Crested Penguins

[Emmy 528]

The  pair of penguins (one of the crested)  I bought at Stafford in October now  have 6 eggs in their nest I took a photograph of the eggs tonight and candled the eggs using the computer Looks like 4 of the eggs are definitely fertile the remaining two may have been the last two laid so will check them again later. I'm hoping I'll get some crested chicks from this.

(the photo of the eggs look a odd shape -this happened after I resized the photo --(Me not knowing what I'm doing _Again!!)

Emmy

[Andyn 534]

Well done Emmy!!,

Did you mean that both parents are crested or just one? if they are anything like crested Budgies I think you pair Crested to split crested to get crested chicks

As always I love the computer candled egg photos.

Have a good day tomorrow and a happy new year.

Andy N

[Emmy 528]

Thanks Andy,

The previous eggs they had weren't fertile so its looking better for this clutch .  Only one of the penguins is crested and I don't know if the other is split for that or not. (I was told you shouldn't breed two visual crested birds)  I think they will look after the chicks if the eggs hatch because they have fostered 2 chicks from another pair that had abandoned their nest. If I don't get any crested chicks from this pair I'm definitely NOT buying anymore birds now  BUT

I got a lovely surprise tonight when I opened one of my present from my two daughters .

I'm getting 16 birds--'Bluebird;  Nuthatch;  Cardinal and  Goldfinch (4 of each)  but the great thing about them is I don't need to feed them I've to MAKE them It's  a 3D Paper bird kit.  I'm over the moon with that going to have a great time making them

Hope Santa is good to you'

Emmy

 

[Andrew123 72]

Hi Emmy, 

Happy Christmas. Crested is a dominant mutation so if a bird carries the gene for crested it will show crested and can't be split. 

Good luck with your paper birds.

Andy

[Emmy 528]

Thanks Andy,

So does that mean I just have a 50/50 chance that some of the chicks will be crested ?

I have another pair where one is crested (white hen) and it's paired up with a BB

Any idea what colour I could expect from them?

 

Emmy

[Andrew123 72]

Yes, a 50/50 split (in theory). The crested white to bb should produce normals, half crested and all split for white and bb.

[Emmy 528]

Thanks Andy I'm off to the bird sale today at our local club.  NOT buying but I am selling. (lol)

Emmy

[norfolk flyer 208]

Emmy,

            NOT BUYING !!! ???????

Theres more chance of the Sahara getting flooded,

Trevor ?

[Emmy 528]

16 minutes ago, norfolk flyer said:

Emmy,

            NOT BUYING !!! ???????

Theres more chance of the Sahara getting flooded,

I shouldn't have made that post about NOT buying (lol)

I did sell quite a few of my finches and one of the members had a pair for sale I really liked and as I didn't get them at Stafford I          thought to myself 'better late than never'  hen - bb/orange  cock- orange/bb be interesting to see what they produce.

Trevor the way the weather is going the Sahara may well get flooded

ps that is definitely the last I've no more cages free now-- just please don't ask how many cages I do have

Emmy

Have a nice New Year. (do you think I should make a New Years Resolution?  'Buy no more birds in 2016')

Emmy

 

[Emmy 528]

Unfortunately the previous clutch of eggs my penguins had didn't hatch - don't really know what happened because the eggs were fertile but  embryos didn't survive (that was the clutch where one of the eggs had a double yolk.)

They now have laid some more eggs and one of those eggs is another with a double yolk. Is this a common thing to happen?

Emmy 

 

[Emmy 528]

They now have 3 eggs in their nest (would have been 4 but I removed the one with the double yolk) but no sign of them incubating the eggs as yet. I have then in a single Quiko cage and I was thinking I would perhaps be better changing the cage and rehoming them in a double breeder? Do you think this would make any difference to them breeding successfully?

Emmy

[Andyn 534]

Emmy,

All mine are and have been in the Quiko  cages with nest box on outside. Perhaps you need to give them a little more time. I'm finding young pairs sometimes take longer to get to understand what's required and sometimes not going into the nest box at all and laying on the floor. I think in a Quiko it's easy to put up a canary pan and it's worked for me in the past.

Andy 

[Emmy 528]

I have used a canary pan before in the quiko cages for a pair of Bengalese but this time I put the nest box on the door so I could keep a check on progress I can look in without disturbing the birds.  problem with that though is you cant put a bath up.

Emmy

[Emmy 528]

Can't understand this pair of crested penguins. They have 7 eggs in this nest now and another one has a double yolk.  They have been incubating the eggs but they have also been tearing the paper that's on the floor of their cage and taking it into their nest. I've kept removing some of the paper so the eggs wouldn't get completely covered but tonight when I went in to check before locking up they had put a larger piece of paper over the eggs and the eggs were covered completely when I removed the paper the eggs felt cold. A few of the eggs were definitely fertile so to check them out I brought all the eggs in and put them into the incubator to get them warm again. 

In the morning I'll check the eggs using the ovascope and any that have survived I'll put them back into the nest box and remove the          quicko paper from the cage and use another type of floor covering.

There is an odd situation with the  size of eggs laid.  In the nest are very large eggs, normal size eggs and the smallest size of  egg I've ever seen.  This photo makes the eggs look larger but believe me the smallest one is TINY

Emmy

[amf1975 132]

how odd... with the egg size...... I stopped putting paper under my easibed as the birds would do the same as yours an cover there clutch up. I was taught after the 4th/ 5th or so day when the hens should sit  if they come off the nest an you think the eggs have gone cold touch the eggs on your lips you will be able to tell instantly how cold they are. gone cold normally means they are no good. I have a young pair of CFW 1st try she laid 8 eggs an did not sit. I reset them 11 days ago she now had 6 eggs an looks like she is not sitting again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Emmy 528]

Really curious about what is happening to the eggs this hen is laying?

I did check the eggs last night and a few of them look a though they just maybe pull through (thinking along the lines  they may have been the last to be laid) so I'm leaving them in the incubator to find out if they are fertile then I'll try giving them back to Mum and Dad not sure if that will work either but worth a try.

Hope your CFW changes her mind.  Are her eggs fertile?  I know I should get my brain examined (lol) but similar to what  I'm doing now if bird doesn't sit on eggs -if eggs are fertile and I don't have any birds to foster-- out comes the incubator without taking into consideration of what it may entail if and when the eggs hatch out.  (Got more Bengalese now )

Emmy

[Andrew123 72]

Must be something about penguins, one of mine has recently laid these. The two smaller eggs are pretty much "normal" size eggs. The other two are huge! She does normally lay the huge ones, the smaller eggs were more of a surprise. I had a hen who laid some tiny eggs. I never got a normal egg from her.

[Emmy 528]

If that's normal for penguins then that's a relief _I was beginning to think there was something not quite right with the pair I have.   Did the eggs in that nest hatch out?

Emmy

[Andrew123 72]

I'm not sure it's normal! The eggs in the picture have only just started being incubated but at least three are fertile. I haven't had much luck with the penguins so far but fingers crossed for this round.