Nest # 9 was a delight this morning..When I checked the progress, and asked hen to move, there they were..all four hatched overnight..this is what you go for. Left her and her mate some peas and couscous..Nest #10 should have some chicks tomorrow..Pics to follow... :)

This is the pair. Waterslager cock bird on top left. He is a good feeder of his 4 chicks.

Hen used the white burlap and cotton for the outside nest.

Nestling food given to the parents to feed the chicks. Yellow round has Abba nestling food. The ceramic dish has peas and cooked couscous mixed with Abba green. The clear dish has a mixture of dry nestling foods fortified with vitamin, bee pollen and minerals. The birds will pick from this mix what they need.

Pin markers for nest #9

Nest #8 hatched one chick today, the white dom hen is sitting here..Pic to follow. Thur May 7 2015

Nest #7 had one chick hatching when I checked nests this morning..Wed May 6. 

What the pins tell me. This is the 2nd nest for hen #2. She layed her first egg on Monday. I boxed the egg and gave her a fake egg, continuing this until the 4th egg was layed. By Thursday she had layed 4 eggs. I returned her 4 eggs to the nest and she started incubation on Thursday. She laid another egg and I move it to #8 nest (brown pin) The "Hot" Red Pin indicated the hen is not  to be disturbed. Thursday 2 was the 2nd week of incubation. One chick (pink pin) hatched on Wednesday, after 13 days of incubation. 
Nestling 1 (green pin) is first week of soft food is to be given to the pair starting on hatch day Wednesday and for the next 4 weeks. This is the 7th nest for the Aviary. On examination of the other 3 eggs, May 10th, one egg was clear and the other two did not hatch. One chick hatched. Pair is feeding.

Today Nest #6 hatched. I was so happy ;) to see that the 3 eggs  I boxed all hatched at the same time. Roster to date, 6 nest hatched, 18 chicks, average of 3 per nest May 2015. 

What are dummie or fake eggs?

Pictured here is my plastic divided egg case with a lid that I found years ago at a general store. There are two blue plastic eggs and one white one. I also have used the marbles pictured.The marbles hold heat and help keep the babies warm. The hens are accepting of them.

I use the measuring spoon to move the eggs back and forth, so that I do not have to touch them.

What are fake canary eggs used for?

Canaries lay eggs 4 to 6, one egg a day. When they have a full clutch the hen will continue to sit on them until they hatch and feed them. Since they were laid a day apart, by the time the last egg hatches, the first baby is 3-5 times the size of the newest hatchling.

The baby birds instinctually shove the smaller birds out of the nest or get in the way of the feeding of the smaller birds. This can result in the loss of 1 or 2 birds.

The artificial eggs are used as decoys for the real eggs. The hen will sit on the fake ones too. When the hen lays one egg, take a plastic spoon and carefully remove the real egg from the nest and put in a safe place, on a bed of cotton, tissue or burlap. 

Repeat this for the entire time the bird is laying the eggs, when she is at the 4th or 5th egg, you can then remove the fake eggs and replace the real ones in the nest. She will sit back on them and they will all develop and hatch the same day. 

Thus all the babies will be the same size and have the same chances with being fed and cared for with less loss of hatch lings.

Fake eggs can also be used to stop a hen from laying eggs..Give her 6 eggs at one time and she will think it is time to incubate an stop laying.

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I pull the eggs every day and replace them with a dummy egg. This way all the chicks will hatch on the same day.

I place the eggs in a plastic container that is filled with nest materials. I place a small piece of index card with the cage number.  After the hen lays her fourth egg I replace all the eggs under her and take away the fake eggs.

If you use this method it will ensure all the chicks are the same size when born and have the same opportunity to get fed and banded all at the same rate of growth.

Ah! My Lady Godiva chocolate box. What a wonderful egg storage box. Just the correct size to hold the canary egg. The real egg is pictured on the nesting material, index card with cage #, spoon and 3 blue fake eggs to add as she lays. Nest is pictured with the replaced fake egg..

Donations of Godiva choco boxes accepted.