Well, it is good to say that this Grey Singer couple is a hard core! They breed rapidly. Once they laid their eggs, 13-14 days the chicks are popped out ... then the male and female are start to feed the chicks. This feeding session also made them start to breed again. Even when the chicks ain't reach 2 weeks old yet, or at least the chicks has reached their baby's days out, they start to build another new nest for laying their new several eggs. It will be difficult for the male then to feed both the chicks and also the female in nesting period. But only the good one can do this, not every male wants to and can feed them at the same time. Most of them will abandon their chicks.
Experiencing the deaths of separated chicks from several experiment, I found out that this Grey Singer's chicks kind had no highly survival mode. When the parental feeding is less than 5 weeks, they get sick by poor eating ability and ended in death within couple to several days. I have tried to separate them in 4 weeks old, then 5 weeks old, they did not survived. So I decided only to separate them from the parental feeding after 6 weeks. It is very risky, due to the danger that the chick may kicking the eggs out of the nest, since they will still be in the same small breeding cage. In addition of that, they will also suffer from the parents that usually pulled out their feathers for nesting material or try to reject them out of the cage. Sometimes it is difficult to make a decision, wheter we have to take them out or let them stay in the cage supported by their parents but resulting the damage baby's feather. We have to be very sharp to watch the situation and condition on this.
The pair will breeds at least every 5 to 6 weeks, started from 3 eggs. Some of them survived completely to 2 or 3 chicks and sometimes they didn't survived at all. It means they are producing at least 5 to 6 breeding times and brings 15 to 18 chicks per year. But in fact, they only appear after suvival around 10 chicks. Not bad, isn't it? Of course, it was a good factory to me ... rather than to have only 2 or 3 breeds per-year. So, why don't you try to breed this kind? instead of only to get them singing in the cage.
1 comment:
Hello
I'm glad to hear your having success with your grey singers. I have a pair which build the nest . The hen will lay 2 -3 eggs . She begins to incubate them in the day but at night she comes off the nest .She won't go back on until the morning? Of course the eggs cool and don't live . I've hatched out some of there eggs under societies but the chicks are usually died when I check on them .Has anyone run into this problem with a grey singer hen
Thank you .
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