EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[Pensmaster]

My husband would probably kill me, if I hatched that many chicks. I only hatch ... well the biggest amount I put into the bator was like 40... and out of that many 8 hatched... because ... shipped eggs. LOL

Of my own, I usually try to hatch 2-4 at a time. I usually lose a couple once I move them outside, the little buggers run off and I never find them again. They can squeeze through spaces I didn't even know where possible.

But, living in Texas is unique, we have 80 degree weather in december. LOL

I'd kill me if I hatched 200 chicks.

 

[chicken hawk 33]

Hey all

 

[kwhites634]

Quote: So would Momma, I'd bet

 

[Pensmaster]

So would Momma, I'd bet

Actually the scary part she'd say go for it.
However she doesn't do any of the work.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Mine are only worth $20 each because I only got 2 so far out of $40 of eggs.

I get it.

I'm not trying to be mean or negative. I'm trying to be honest and as realistic as I can.
I assumed you came here for advice, not unbridled encouragement to do whatever you felt like doing. I give advice based on my best experience.
I'm not saying you're stupid, just inexperienced.
I'm sorry that you want me to only be warm and fuzzy and give you feel good encouragement for your plan.
That would be fake, disingenuous and feigned friendliness. I can't do that because it would be wrong.
When you've had projects that were attainable, I have supported you. This isn't one of them.
I know you love birds and I would like to save you from the disappointment when the embryo or chick dies.

My best advice, if you truly want a cockatiel of your own and from your aunt's pair, is to give your aunt a nest box and nesting material for her birds to build a nest with so they can lay in there and brood the chicks. After the chick/s are 2 to 4 weeks old, you can practice hand feeding and getting them used to you - if you must.
The birds obviously want to raise a family if they're laying on the floor of the cage.
That would be much less expensive and stressful on you and the birds.

A much better alternative would be to get an adult cockatiel from a shelter. Shelters all over the country are overflowing with them. If you are able to hatch and raise this bird, how long will it be before yours ends up in a shelter?
If you can afford to raise a baby and buy a cage, it would be a more humanitarian thing to adopt one from a shelter.

I wish you would take to heart what I've said regarding this endeavor of yours. I'm not just a kid spouting opinions.
I'm an old man that has worked with all sorts of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and mammals my whole life.
I know experts in the field of parrots. I've worked side by side with experts in the field. I had friends and coworkers that were biologists and avian specialists from New Zealand, Britain and Costa Rica, as well as right here in St. Louis.
None that I know would attempt to artificially incubate and hand feed a parrot from hatch. It is a task that should be left to an adult pair.
To discourage laying, we usually wouldn't provide nests to the breeding pairs unless we had places approved to release the adult birds. It takes years to do the environmental impact studies to insure where the birds are released won't have a negative impact on other endangered species like monkeys and birds and to be relatively assured that poaching would be limited in the release sites.

This is a young pair that was determined to raise a family and made a depression in their cage and laid an egg in there.

We had 30 gallon barrels we converted to nests by cutting an opening at the top. We then put lots of materials for nestmaking in the cage. Then we carefully inserted the egg into the nest they made in the barrel and they then started incubating. I left CR before the hatch so I didn't witness the outcome.

I worked with about 400 macaws. including 30 or more breeding pairs each of both great greens and scarlets.
Almost all were rescues from makeshift zoos, hotels and pet owners that discarded them. Birds that live this long shouldn't be owned by humans.













One of the cages for handicapped birds.



My primary job was maintenance. Electrical, plumbing, construction, fencing, perch replacement, etc.. I rebuilt a water tower while I was there and made tables for the kitchen. . When there weren't enough volunteers (which was most of the time) a few volunteers, the biologists and I would prepare the food for all the birds. One of the biologists would get up before dawn to prepare the birds' first meal of the day. Then we would come to work and cut up fruit and vegetables for the second morning feeding. The other volunteers would have midday off while I did the maintenance work and then we'd cut up more food for the evening feeding and then clean all the cages every day.








This is how parrots were meant to live. That's a wild macaw flying along the coast.



If by some miracle, you are able to hatch and feed this bird to adulthood, you'll need a lead free cage at least twice the wingspan. It will also need lots of playtime outside the cage.

I have a problem.I was doing the same thing with my last hatch and only filling two troughs but for some reason there is condensation on the viewing windows

Don't add any more water.

I did remove some.and still didn't help.and it's only day four for my cockatiel egg

You have to have patience. What other eggs are in the incubator with the cockatiel?

 

[BullChick]

I'm baaaaack!
I wanted to switch back to Directv. Cancelled Dish as soon as I signed up, and had an appointment to get service yesterday morning. The downside was finding out that I was getting HughesNet for my internet. That would take until the fifth to be installed.
I waited and waited for the guy yesterday. The house was clean (I might have accidentally rearranged the entire living room more than ten times ), the laundry was being folded and put away as it was being done. I didn't even clean this well for Heather!!!
I was having television installed in the bedroom ( no comment! ), so cleaning was a big deal in there.
I finally called Directv, and was told that they couldn't provide service to my location. The woman was quite horrible to me, and I wasn't guilty of anything!
So I called Dish. Oh my goodness! That is another story!! I'll spare you. The guy showed up, was thoroughly confused about the work order, and gone in 30 minutes. So if the work order had been correct, he could have been gone in about ten.
One problem. I bought one new power strip from him, but was charged for two. I just now saw that in an email.

 

[Akrnaf2]

Today I got one freakish Araucana egg ever!
Normaly they lay 55-57 grams egg today I got a 87 gr egg!

 

[dan26552]

Nice! I got a 85 gram duck egg

 

[dan26552]

I've got an external duck pip!!!!

 

[The Duck Ladie]

Today is day 6 we had power out for 8 hours a couple days ago, but I think they will be ok. Gonna candle 'em tomorrow!