Pete
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Posts posted by Pete
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Autopsy won't always tell you what caused the bird to die, every bird has a level of cocci like nick said if a bird is frightened or stressed that could cause cocci outbreak and cause them to catch a bacterial disease.
So your autopsy tells you treat for cocci and bacterial infection but infect it was stress that killed your bird.
Fetchingfinches When you have kept birds for a long time you realise there are no rules to birds dieing. Even vets will tell you prevention is always best as once they show symptoms your probably too late.
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Well said Nick, if you had the time and money every bird would have a different cage different diet different everything but that's simply impossible so you just have to do your best to keep the majority happy. Fetchingfinches unfortunately zebra finches are so small it doesnt take much for them to die and exhibition birds prone to loads of problems your never know why chicks really die
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That's the problem with crop feeding such young chicks, you can easily kill the chicks by putting in too much food.
Andy, have you tried using some pet shop birds as feeders? You could always let them have a round then you know which feed and then the next couple of rounds use them to rear your better birds?
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No worries Chris, everyone's got their own ways, no right or wrong alot of time. I check my chicks about 9pm to 10pm each day as they should have full crops if they have no food I move them to another nest
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If you remove each egg as it's laid and replace with a dummy egg and put them back when the 4th/5th egg is laid then they hatch together and more likely they will all be fed.
4 times a day is too much as you could be disturbing them just before they are about to feed them, the chicks survive on their egg sack for the first day and I have had them with no food for couple of days before being fed.
If you have no where to move the chicks your far better off not checking the chicks at all and keep fingers crossed.
I would stay clear of crop tubes and syringes they are not easy to use especially on small chicks, easy to kill the chick with them or pass on diseases with them unless you sterilise between each chick.
9 times out 10 if the parents choose not to feed a certain chick it's for a reason.
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Hi Chris, how often do you check them?
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Like Allan says I've had it and it sorted itself out. As it's one nest could either be poor feeding or infection
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Would be careful Andy pushing the air out, if it fills up again then sounds like infection, is the nest dirty or smells?
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Neil, dont be put off by prices, buy what you like and can afford, ive paid £20 for a bird and its bred me some great birds, equally ive paid more and bred birds of a lesser quality. Always better to buy fewer birds of better quality though as its alot less time consuming with fewer birds. I would have thought you could get some good birds for 30-50 each?
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Love to see such a clean setup, definitely motivated me to get paired up seeing that video, nice one mate
Pete
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yeh I think your right Dave, those daylight tubes make a huge difference especially on overcast days.
Andy, I know there is a temptation to keep checking chicks but for the last 3 or 4 years I check the chicks once just before lights go out, If they have food in the crop great, if not I will just swap the chicks around and check again the next evening.
I really think that checking chicks during the day is a waste of time (unless they are being thrown out or parents are not sitting) as you may be putting off the parents from feeding or you might be checking them just before they are due to be fed so their crops should be empty anyway.
Upto couple of weeks old I give eggfood around 6 in the evening aswell as the morning, so the parents have some fresh eggfood to feed the chicks before lights out.
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That's good news Andy, how do you know the parents weren't feeding the chicks before?
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Next time have a look on the chicks stomach to see if there is a black spot a few mm in size then they had an infection, best thing to do is have plenty of feeders down and then like Paul said you have more options where to move chicks about.
Having tried topping up chicks in the past I think is a waste of time, chances of survival is slim and if they do they never seem quite right. Alot of effort to save a chick that is probably ignored by the parents for a reason, better to just move it to another nest and hope another pair feeds it.
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Hi Adam,
Very slow here not even started conditioning the birds yet. Hopefully will get them paired up in feb but could be march at this rate. Only using small nunber of hens so shouldn't be too much work this year.
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If you paired them up late nov then maybe it's possible the cream cock from Stafford is the father?
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Richard, I suppose the cream cock that was in the same cage as the hen you bought could be the father if you paired her up to a fawn cock shortly after Stafford??
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I suppose the pair could be recessive dilutes, dont know anyone who has them though? Otherwise she is a very odd looking cream. It would be interesting to see a photo of her with your other fawn hens.
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Did you move any eggs at all when your birds were breeding?
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The photos look pretty clear, she doesnt show any signs of being a cream, maybe the cheek patches are throwing you as they are pale. Maybe take a photo with her in a cage with your other fawn hens to compare. If your fawn hens dont look like her then maybe your others are not fawn hens??
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Richard, is it possible she was with a cream cock before being paired to the fawn cock? Or you swapped eggs around. Even with dark creams you can tell they are creams by looking at the tail. On your hen she looks identical to a fawn and has the same tail as a fawn.
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Andy I didn't mean put the cod liver oil in the eggfood I meant using supplements in the eggfood is generally more cost effective than the water.
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Hi Andy, I'm not sure how beneficial it is adding to the seed when zebras husk their seed? Not knocking the book but it must have been published 20-25 years ago alot has changed. There are calcium Supplements which are designed specifically for birds which more importantly have magnesium and D3 added to them. Adding supplements to the eggfood is far less wasteful and doesn't degrade in the water. I would be worried adding oil to seed especially in the summer you would be forever changing it and disinfecting pots. Just my thoughts
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Happy Birthday mate! Hope you had a good one
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Your never know unless you take it to the vet
Very Frustrating - Chick Deaths
in Breeding
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I think your missing the point its simply not practical or affordable for most people. Good husbandry will be a far better preventative for most diseases