FINCHforum

Question for all. I have a pair of Spices in a flight cage with "a mess" of zeb hens. I wasn't too worried about breeding - everything I read says that Spices are harder to breed, and with the constant circus of the zebs going on and the nest-switching I figured there weren't many chances of the Spices getting into the mood. Well, they picked out a nest and she's now sitting on eggs (one of which looks suspiciously like a zeb egg!). If by some miracle they're fertile and hatch, do I need to worry about the zebs with the babies? They can be pushy little buggers - just don't know if they'd attack hatchlings...... Appreciate your thoughts. Hilary

As the zebs are all female i think it unlikely any baby spice will come to serious harm.
There is still some chance however that the zebs will conduct some unauthorised nest 'inspections'. It is unlikely that there would be any malicious intent behind these 'inspections' but it may be enough to upset the spices.
Fledgeling spices may also get 'picked on' to a degree.

Mad -

Thanks so much! I candled the eggs this morning and at least 3 are viable, so hopefully I will actually be getting some babies out of this. I just had no idea what to expect from the zebs. The spices seem pretty mellow - I took the nest out briefly to candle and they hopped right back in when I returned it, so hopefully they won't get upset enough to abandon the nest. I'm surprised they've kept the zebs out so far - that nest was a hot item for awhile!! Hilary

A further thought occurs:
Once the spices hatch, you will need to provide greens, seeding grasses, soaked seed, egg food, etc.
The zebs, being the greedy little piggies that they are, will likely take the lion's share - so you will have to provied sufficient that enough is left over for the spices after the zebs have had their fill.

Good point. I've never seen the spices eat anything but seed despite the little feast laid out every day, but am keeping soaked seed and dry eggfood out at all times in the hope that they'll try it (the piggies certainly like it!). I'm hoping that they'll show more interest if there are little ones to feed! Thanks for the help, and wish us luck! Hilary

Just peeked in on the spices and have my answer about whether they'll be bothered by the zebs! In the nest, taking turns sitting on the eggs and coming to the entrance to look out, was a zeb hen! When she finally left, the spice male jumped right back in and settled in. Guess they'll have built-in babysitters! Two eggs still look VERY suspiciously like zeb eggs - I guess they're one big happy family! Hilary

Update - as of this evening had two hatched! No food in crops - hope they'll start feeding in the next day or two. Found out that the parents totally ignored bermuda grass for the nest, but LOVED coconut fiber. Got my new flight cage in today and moved nest and parents over this evening when everybody was quiet - hope that wasn't a mistake. I'm going out of town in about a week and a half, and was worried about all of those zebs and no supervision! Hilary

Did they go back to the nest after you moved them? I'll start a new thread to explain why I'm so curious

When I went to bed about 2 hours later they were still out of the nest. I looked in the nest with a flashlight (hey, the parents had already freaked out) and the chicks were still wiggling, so I pointed a heat lamp a little south of the nest and left it on all night (yes, in my bedroom!). Checked this am and adults were still outside, but chicks were still wiggling (still not begging). By the time I left for work the adults were hopping in and out of the nest again, and tonight I peeked in from a distance and both adults were in the nest. I don't want to wake them all up so won't know how the chicks are doing (or even how many I have by now!) until tomorrow am. They've been very tolerant - let me steal the nest to candle the eggs, let the zebs sit on the eggs - but have also been much lighter sitters than my societies were. Often both parents were out of the nest, though they always went back. I couldn't tell how many eggs or chicks I had with the societies until they were almost 2 weeks old - they were never left alone!! Hilary

Three live babies as of this morning, though the first hatched the day before yesterday and the parents haven't started feeding them yet.... I'm tempted to pop a couple of society hens with experience in the cage to see if they'll start feeding them. Thoughts? Hilary

Generally they won't feed for the first 1-3 days. The chick lives on the yolk sac in the meantime. I would wait another 24 hrs to see if parents begin feeding before adding societies to their cage.

TammieB.

Thanks so much! I was getting worried, though I knew they wouldn't start feeding them immediately. They were waving their little heads around this am with their mouths wide open, but no squeeking yet. My last batch (the societies that died right when they were ready to fledge) all hatched while I was out of town, so I didn't know how many days it took before the parents started feeding. Those parents were also so much more attentive. Don't know if this is the first clutch for this pair. Hilary

Duh - that was Hilary, signed in as Guest (obviously).

OK, babies are now with the societies, and hopefully they'll start feeding them. They certainly like to sit on them! Hilary

Update! I lost the two youngest that hatched (one looked squashed), but the two remaining (the two oldest) spice chicks just fledged today!! The fosters are the same three societies who were raising the babies who all died at fledging in January, so I have my fingers crossed this time. I gave everybody Ronivet for the first week that they had the chicks, and the little guys look just fine!

Hilary