When to check or remove eggs

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo

Almost forgot my update. Donald and Whitey are doing very good. The chicks are almost ready to jump out of the nest. Donald has been stacing uop materials for Whitey I think he is trying to say he wants to keep going and he is looking for another nest. He even used one of the food trays to store nesting material he pulled out from the old nest. I think I have 2 crested canaries and one that is just regular. We will see as their feather grow in more. but they are all still bald with fuzziness around them.

Blanca and Zorro are down to 3 eggs. I think one fell out or was thrown out of the nest. But like before Blanca wont budge from the nest and Zorro has been feeding her.

Toopay and Noname, I am up to 3 eggs but I haven't witnessed Toopay feeding Noname, this scares me cause I'm afraid that the eggs might be infertile and Toopay just doesn't want to breed. Keeping fingers crossed though.

Orangie is all by himself. Singing like crazy though....

Yellow is with Stud now haven't really witnessed anything between them 2 but we will see. they say takes up to 7 to 10 days . Yellow needs to build her nest already though.

Tails and Brownie Still nothing. they feed each other and their is 2 nests for them to choose to build a nest but neither are doing so.

Next year I am going to try and split up the experienced breeders and put them with less experienced mates to see if that makes a difference. Experieced canaries can teach the less capable canaries. As they learn they pass their knowledge onto their young. My goal is to get an Epic to legendary Donald Wouldn't that be great
Anyway off to clean the rest of the house. talk soon

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo

So Donald and Whiteys babies are getting big. the color is really starting to show in one of them. Looks like his daddy. The other 2 I really cant determine what color they will be.

If whitey attempts to do another try on a clutch I am hoping to try and breed and get a dominant white crested canary. That would be beautiful.

Work has been stressful. never the same schedule and I have to work long days just to get close to a 38 to 40 hour pay week. I submitted a notice to cut my hours down to part time and they are only going to give me 1 day a week 11 to 12 hour shift. Bahh oh well more time with the babies and to learn.

At what age does the male canary try to start singing ?

I might pick out the babies 1 at a time and take a snap shot of them. I want them to not be afraid of hands like most canaries are. but I think I am to late for that but worth a try lol

Anyhoo Will try to update you tomorrow and take more pics

[Animalzoo]

My update is a little boring tbh....

I removed Sonny and Cher's baby so they now have their breeder cage back to themselves. Cher's on 4 eggs but none have changed colour so not fertile......yet....although the oldest egg is 7 days old now. I'm taking the eggs away on Saturday if none change colour so they can start again. Sonny is singing away nicely so I think he's happy.

Jack and Jill's 4 babies haven't fledged yet. Their colours are great, so pretty! 2 inherited dad's red eyes. I added a 2nd nest and nesting material which both of them are carrying around but neither have placed any in the new nest. I've experimented with an external nest this time.

Romeo and Juliet's 3 babies are also doing well and feathering up. Taking after their dad by the looks of it with darker feathers. I gave them a nice new clean nest today as they were a bit mucky but all is going good. Not time for nest no.2 yet but only a matter of days away.

Scully and Lucky are side by side with a divide but doing nothing with each other. It's like they can't even see each other. Plus Lucky has stopped singing since I put him in the bird room. I'm wondering if they don't like their spot but patience!!! I'm still waiting longer for them.

Mulder is still in the lounge with me. Singing his heart out. It's interesting neither him nor Lucky have sung in the cage next to Scully. Hence why I think it's the location. Their cage is lower down than the others and not by any natural light. If I had a spare window I'd move them. I have the spare cage, just not the space by natural light, silly isn't it!

I think young males start to sing quite quickly, like 4-8 weeks and it takes them a while to get there. Listening to baby male finches learn to sing is quite cute because it starts with a squeak and then begins to sound like their fathers song. I assume its the same with canaries

Looking forward to the photos. If you ended up with a crested all white one I'd book a flight and come and steal him from you haha I went around some pet stores yesterday and non had what I wanted. I'll get back in touch with the breeder I got the first ones from and see if he can help. I will get a crested one and I will have a white one.....I will!

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo
How old are Jack and Jills chicks? and you already added a 2nd nest before they even fledged ? My 3 chicks are doing good. Today when I got home one was at the bottom of the cage and gave me a hard time. He/she held on for dear life when I tried picking em back up and putting em back in the nest. I don't think this is considered fledged because they cant fly yet. They are about 10 days old. Should I put in another nest for Whitey ?

Don't think I have any dominant white chicks, but its still to early to tell. Dominent white babies show yellow feathers until they do a soft molt. I either have 2 crested and 1 normal baby or visa versa. 2 heads are fuzzy and 1 is normal. I'm hoping the fuzzy heads mean Crested

3 more days I will be candling Blanca's eggs. Something tells me they might not be fertile, or atleast one of them wont make it because she isn't sitting completely on 1 of them and it is exposed. but I'm still hoping she is doing her job. She wont budge off the nest and Zorro is being a good daddy although he is a very dirty housekeeper.

Toopay and Noname only laid 2 eggs, I also don't think they are fertile but I'm really hoping I am wrong. As far as Toopay this is the 2nd hen he is ignoring. he is acting different with Noname though. he is being protective of the nest, but I never witnessed mounting nor never watched him feed her. If they are unfertile, I think I might move Donald in with Noname, or try pairing Noname up with Stud.

Stud is with yellow right now but yellow is showing no interest in Stud. So not really sure what to do with yellow after this attempt. We are on day 7 I believe of being paired and she hasn't attempted to build a nest so looks like its a no go. Other possibility is pairing Yellow up with Donald. When I got home There was some nesting material in the water dish but I cant figure out if that was yellow doing that or Stud.

The thing is I don't really want to have all my chicks from the same daddy. right now I'm just brain storming.

Tails and brownie still a no go. cant and prolly wont figure them out this year. I do know they both went through a full molting around November.

That's my update so far. Let me know about when is a good time to put a new nest in the cage. because Donald is pulling out stuffing from old nest think he is trying to hint at Whitey to get ready. So debating to put the nest in now or wait until the birds are actually in and out of the nest on their own, and then divide the cage in half leaving daddy with the chicks until weaned

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo
So as I was visiting my canaries, I observed Donald mounting Whitey. I decided to put in the nest and fresh nesting material. I just hope they still care for their young. Whitey is already playing with the nesting material so I'm almost sure she will build a new nest in the next few days. I hope Donald will still feed the babies even though Whitey is no longer wanting to sit on the babies cause there is no room. I think I told you in another topic. I found one of the babies on the cage floor not sure if this is him fledging or if he just fell off the nest but I put em back in for the time being.

If Whitey does decide to go for another clutch this is her last one. regardless of the outcome. I want her to get rested up and ready for next year. However I have a few hens that just aren't cooperating with me so I think Donald will entice them to do their thing.

if this is a bad thing about putting the nest in and letting them do there thing (hope its not ) let me know and I will remove the nest when I get home from work tomorrow and wait another week or 2.

[Jamm972]

According to other websites it says to put the nest in when the chicks are 14 days old. I did it 2 to 3 days early depending on when you look at the first egg hatching. The first baby is 3 days older than the last one that was hatched.

They are still feeding the babies together. I'm sure whitey will start the new nest when she is ready. I don't want to push it. Today and tomorrow is my long days at work so wont be able to spend as much time with them as I want to. but I do have a back up person that can atleast check u on them

[Animalzoo]

Jamm972 Sorry to hear work is going to keep you busy a lot the next few days. Your birds will be fine Im sure but good luck all the same.

Yes, you're right I was going to say about 14 days to add a 2nd nest. Jack and Jill started to show signs that they were ready to start again a few days ago when their babies were around 14 days. They had started pulling nesting material from the nest and pulling up newspaper. I had added that external nest but they hadnt been using it. They had shown signs of mating with lots of chasing and singing, then all of a sudden the hen started sitting in the external nest dropping the nesting material into it. Fantastic!! Their babies are 16 days old as of the oldest hatched.

Romeo and Juliets babies keep jumping out!!!
They're not ready to fledge and can't fly but are sitting on the edge of the nest and jumping out. 4 times I put one baby back in and on another occasion 2 had jumped. Strong babies! Maybe they're boys

Sonny and Cher's eggs are still not changing colour, so not fertile. Saturday....that is the day I have chosen to remove the eggs. Her boy is singing like crazy so I bet they'll do well next time. Their older baby is looking gorgeous and in a cage nearby on his own, eating and being all grown up!

My boyfriend decided to take out the divide between Lucky and Scully this evening. I was like 'what are you doing?!!' He simply said, lets just see. Initially no fighting but then the lights went out shortly after so we'll see tomorrow.

Mulder is still in the house with me but I want hens to pair him up with, well we'll see what happens. I need to make room first but luckily the budgie babies are 4-5 weeks now so I can shuffle them out leaving me 2 or 3 bigger breeding cages spare and empty. Just need to find my crested and/or white canaries now .............next week when me and the fella has a day off together. He speaks Spanish so I need him to help me along with the breeders.

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo Whitey and Donald were at about 12 to 13 days old with chicks. but I added the nest anyways figured it was close enough. The new nest is already half done, chances are she will go right into laying eggs. after the 2nd egg is laid I'm going to separate Donald from her so she can be on her own wile Donald be's a good daddy.

M<y chicks keep jumping out of the nest as well. I just pick them back up and out them back in but they are all really to big to be in the nest growing fast. I have a feeling they are trying to fledge, or Mom and dad are forcing them to learn to fly soon. They are being great parents feeding them cleaning them, not to mention already for another round. I bet by tomorrow night Whitey has the nest all set and ready for her to sit. This will be her last one though and then I will give her a rest. my bands should be arriving in the next day or 2. hope they get here by Saturday wile the babies are still young. this is so it will be easier to close the aluminum band on their leg. as young adults they squirm to much.

I am a little worried about one of the chicks. He/she isn't begging for food the parents just lays there. Mama keeps poking em in the head saying hey you going to eat or what....... but apparently I was wrong. When daddy came up finally showed he wanted food. lol maybe the chick favors daddy over mama.

I took a few pics when I got home. When my phone stopps lagging I will upload them

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo here are the pics as promised

[Animalzoo]

Here are some of my photos...

Jack and Jill's first fledgling. This one hopped out onto the perches and then as quick as he came out he went straight back in again. Very pretty baby, although I have no idea where the brown feathers are from. Neither parent has this on them. Must be in their genes via a grand parent perhaps.



Here he is again with his dad, Jack in the front. And the external nest I added for them.



Another one of the nest and the babies from Jack and Jill. This is one with red eyes.




Romeo and Juliet's 3 babies.



You can see this one ready to jump out...

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo So mine have been jumping out of the nest and end up just sitting at the bottom of the cage. Do I just leave them there or pick them back up and put them in the nest. regardless if there on the cage floor or I the nest mama and papa still feed them. they don't seem to want to fly yet.

The second nest is almost done. I keep adding more nesting material and they are using it all. I'm going to allow them to do their thing. I was told that once Whitey lays her second egg that I am to separate the babies and daddy from mama. Once the babies are weened I'm to move them to their own cage and and daddy help mom parent the new clutch.

So I'm saddened tonight. I was checking on the caged and found one of blancas fertile eggs on the bottom of the cage cracked open. Its very frustrating because she did this to the last clutch as well. its either daddy that's doing it or Blanca herself. Both seem to be good parents though. Zorro feeds Blanca all the time. And blanca never seems to leave the nest. So now Blanca is down to only 2 eggs. I check the eggs tomorrow to see if they are fertile. I'm sure they are though. they are at about 8 to 9 days old.

Still no improvements from Toopay and Noname. Noname feeds herself with the 2 eggs she laid. Toopay just stands there under the nest and acts like he is a little over protective.

I think Yellow is starting to build a nest. found some material in there tonight but we will see. Stud could if just brought it there.

Tails and Brownie. they still are acting like a pair but aren't doing anything. Very frustrating because they feed each other and kiss but aren't doing anything else. Its like what the heck,, I think I might just separate them and break their bond and see if I can bond them with some one else next year ....

Bands didn't come today so hoping they will arrive tomorrow

Well off to bed.

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo I really like the turn out of his colors so far. I think it might be in his genetics passed down from a different generation and became dominant.
To be honest he looks like he has unique markings. id consider keeping him and breeding him/her next year for his radiant colors and physique looks

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo
Hey I have 2 babies at the bottom of the nest. I think Donald is trying to teach them how to fly but there not hopping around as of yet. Do I leave them alone or put them back in the nest ?

[Jamm972]

Animalzoo So all 3 birds have fledged, Whitey has already made her second nest to go another round. I'm just waiting for her to start laying her eggs. I haven't seen any of the babies fly yet, just jump around the cage. Only 1 of them has perched themselves on the water dish. I had to take em off it today to change the water. I wont separate them until I see them bugging mom in the other nest, when that happens I will put in the divider and let Donald do the rest of the weaning. Hopefully she has at least 2 eggs laid by then.

Blanca's eggs are due to hatch any day now. She only has 2 left. I candled them they look fertile, but I thought that the last time too. they look black with an air sac when candled, but I can no longer see any blood vessels like I seen with Whiteys eggs. There was a total of 4 eggs but 2 fell out of the nest. 1 appeared to be infertile and the other one appeared to be fertile but might have died inside the egg. Still not sure why it was out of the nest. So the last 5 days are crucial to see when these 2 eggs will hatch. The last egg is due to hatch April 14th. Fingers crossed.

So Noname ended up laying a 3rd egg. very strange. It was only 2 for 3 to 4 days so I think on day 5 she laid the 3rd egg. Kind of odd she would lay 2 eggs go 2 days with no eggs and lay a 3rd egg. But we will see. I wont be candling them until the 14th

I separated Tails and brownie. Very frustrating they feed each other but don't show any other signs of wanting to breed. I put Tails with Stud. with a divider.

How are things going at your end? Hows Lucky ?

[Animalzoo]

Jamm972

Hi, sorry I didnt reply with my update yesterday. It was a super crazy busy day of work and I ended up home late.

My younger babies who have fledged are all out now. Every time I placed them back in the nest, they would jump straight back out. So I gave up in the end. I did observe Juliet feeding them so I'm content they're ok. As of today they've been sitting on perches so they're fine. I've not added a 2nd nest yet, just giving these babies a few more days to grow and get stronger.

Jack and Jill's 4 babies all fledged by yesterday. But they were being very annoying and sitting in the new nest I had added. Jill started to build in it which I was super pleased with because it's the 1st time I have used an external nest but the babies kept getting into it to! So Jill started to sit and build in her original nest. I put a quick stop to that though and placed a divide in. I took out the 1st nest and put the babies away from mum and in with dad. But I did this with Sonny and Cher and then she laid 4 unfertile eggs. So I moved dad in with mum and I've watched both Jack and Jill feed the babies through the bars.

I did take out Sonny and Cher's eggs. Did this on Friday evening. She's hopping around and with Sonny so hopefully we'll start again with these 2.

Lucky and Scully are together and not fighting. I've not seen him sing or feed her but she is now building a new nest. Fingers crossed.

Mulder is in the lounge with me singing away every morning. He's great so when I get more room and time to see the breeder I might get some more girls.

You know what you said about Blancas eggs, that sounds fine. When the eggs darker with just an air sac that means the baby is developing well. You only see blood vessels towards the beginning when they're embryos. Sounds like these 2 are going to hatch!

I was going to ask, do you have 2 crested heads? Donald and Toopay or am I muddling up? Toopay is your older boy isnt he?