"The problem is, they lay two eggs per nest and either the hen or the cock is always incubating the eggs. Sometime they were both incubating the eggs. The problem is that the eggs are fertile, but i have yet had a chick to hatch. I have them on the diet that you said your birds were on, but i thought maybe there is something that i might be doing wrong."
- Anytime you line breed (breed family members) you have a risk of doubling up on any genetic faults and weaknesses that they may carry. It also tends to weaken resistance to disease and the immune system. Line breeding is often done to find faults within a line, or to "set" type within a line (using a superior, and physicaly correct animal) and then out crossed to other lines to improve quality. If you're not breeding for show type or to test for genetic faults , or your not sure your ready to deal with some major heath problems that can turn up by doing this, it's best to have unrelated breeders. [Colleen]
- I do pet the birds, could that be a problem? The female is really quite tame for a dove, I guess. I feed them finch mixed seeds, egg yolk, finch vegetable treats, bread, they love grated parmesan. They actually eat very well. My mom said I should probably not give them vitamins because they get it all from the food I give them. Do you think humidity could be a problem? No they don't get scared off the nest. In fact I can pet both mamma and papa and they don't move from the nest. Their cage is about 30" x 15 and about 20" high. it is in front of a window but I keep a cover over their nest. This was actually the first laying for one pair and the second laying for the other. One baby made it though, he is six weeks old now...silver. I have 2 blues, one white and two silvers. course the baby still has camouflage. Do you know how to determine their sex? Thanks again for the time you took to answer. [Rosalie]
- I find in general that really tame birds do not breed as well as those kept a little on the wild side. If they imprint more on you they may not apy as much attention to each other and they have alot to do for successful breedings. [Jeff]
- Generally it is best to avoid inbreeding. However, it is USUALLY not bad to mate sibs or parent-offspring. You simply have to be ready to discard any offspring that MIGHT show up with a detrimental character. Presumably ALL cage birds and certainly the domestic animals as stocks have been inbred (often severly) at some stage to establish a breeds characteristics or fix type, etc. Often this occurs more than once. Sometimes some of the rare cage birds have to be inbred just to keep the stock going. In humans cousin marriages are PREFERRED in many places in the world such as in India. The general reason to avoid inbreeding is to lessen the chance of having the same detrimental recessive gene turn up in double dose. Check some genetics textbook on the chapter on Inbreeding. [wjm]
- Line-breeding is to offspring where you are breeding at least 50% related. In-breeding is to siblings where you are not so close some times. Used mostly for traits as it doubles all the good and the bad. It is not used for color. I don`t think the birds are developed into standards enough to make it neccessary. Line-breeding is to make all offspring idenically the same. Usually fertility is the first to be noticed. Culling is important. First time probably is not an issue, when it gets to the 4th or 5th and so it shows up. [Don]
- Question on the size of eggs laid and fertility.
- Is the egg 3/4 smaller or 1/4 smaller then the usual egg? Fertility can be checked after about 4 or 5 days (hold up to sunlight or a flashlight in a darkened area - if you see a "spider web" of red lines (the developing embryo) then the egg is fertile.Whether it is strong enough to live - if it is fertile is has a chance to survive - weaker etc - that can only be determined when & if the egg is fertile & the young hatches.I have never had any of the "odd eggs" in any specie I kept whether smaller or very oblong ever be fertile - so none hatched. I did leave the "clear" (infertile) egg in the nest to help prevent the parents from crushing the single young when it hatches & it also is a support for the youngster to prop its head against.YES - it is possible for a parent to "crush" a single youngster by accident. After a few days you can remove the "clear" egg. [John]
- I am not trying to be cynical on the question posed about the odd eggs. To me the person answered their own questions - either way - if infertile or fertile & the young were raised.When these type eggs begin appearing - with regularity - it could be a sign of the hen becoming close to having no more eggs; it may happen to a young pair once or twice; or there is something wrong with the hen. I find from hearing about this problem for the last 20+ years is it is either the old hen or the birds are more closely related then thought.If records are not kept - the possibilty of pairing related individuals even if gotten from another source - is greatly increased. I have gotten birds from both sides of the country & then found out they were clutch mates.Also with out records - there is no way to tell the age of any bird. If the birds are not banded & the same color it becomes harder to tell individuals from one another - again increasing the chances of pairing related blood.I keep records - but not as they should be - too many "shoe box files" with sheets of paper with notes. I'm waiting for that perfect computer program which will make it easy for me to store the information on my birds. I have looked at quite a few programs & have not found one I like or easy to use & does not cost an arm or leg. [John]
- The disposable nests are supported underneath by a (usually flat) perch and I use 2 clothespins to hold the nest to the side of the cage. There is a picture of this arrangement in one of the photos--probably the one with the orange white back silky in the background. I use this in all 16 of my mating cages, and it works very well. However, it works only indoors where rain can't hit the cardboard. [wjm]
- This morning when I checked my diamond doves there was an egg in the nest. Is there any way to mark the egg so I know it was the first to be laid? Also about how long after the first egg will the second be laid? How long after that will they hatch? This is HER first; but Dan is a proven breeder. Will he help her brood the egg? What do I need to put in the cage with them besides seed, and water? This is my first experience with doves. Thank you for any help you can give me?
- How Should I mark eggs for identification and record keeping?
- I just use a plain pencil. Magic marker will bleed into the shell and the wax sticks will block the air exchange of the shell......just put a big X on it or if you are planning on marking them all just put a large number on it. If you spot check frequently -- every few days, you can see if the number is wearing off. I went to the lumber yard and got one of those heavy "carpenter pencils" with the thick soft lead. (actiually graphite, I think -- not lead!)Good luck with the egss!! [Helen]
- Yes, very soft pencil marks will work. Remember the egg shell is very thin and easy to break. The second egg is usually laid some 40+ hours after the first in the dove family of those species that have been checked. They will hatch 14 days after incubation starts--maybe a few hours earlier. Yes, the male helps brood the eggs during the main part of the day for all the species so far as I know. He will also help feed the offspring. Check that their nutrition includes a vitamin D3 and Vitamin A source (as in Avitron in the water. Also for this my diamond doves like fine finch pellets. Also minerals needed are calcium and a tiny amount of granular salt fortified with trace elements such as cobalt, manganese, iodine.... The calcium can be from several types of sources--crushed boiled egg shells, chick size oyster shell, ....mine prefer granular F that you can get from your local Limestone Company. [wjm]
- How old are most of your babies when you take them from the parents.Right now I have a pair that has two young that are 19 days old and the hen was overly agressive to the point the male would intervene. At this point she has 6 days on a new set of eggs. I usually do take my young away around 4 wks. or when the parents show its time to go,but, this time I think he looks to inmature to be on his own. Does anyone have any advice? [Rich]
- In my breeding cages, which are 30 to 36" long, by 18" tall and 18" deep, I usually leave the previous youngsters in with the parents til anywhere from a week to a few days before the next eggs are to hatch. Then I take them out. I will take them out sooner if they are interfering with the parents and sometimes I leave them in longer especially if in a larger flight or cage. I use the fighting or interference as a rule. Time wise, as long as the young are eating well on their own, if the fighting is disruptive it should be OK to remove them.Jeff
- I read that a yellowwhitetail was best paired to a yellow. Wouldn`t this work against the whitetail factor?
- It should of said: "Best to pair a YWT to another YWT or to a well marked Yellow. You can't really work "against" the WT factor. It is a Dom. trait. I am just suggesting that since the YWT is a combination of WT and Yellow, that if another YWT isn't available, it might be better to breed to a Yellow, keeping with that which makes up the other bird, versus introducing completely different colors or traits. Hope this helps.