Zebraman

Looks like the infertile eggs I placed in the nest box are starting to do the trick, I looked in the nest box this evening and the chick has started to pull its legs in, so I'll keep my finger crossed? Gary ;) Source: Five Day Old Chick

This year I have decided to conduct a small study in to the growth weights of chicks from the first stages of the egg to the point where a bird is considered to be a fully grown fledgling. Just to test the water a little, I recently selected a pair of CFW’s and started the process from the point where the chicks had hatched. To allow me to achieve the result I required I purchased two sets of scales, one that would permit me to weigh the chicks from the early stages of hatching (0.1gram upwards) and another that would start from 1grm upwards to 50grms, this scale was big enough to place a show type cage on so that I could weigh the birds once they had fledged. Both scales also have the ability to be set to zero once an object was placed on them. The sheet below shows the results I have collated so far, I was astonished to find how quickly each bird gained weight and developed. I also noted several points of interest, such as the time the bird was weighed and whether or not the crop was full or empty. My next step will be to carry out this study from the first day that the eggs have been laid, but I will need to make sure that I select the correct pair as I do not want the birds to leave the eggs mid way through incubation. Is anyone aware of this type of study being conducted with Zebras or other birds? I have also made the file available for download below:- Chick Weights 2010 Reduced.pdf Source: Weight Study

I went in to the setup tonight and did my ususal rounds after I had fed all the birds, on inspection of one of the nest boxes form a pair that had hatched a sole chick (First Round), I found that the cock bird has been sitting really tight on the chick, which had cause it to start developing splayed legs. As the chick is only Five days old, I decided to place a couple of eggs in the nest which had been laid by my spare hens. Hopefully this will stop the cock from pushing down on the chick and maybe help the legs to recover before it's to late? Source: Five Day Old Chick

Hi Lawrence, Did you get any further with the answer to your question? Gary.

There is a bit of a debate on the colour of this bird. The picture was taken in very low light level and the lens used was quite slow in comparison. I have been studying this bird for a number of weeks, but I would like to put your thoughts to a poll. I’ll reveal the results in a week’s time. Many thanks,Gary.

Hi Shane, Welcome to the forum. If there’s anything you need help with please feel free to ask. The forum is in its infancy, but there are a wide variety of breeders already registered. Best of luck for the coming season. Gary ;)

Finished putting the light fittings into the remaining breeding cages and I’m really impressed with the results. It’s like Blackpool illuminations in there now. The main lighting comes on @ 5:30am using a Sun5, which brings four 40 watts bulbs up from dim to full brightness, it then switches over to the fluorescents and dims the 40 watt bulbs before switching them off, @ 7:00am the cage lights turn on. All this is then reversed @ 8:30 when the 40 watt bulbs are switched on and the fluorescents are switched off, the bulbs then go through a dimming process during the next 30 minutes and the cage lights go off @ 08:45. Once everything is dimmed to darkness, a night light takes over to reduce night fright, allowing any birds sufficient light to return to the perch. The whole process is fully automated and the times are adjusted to suit the required conditions. Gary ;)

I came home this evening and was pleasantly greeted by the sight of four chicks that had fledged from the CFW’s nest. All look like nice birds, but one of them is exceptional both in colour and shape, there’s also an added bonus because it’s a Grey Cheeked hen. I’ll post some picture when I get a chance to get the photo cage out. All being well my plan will be to breed this bird with a normal Fawn or a good sized Black Cheek to strengthen both colour and type. Gary.

I also have the last four light fittings to install into the breeding cages this weekend, once complete I'll decide on the pairs for this year. ;)

This year’s rings arrived today so we’re already to start the season, just got to decide on the focus for this year and pair the birds up, I think I’ll mull it over for a couple of days...

Rung the CFW’s tonight, this will be the last of last year’s young as this year’s rings should be arriving any day now.

Checked on them tonight and changed the nesting material, I probably do this at least once between the period of hatching and fledging. One of the reasons is to try to keep the young as clean as possible. Nests can get quite dirty during this time, it also helps to keep the parent birds clean as well, although I do supply baths, but these are not always used during this busy period for the parent birds.

I checked up on the four chicks from the CFW’s tonight and three are normal grey in colour and one CFW type. That means the normals will be cocks and the CFW will be a hen.

Just finished in the bird room after pleasantly seeing two lots of chicks that have fledged. Three light backs from one round. Two CFW and Two light backs from another. There's also a pair of CFW's with four chicks, the cock bird being a Fawn cheek. Also a good sized pair of normal’s which have produced their second egg. Things are moving along nicely and I've not started pairing properly yet??? Gary.

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