear about your feather baby having complications.

Thank you for deciding this. I mean, my dislike of bands is totally subjective, but even my vet didn't really have nice things to say about banding. I know there are probably a lot of people out there who do it well and maybe don't have the issues I encountered, but my case wasn't the first one of its kind my vet encountered, and she had some strong opinions against banding that mirror my own.

(Not saying people who band are bad by any stretch of the imagination, I hope no one's offended by my stance.)