Dolores Noonan
This time of year in the United Kingdom, (mid-February) we are at the end of the first round of chicks and they are leaving the nest boxes one by one, about every two days. This is a very vulnerable time for the chicks as they now have to learn to feed themselves.
Usually, the cock will take over the feeding from this point, leaving the hen to lay her second clutch. The hen may get a bit impatient to clear her nest and start pushing the younger chicks out and they can get pecked in the process, so a sharp eye is required. I usually put a shelter for the chicks on the floor of the cage so that, should either cock or hen attack a particular chick, then it has somewhere to hide.
Do make sure that the cock is actually feeding them, checking the crops of the fledgelings each evening and topping them up with a crop tube each evening to ensure that they are at least getting a basic diet whilst learning to feed themselves. Some cocks take a while to realize that feeding these demanding little creatures screaming for food, is their responsibility. I regularly put millet sprays into the cage at this point as the chicks find it easier to crack than seed, and it also gives them the idea of eating for themselves.
Most of the time, this period goes like clockwork and the chicks soon learn to feed and drink for themselves and can be removed quite safely from their parents and placed in the baby cage. Every now and again a cock will decide that one of the baby hens is there for his pleasure and if she does not respond, which is usually the case, then he can attack her. It is rare that the chick can be safely transferred to another nest at this point so it is better to transfer her to the baby cage and feed three times a day for a couple of days or until she is able to feed herself.
On rare occasions a chick will just not cotton on to the fact that he/she has to make the effort and eat for itself. I had one that just would not eat, so at 6 weeks old, I popped it into a show cage to take it to a friend to see if there was something wrong with it. I had put seed on the floor of the cage and by the time we got there the chick had a full crop! No problems after that.
It does happen that a hen will look upon a female chick as a rival for the cocks' attention and attack it. It can be heartbreaking to find a good chick covered with blood at the bottom of the cage, so do make sure that they are checked every few hours. At the first sign of the hen acting aggressively then remove the chicks and hand feed them until they are able to fend for themselves.
Even when chicks are feeding themselves and everything seems fine, it is essential that once they are moved into the baby cage, that they are monitored on a regular basis. You will sometimes find that the youngsters feed each other, but each evening check that the crops are full and if not, top them up with a proprietary hand-rearing food They are given softfood every morning and minerals are put in a side dish together with a little tonic seed to encourage the appetite and make sure they are not checked in their growth at this point.
I leave the chicks in the baby cage until they are around 8 - 10 weeks and then transfer them to a 6' x 3' flight. Each chick is treated with Ivermectin on the back of the neck to deal with parasites, both internal and external. Food is placed on the floor of the flight so that they get plenty of exercise at feeding time. However, it is still important to see that they have found the food and the water and that one particular chick is not terrorizing the others. Bullying is not confined to schools. They have ample perching space made from young tree branches, which give them something to chew as well as providing varying thickness' for their feet. Toys are hung from the roof and they can't resist trying out brightly coloured plastic coat hangers, linked together, dangling in front of them.
As they grow and go through the first moult, then the future show team starts to emerge and I can spend a considerable amount of time just watching them and assessing their good and bad points.
The end of May signals the gradual breakup of the breeding pairs and it would seem that taking away the nest box and leaving the family together for a while is very beneficial. If the hen has had a good number of chicks to rear, then it is usually safe to remove her to another cage to recuperate whilst the cock is left to rear the chicks.
Vigilance is the name of the game because you can avert so many disasters before anything drastically dreadful takes place. It is so much better to avert disaster than to have cope with the consequences of neglect. Make the breeding season a much more enjoyable procedure and look after those future show winners!
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Copyright © 2000, Dolores Noonan. All rights reserved.