Breeding Season

[Canary]

Taping up the rings has worked. When I came home today the chicks were all still in the nest, and with full crops.

[vettepilot_6]

Thought it might have been the case...I would have used nitto pen and changed colour till they were fledged..glad it work for you

[Canary]

Not much happening at the moment. Still at 47 chicks.

Chicks hopping out of nests, hens sitting on eggs, attaching training show cages on the front of breeding cages of the weaned chicks, who are now starting to crack seed.

Should be second round for most hens within the next week or two.

[Canary]

Further 4 chicks from 4 eggs hatched this evening that were due tomorrow.

My green hen and white cock had 4 clear eggs, so I will give her a short break. They had one chick in the first round, so it is unusual to have a clear second round. There are another 5 hens on fertile eggs, due in the next week.

[Canary]

3 chicks have hatched from 5 eggs this morning that were due tomorrow.

There is one other hen on 4 eggs that also has chicks due tomorrow.

Everything is going great with the fledged chicks and nestlings at the moment. Total chicks 54. I will have to start putting the spare cocks in the indoor aviary, as I will need the breeding cages for the fledglings.

I am now starting to introduce the cocks to the hens again for the second round, watching that the cocks do not pluck the fledglings. I never leave the cock in without observing him, and as soon as he picks one chick he is straight out until tomorrow. The chicks will be sperated from the hens in 2 -3 days.

[Canary]

2 chicks of the 4 eggs have hatched this morning. Total 56 chicks.

I was at a club members house yesterday that had over 90 chicks already from the first round. Last year he bred 210 chicks and reckons that he is on track to breed the same number of chicks this year. He breeds from 60 hens. The interesting thing for me is that he puts all the fledglings in a large indoor aviary, until after they have moulted when he swaps the chicks and older birds between the aviary and cages. I thought that they would be wilder and not as good in the show cage. He states that it makes no difference.

I had my first instance of feather plucking yesterday. One hen plucked the tail from 2 of her 4 chicks. They are only 19 days old, so not quite old enough to feed themselves. The same happened last year and I thought it was the cock bird that was in with her. I now think it was probably the hen as this year I made sure that I did not leave the cock in with the hen and the chicks. I have put her in a show cage hanging on the front, so that she can feed the chicks through the wire, and will put her in with the chciks whilst I am watching a few times a day. The chicks probably need another 2-3 days until they can feed themselves properly.

[Canary]

Another chick was hatching this afternoon from the nest with 3 chicks, so I moved that egg to the nest that hatched today with 2 chicks, to even up the number of chicks in the nest, and so that they would be the same size.

I have cleaned out 3 cages today to move 11 fledglings from the parents tomorrow morning. I will move the cocks back with the hens for the second round.

[Canary]

Another chick hatched this morning in the nest with 4 eggs, so that nest now has 4 chicks. 3 from this pair and the one I transferred yesterday because it was a day younger than the other 3 chicks. Total now 57 chicks.

I moved 8 of the fledglings this morning that are 25 days old into cages of 4 each, and will move the other 3 tomorrow. These 3 will then be 24 days old.

[Canary]

I found the last chick that hatched yesterday squashed in the bottom of the nest. That one day difference in hatching makes a huge difference with canary chicks, and is the main reason for taking the eggs out as they are laid and setting them all under the hen on the 4th day, so that the chicks will all hatch together and have a better survival rate.

I moved the other 3 fledglings into their own breeding cage this morning. There are another 7 to move in 2 days, and then 4 in about 4 days.

Most of the hens are now making nests or on eggs for their second round.

[elferoz777]

with envy

good work Canary