Using fake eggs during breeding

[hfinney]

Hello. I'm hoping to breed my two canaries for the first time, and I've heard conflicting opinions about whether or not to remove eggs and replace with fake ones so they are all incubated starting on the same day. What's best practice on this? Will removing her eggs and replacing them with fake eggs spook or upset her?

What do I do with the real eggs until I put them back in the nest?

Also I want to get some colored leg bands for the chicks so I can tell them apart later on. What's the best kind to get and where do I get them?

Thanks!

[Flight Feathers]

Hi there,

I have never removed eggs from my canary. Mainly because I didn't want to upset her. I don't know if this was a good idea or not. The two lots of baby canaries I had, never got very far as the first lot all fell out of the nest and died from the fall and the second lot cooked in the shell.

So I haven't had much success with canaries yet but I did find that the mother did not like it when I tried to check the nest and in the end I think she abandoned her nest. Although by that time there was only one baby left which was probably nearly dead.

Not sure about the bands, have never banded canaries.

[adoumski]

hi hfinney,

i remove my canaries eggs, and replace them with a fake egg and return them when the hen lays her 4th egg. that way they all hatch within a day of each other.
i have not faced any issues with this and have been doing it for 3 years.

i usually keep the shelled seeds and put the eggs in them. you can use an open container, fill it with seeds or cotton. amd place the eggs in it. with the pointy part facing down.

you can buy any plastic leg bands online, make sure they are for canaries, i think the size should be around 3.3mm

[Paul's Amazing Birds]

Hi Hfinney

I never remove the eggs mostly because I don't have the time to juggle all those eggs around. The eggs all seem to hatch within a day or so anyway and the youngest always catch up fast. I make sure she has plenty of privacy, a nice deep nest lined with a felt pad fastened in the bottom with a plastic cable tie so they can't throw it out, loads of nest material and plenty of egg food. Most times I use pure hard boiled eggs ground fine in a food processor with shells and all to get things going (eggs make eggs). The breeder cage also has a feeder with a high protein, vitamin fortified seed blend, a cuttle bone and a small bird bath - all serviced from the outside. After hatching I use a mix of prepared nestling food and eggs. The cage has a temporary separation panel if the M & F don't know each other. After a day or so of "dating" I pull the panel so they can go through the whole sequence of searching for a nest location, (duh, it's right there!) building a perfect nest etc, etc. Some bird keepers don't agree with this but in my case, the male becomes kind of a pest after the last egg is laid so he either gets his freedom in the open flight or if he's exceptional he gets a new girlfriend.

All sounds kinda sterile and controlled I know, but this is the way my birds have the highest rate of success. I'm not into production so my hens only get two chances per year to raise babies. More clutches than that is to risky for her - health wise.

An open breeding situation never worked for me. To much can and does go wrong - and there's no way to keep track of the genes if you have more than a few pairs.

[hfinney]

That’s great information. Thank you!

Does the female build a nest before the male is added to her cage or after? Just curious how I know she’s ready for him.

[Paul's Amazing Birds]

Well from what I've observed he sings like a fool to whoever will listen - occasionally sparing with other males to show dominance. It all starts when a hen starts to carry nest material around. She will stop and sometimes accept food from the male and then flutter her wings to let him (or any other male) know when she's ready. Egg production inside the hen starts thereafter with all eggs in a string of 2 to 6 fertilized at the same time (so says my avian Vet). A bonded pair will continue to mate and feed each other while searching for and building a nest together. It usually takes a few days for her to start turning around and around in a semi-completed nest, adding the final softer materials to finish it up. She somehow knows the timing and how fast to work to have the nest ready in time for her first egg. Then she produces one egg a day until all eggs in that string are laid. One funny thing I noticed is that some male canaries actually sing while mating. I usually separate the two after 3 or 4 eggs are laid because at this point, all the male wants to do is continue the courtship process and the hen has important work to do, sitting steady.
It always amazes me how one tiny egg can go through all that cell division and come out with a tiny living chick in just 12 days...and then just 2 weeks later the chicks are almost ready to fly.

[Paul's Amazing Birds]

Short answer is to look for her to start fluttering her wings. Nest building can start before or after the introduction.