ringneck clutches

[chickpoo]

Am I right in that Ringneck lay 2 clutches a year? If so does this mean that they will raise 2 batches of chicks a year if condition are ideal? Or will they only keep laying if you take the eggs away from them?

 

[J3172]

I've never had a hen go broody, and my lay a lot more eggs then just two clutches.

 

[tysonb24]

Generally, if a hen goes broody she will only hatch one clutch a year. If you take eggs away from them they will keep laying.

 

[chickpoo]

Ohh ok. The reason I ask is that I am free-ranging ringnecks so most likely mine will go broody and make nests. My plan was to let the hen raise the chicks for about 1 month, then take them from her in hopes that she will start laying again raise another batch. Would that work?

 

[cathunter10]

Quote:
I will let someone else commit on this post.
Bill

 

[sonew123]

From memory? They only lay 30 eggs a year or so so If you want babies-incubate them and let her keep laying-so no your plan will not work...and free ranging them..you'll be lucky to see them again when they are out on their own-unless you have a huge flight pen with netting

 

[J3172]

yes, if you let them free range, they will range! You'll have no way of keeping track of them once they get out. they will not stay in your yard. Plus those chicks will fly at a month old so that would also be a problem, then predators become a problem as well. I'd recommend the same that was said either, a huge flight pen. OR released birds.

 

[Royd Wood]

Our loose ones hung around the yard while the hens incubated but once hatched they were gone including our coyote killer cock. We collected eggs daily from the pheasant runs and hatched over 100 with very few losses.

 

[chickpoo]

Quote:
Thats not the case with my ringnecks. Last year I released 3 cocks at about a month and a half. They kept coming back because I had the other ringneck chicks locked up and could hear the calls and I would throw food at them when I would see them. That was over a year ago. So my 3 ringneck cocks have been free ranging just fine for over a year. They run to beg for food when they see me and roost in a pear tree in my backyard. Even when I have spooked one of them on accident and have seen it fly far away(a distance of a block or two), it has always come back within a day or two. The only time they stray is when it is breeding season, one cock will stake out the yard for its own and the others set up territories in the neighborhood. I released cocks because they are fancier and was only keeping them for looks. But late this summer I replaced two of the cocks with two hens in hopes they would breed next year. I started this post because I have no interest in incubating the eggs, and was just wondering if the hens I have added would naturaly raise two batches of chicks a year. I had the idea if I captured all the hens chicks at about 1 month that the hen might breed again and start another clutch. I figure that in nature if a hens chicks were all killed by a predator that the same hen would try to breed again if it was still early in the breeding season? Guess we will see what happens next breeding season.

 

[J3172]

Wait you have pheasants in town?