Mixed Cluth (Bengalese/Owl)

NaOH55 · Post by **NaOH55** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 5:27 pm

I've got an interesting development, a follow-up on these curious little owls. They finally laid some eggs! But it's never that simple: One egg was laid on the edge of one of those coconut fiber "tear-tunnels" I provided, as opposed to the nest, and a second egg was attempted to be laid in this same spot but hit the bottom of the cage instead. So with only two eggs being laid (now just one intact) and parents totally disinterested with tending their actual nest I added it to the bengalese nest and they've been sitting on it tight. Now, lo and behold, my bengalese girl has started a clutch of her own. I've seen how great of parents my societies are, but do you guys think they'll toss the "invader" if it hatches at all?

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 5:57 pm

I don't know what owls look like when they first hatch, but I know that societies are completely bald. I added a half society/half star finch into a society clutch and when it hatched along with the other regular societies, the mom tossed the intruder and raised hers. I thought it was interesting since my societies have also always been good parents.

Although, this happened in my mixed aviary, and I secretly think the society female knew her man had been cheating on her with a female star! So she tossed the baby to get back at him!

Post by **Sally** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 8:45 pm

When I fostered Star eggs under one Society pair, and then the next clutch of Star eggs went under another Society pair, I didn't even know I was supposed to remove any Society eggs. So both Society pairs incubated, hatched, and raised mixed clutches of Star babies and Society babies. Both Society pairs were excellent parents to ALL of their babies. The Society babies developed much faster than the Stars, so they were bigger and weaned sooner, yet both Society pairs kept feeding those Star babies, long after their own babies were weaned. It was funny to see all those babies lined up on a perch, with the Society babies being so much bigger!

The only thing you can do now is wait till they hatch and watch closely to see if that one baby gets tossed--every pair is different in how they react to 'other' babies.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 9:33 am

hi sally
look at this link and if you can open the birds mouth it will show you which type it is as they are really different

ken

http://efinch.com/gape.htm

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 2:29 am

Wow Ken, I've browsed around quite a bit on efinch and have never seen that particular part.... very interesting!

Doesn't also have to do with feathers though. Some species are born with little feathers and some aren't, and so the parents may toss ones that look odd to them?

Post by **Sally** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 11:32 am

ken, thank you so much for that link! It explains in part at least why my Societies were so good about feeding the Star babies. I just found my Owl's nest on the floor of their cage with three eggs spilling out. Since they have been very quick to abandon their nest previously, I took the three eggs and put them under a Society who was incubating eggs about the same age. No telling how long the eggs had been on the floor, or if they had tiny cracks in them, but when candled, at least two appear to be fertile, so I figured why not try to save them. Now I see that the Zebra finch would be a better match as a foster. On another forum, the Zebra finch has been used as a foster for CBs. They did note that the Zebras used for fosters should be young and never raised a clutch before. So I think I might get a young pair to keep on hand for possible fostering.

Emily, the feathering also might have some influence--some babies are born naked, while some are virtual fuzzballs, so they might toss the odd-looking one, but the mouth markings are what triggers the feeding instinct, so if they can get past the fuzz or lack of it, they just might feed the odd one. Some nests are so dark inside that the mouth markings are how the parents find their mouths, so maybe they don't notice the outside of the babies!

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 1:04 pm

hi sally /emily
mostly its the lighter coloured birds that have the fuff on when they are born...when you look at the gouldian mouth markings they look like lights on the side of an airplane runway...dont worry about the thanks..as i keep saying thats what we are all here for i learn from your posts and vica versa

ken

NaOH55 · Post by **NaOH55** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 3:09 am

Well, after losing that egg I covered the bottom of the cage in towels which turned out to be a good idea. Two more eggs, one with some moderate damage but another wholly intact. It will be a miracle if these guys survive.

Post by **Sally** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:10 pm

My Owls are also giving me fits. After that nest fell on the floor, and I salvaged the spilled-out eggs, I decided to clean out the cage really well. I keep coastal hay on one side of the cage (this is a breeding cage with two separate bottom trays), and when I cleaned out the hay, I found two more eggs underneath! I didn't bother with them, they'd been on the floor too long, but I put in fresh hay and lots of other nesting material (they really like coco fiber), and they promptly started building a nest in the same place. So they are trying, but they are also trying my patience! So we both have Owl eggs under Societies, let's keep our fingers crossed. BTW, where did you get coco fiber nests?

NaOH55 · Post by **NaOH55** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 3:12 pm

Sorry to hear of the mutual troubles. I salvaged yet another egg in the folds of my improvised towel bedding, so I've got three viable shots at owls, hooray! The cocofiber tunnels are at every petsmart i've been to. A little overpriced in my opinion, 8 bucks, but they go a long way. I think next time I use one I will actually seal up one end because they took to it as the primary nest in a heart beat. All they had to do was ruffle up the inside and they seemed to feel very secure. I hope our societies can pull through for us.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... unnel&sr=1

NaOH55 · Post by **NaOH55** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:31 am

Now I feel silly even questioning the ability/willingness of my societies as fosters in the first place, they really are some of the best birds to have. The incessant peeping has begun today:

Post by **Sally** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 3:21 pm

Great photo! Yes, those Societies are such good parents, they will usually come thru for you. They are also such a great beginner bird, I just love them. Do you know how many Society eggs she laid? I think you said you had 3 Owls eggs under her, but the Owl eggs were there first.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:23 am

I personally love society finches. My favorite finch is the society and my second favorite is my rosy rump waxbills.

I hate having finches which are picky, agressive, and hard to keep. But then again I don't keep finches for making money.

I think you'll find them to be some of your best finches! I recently purchased a male pearl society that is absolutely beautiful and sings his heart out all the time! I don't know yet if I want to breed him... I have a fawn self female and a choc self female.... not sure who I want to pair him up with...