The Problems
Not (yet) in any particular or logical order are some ideas and
thoughts on making new lories. Of course its the parent lories that really do
the making but some human assistance can maybe help the process from
fertile egg to healthy juvenile bird.
With the experience of hindsight the many failures to get from the egg
to juvenile Lory could have been avoided had I known some simple
necessities that all other bird breeders probably already know.
I really have the feeling that if any mistake were possible, even remotely,
then I have made it, and baby lories have died as a result of some shamefully
simple errors. There was a time when these seemingly simple errors just kept
happening, as I learned from one error another would be waiting to happen.
One thing I have learned is that getting a fertile egg is really no guarantee
of a healthy baby bird, there are many strange and often deadly pitfalls
awaiting the new baby. It can be a tough world for a new nestling.
Eggs
Getting to the fertile egg stage can in itself be a major effort for some
breeders and much has been published about why pairs of birds do not
produce fertile eggs, or any eggs at all, or even mate.
Assuming that fertile eggs have been laid and the hen has commenced sitting
on them, we are now at the first stage of trying to help or smooth the
egg development (incubation) process.
It is here where problems can start - such as:
Hen never starts sitting on egg(s) - This is not usually a problem as the hen
instinctively knows that egg sitting is the next stage after egg laying is
complete. Has she finished laying? maybe she has not started sitting until
the second or third egg is laid.
The most likely cause will be the hen is scared away from the nestbox
or something has changed in the vicinity which has stressed her.
Although unlikely she may just not know what to do due to inexperience,
hopefully she will learn to sit on the next clutch of eggs.
If this becomes a permanent problem with this hen then the only solution will
be to remove the eggs and place in an incubator or under suitable foster
parents.
Hen keeps sitting on eggs that should have already hatched. They are
most likely infertile or have gone rotten. Remove them after allowing a few
extra days, maybe five, after they were due to hatch - and make sure the
expected hatching date has been calculated correctly.
The eggs are abandoned - the hen has given up on the eggs and is no longer
sitting on them. Although the eggs may have appeared fertile they may in fact
have gone by hatching date and the hen instinctively knows this. They have
probably gone rotten and should be removed from the nestbox.
The nestbox may have become insect infested with ants, roaches or other
creepy-crawlies that annoy the sitting hen, if this can be detected soon enough
then the nestbox should be totally cleaned out and new nesting material used
perhaps with some of the previous material. The eggs need to be carefully
removed and replaced in the clean nestbox. Treat the nestbox surroundings with
suitable inset repellant or killer making sure the birds cannot come near
any chemicals used. There is a large risk that one or both birds may decide
to destroy the eggs or the hen may not sit on them again. This is a difficult
call for the breeder and again the only solution may be to remove the eggs
the an incubator if the eggs continue to be abandoned.
One stategy used is to catch the parents and put them in a box where they
cannot see the nestbox being removed and cleaned and the eggs being handled.
Once the cleanup is complete the nestbox is carefully replaced to appear
that nothing has changed. When the hen is released she will probably go
straight to the nestbox and may start egg sitting again.
The nestbox could be damp or cold and uncomfortable for the hen. Check the
nesting material and if damp then introduce some dry material, a little at a
time replacing a little damp material. This can be spread over a few days
taking the opportunity to change material when the hen leaves the nestbox for
feeding.
The sitting hen may have been scared away, it could be an excited cock bird,
an intruder - mouse, rat, cat, human etc., or something may have happened
in the vicinity of the nestbox, falling debis in a storm, fallen tree, other
animals fighting, noisy birds etc.
Great care should be taken never to scare a sitting hen out of her nestbox
when trying to inspect the nestbox or eggs.
Less obvious reasons could be pollution - smoke or fumes, unusual weather,
human activity near the nestbox - gardening, building work etc..
One or more eggs are damaged - the shell is cracked or a piece of shell
is missing. This will probably kill the developing chick if the membrance below
the shell is also broken and some of the egg contents has leaked out.
If the membrane is intact then the developing chick may survive if some
repairs to the eggshell can seal over the exposed membrane or mend the
crack.
Plaster of paris works well here for replacing missing sections of shell and
various types of pva glue and fillers can be used for sealing cracks as well
as covering over small areas of missing eggshell.
Try to establish why the egg was damaged. Inspect the eggshell and see if it
looks particularly thin or weak. This may be indicating that the hen did not
have enough calcuim in her diet.
Check how the egg is positioned in the nestbox in relation to how the parents
enter and exit as it could be damaged by the birds dropping into the nesting
area instead of climbing down - the nestbox should have wire on the inside walls
or sufficient footholds to allow the birds to climb in and out.
Maybe some alternate design of nestbox is needed, perhaps one with a separate
egg chamber (eg an L shaped nestbox)
If the lories are more excitable or boisterous types, such as the Yellow-bibbed
lories or other EOS family lories then eggs are much more at risk of becoming
damaged. A separate egg chamber nestbox is almost essential.
Another solution may be to separate the hen and cock while the hen is egg
sitting, but to adjoining aviaries if possible as this will reduce stress if
they can still see and feed each other even though there is aviary wire
between them.
The eggs are completely broken - shattered and in pieces. This is
less likely to be accidental although again check for weak or thin-shelled
eggs, indicating taht the hen may need more calcium at egg making time.
Such eggs will rarely survive being rotated and sat on by the hen.
If entering/exiting birds can drop straight on top of the eggs then they
will probably not last too long - time to replace the nestbox.
The eggs have disappeared, no trace of them can be found.
First check they really have vanished, making sure that they not been buried
in the nesting material or pushed to one corner of the nest cavity.
Eggs do not simply vanish, they have either been removed from the nestbox or
eaten and totally consumed. Check the vicinity of the nestbox and the
ground below it for any traces of egg.
An intruder may have stolen the egg or eggs, this would most likely be either
a rodent or another human.
If a rodent is suspected, look for rodent droppings
in the area, in or on the nestbox, on the aviary floor or the area outside the
aviary, then either invest in a cat or a more suitable solution such as a
rodent trap that can be outside the aviary - never be tempted to place a trap
inside the aviary.
Another alternative is rodent poison, again outside the aviary. Make sure
dogs/cats or wild birds cannot access the trap or feed on poison bait.
If a human is supected then its time to invest in a large dog or a burglar
alarm. An alernate here may be an alarm bird, something suitably loud when
a human is in the vicinity.
The eggs are gone but a few fragments are evident.
Most likely the
egg has been consumed, again a likely villan is a rodent although the cock
bird may be to blame. The hen may know that the cock is capable of this and
with experience she will be very protective of the nestbox when she has eggs.
When she comes out to feed she will panic and rush back to the eggs if the
cock makes moves towards the nestbox. Often the hen will block the entrace
hole to prevent the cock entering the nestbox.
Hatching eggs
This should be a straighforward process and most of the time it is but many
birds die at this stage. There are probably many natural reasons why an egg
fails to hatch at the appointed hour, amongst these is the fact that the egg
may not have been fertile afterall.
Some other observed reasons for failures
to hatch have been:
The chick has died during incubation, this may be natural or perhaps the
eggs were temporarily abandoned and allowed to cool or go completely cold
before the hen resumed sitting on them.
The chick is not fully developed or has some defect that prevents it from
trying to break out of the egg. Occasionally a chick will have a growth
defect where some part of it will not develop properly, these rarely survive
the hatching process.
Mutations also occur, breeders will try to breed a colour
plumage mutation as these are usually more valuable because of their different
colours and rarity.
Most other mutations will not survive although reports of birds with an
extra or missing toe are reasonably common.
Mutations always appear to be physically smaller when hatched, are often
weaker and the parents will favour the 'normal' hatchling. If the mutation
survives past the first few months then then it will quickly grow to normal
size.
The shell is too hard for the hatchling to break out. This will often be
because the hen does not have a constant water supply near the nestbox. She
will normally have a bath and with wet feathers sit on the egg thus moistening
the shell and preventing it becoming too hard. When the egg is ready to hatch
the hen will often wet it again and assist the hatchling if she can hear it
calling and see it pipping the egg.
The egg shell may just naturally be too thick and the chick too weak to make
an exit. Again the hen will often help the chick out if she can hear it
calling.
Abandoned new hatchling, failure to feed
An all too common problem with first time parents, they are just too
inexperienced to know what to do and fail to feed the hatchlings. They will
probably die within a day or so of hatching unless they are removed for
hand rearing (an onerous task with hatchlings just a few hours old).
The new hatchling will have a yoke sac and needs only liquid until the
sac is used up. After this a regime of hourly feeding is necessary for the
first few days gradually dropping to every 2 hours then several times a day.
Hand rearing from this age is not for the faint hearted as intense care is
needed for the first few days.
The only other possibility is that the hatchlings can be placed under another
hen, one that has just lost her own chicks or has laid infertile eggs or only
has one similar aged chick. This can be quite risky but if successful is
preferable than hand raising - at least for the first two weeks.
Babies abandoned
The reasons for this are similar to reasons why eggs are abandoned, although
both parents will be very much more protective of young hatchlings than they
are of eggs.
An obvious problem to look out for is the nestbox getting quite damp as the
new babies will be generating a lot of liquid poo. The nestbox should have
several holes drilled in its base to allow liquid to drain away. Some breeders
line the nestbox bottom with liquid absorbing sphagnum moss or compressed
woodchips or even compressed sponge. The sawdust/shavings nesting material is
then placed on top to a suitable depth.
If damp nesting material is to be replaced then great care is needed as some
parents will not accept the change and will abandon or worse, kill the
nestlings. If the nestlings are several weeks old then the best solution is
to remove them for hand rearing, rather than risk a possible fatal outcome.
This may also be the best solution no matter what the reasons are for
abandoning the chicks.
Babies feather plucked
This is a common problem with lories and lorikeets. It tends to occur when the
babies are over 4 weeks old and have started to grow feathers although there
have been cases of down being plucked from younger nestlings.
Nestlings should be inspected on a regular basis and this is one of
the problems to look for.
The most common
reason for this behaviour appears to be that one or both parents want the
nestlings out of the nest with the cock bird often being identified as the
culprit.
A severely plucked nestling may develop skin infections that can
lead to more critical health problems.
Persistent plucking from the parent(s) may also develop into a more serious
attack where the nestling is pecked to death.
Babies killed
First make sure the baby is actually dead, unless it has obviously been
pecked to death, check it very closely for signs of life.
Sometimes this happens when the parents will suddenly decide to kill the
hatchlings for what seems no apparent reason. Usually there will always be
some reason but finding out can be the problem (try to find the reason to
prevent it occuring again).
Very often the reason for this can be traced to some event or change that
has upset the parents. A simple change such as removing damp nesting material
and replacing it with dry material or hanging a new toy or perch too close to
the nestbox, lifting down a nestbox to inspect babies and contents, removing
and handling babies, moving the nestbox etc., are all possible reasons
for rejecting and killing babies.
Never introduce new birds into an aviary where there is a breeding pair
with nestlings, a dispute could start resulting in abandoned or killed
nestlings. Also never remove one of the parents as the other may stress/panic
and destroy the nestlings.
Avoid disputes between adjoining aviaries, if the breeding pair are always
arguing with their next door neighbours then move one of other pair to a
different aviary. Never change the birds in an ajoining aviary if the existing
birds appear to co-exist with the breeding pair.
Parents severely stressed or scared by a rodent, cat, dog, animal, bird
or other human can trigger the nestling's destruction.
Feet and Toe problems
When the chicks are growing their feet, legs and toes should be inspected to
see they are developing properly. Problems can sometimes occur with toes
twisted and pointing in the wrong direction. It may be necessary to tape
the toes into the right direction for a week or so. Legs and joints can also
become misshapen or twisted so that they cannot support the standing chick.
The condition known as 'splay leg' sometimes occurs with baby lories where the
main leg joint causes the leg to splay out sideways.
Usually all of these problems occur because the chick cannot get a decent
grip on the nesting material to enable it to stand properly. Placing some
wire mesh into the nesting material, just below its surface may help. More
often its easier to remove the chick for hand rearing where it can be given
attention and encouraged to stand and grip on towels, branches, cage bars
and wire mesh.
Real life tragedies and a few successes
Too many preventable failures
A new pair of Massena's lorikeets produced their first two eggs soon after
we aquired them. Surprisingly they were both fertile (which probably means they
laid infertile eggs with a previous owner). The hen incubated the eggs and they
successfully hatched. The hours old hatchlings looked excellent and the hen
appeared to be feeding and rushing back to the nestbox. Inspecting the babies
a day later, one was dead and the other near death. Both had never been fed and
were very dehydrated. The live one was given electrolytes solution via a
dropper and appeared to be drinking well. It was placed in an incubator at
35 degrees C but in the middle of the night it died.
The most likley explanation was that the hen was just inexperienced. We will
watch closely when she lays again.
A pair of Scaleys laid one fertile egg and it developed until just about to
hatch. It was clear that the baby was having problems breaking out of the egg
as the eggshell was as hard as a rock.
The shell was gently removed and the chick helped out. It seemed healthy
but very weakend by its efforts to hatch.
Sadly it died soon afterwards although given electrolyte solution and placed
back in the nestbox.
It appears there was not a water supply near the nesting pair of Scaleys
and the nearest water was closer to another nesting pair who kept the Scaleys
away from the water. Without the hen Scaly being able to bathe and then have
her sit with wet feathers on the egg, the eggshell dried and hardened too
much for the baby to break out.
A breeding pair of Musk lorikeets that have successfully raised many pairs
of babies abandoned their 10 day old nestlings. They were found dead in the
nestbox. The cause was traced to the simple mistake of moving their feeding
dish to the opposite side of their avairy where a pair of Rainbow lorikeets
in the adjoining aviary
would start arguments each time the Musks tried to feed. This upset the Musks
so much that they could no longer feed in peace. They spent most of their
time squabbling with the Rainbows and the baby Musks were ignored.
Rainbow lorikeets produced two fertile eggs and always successfully hatched
both chicks. After several incidents where the younger chick was found dead
it became obvious that the parents only ever wanted to raise the older chick
and would allow the second to starve - strange behaviour as there was always
a plentiful food supply. Now when there are two fertile eggs one is always
removed to foster parents.
An established breeding pair of Musk lorikeets were obtained complete
with nestbox. This box was quite small being about 300mm tall and only about
100mm deep by 120mm wide, the birds had however successfully raised at least
five babies using this nestbox.
The next two eggs they laid were fertile and hatched. After just 10 days one
of the babies seemed to have disappeared but was in fact dead and its body
squashed down into the semi-liquid mush at the bottom of the nestbox. It had
either drowned or more likely died from cold because the very wet nextbox would
have been impossible place for the nestlings to stay warm.
There was just no way for liquid to escape from the nestbox and eventually
the sawdust turned to the consistency of sticky mud.
This nestbox was removed and replaced with a larger L shaped type. The
problem disappeared and the musks now breed successfully. The old nestbox
was reused but with several holes drilled in it to allow liquid to escape.
A breeding pair of Yellow-bibs were obtained complete with nestbox and
the hen had already laid one egg in the nestbox. It proved to be fertile.
She started sitting a day after the nestbox was placed in her new aviary, we
noticed she was quite nervous and would never let the cock get to the nestbox
when she came out to feed. The day before the egg was due to hatch its
remains were found with just a few small pieces of eggshell and what appeared
to be a piece of skin with down. The rest was gone.
It became obvious the cock was an egg eater, this should have been realised
by the hen's protective behaviour. Now when the hen lays the cock is removed
to an ajoining aviary.
Too many wrong assumptions
The hen is taking food into the new hatchlings, her first, she wasn't, they died of starvation.
The hen will look after the new hatchling we just helped out of the egg, she
couldn't, it was too weak and died.
The hen will protect the chicks from an aggressive cock, she couldn't, he
killed them.
The foster parents will raise a newly hatched chick, wrong, they ignored it and it died.
The foster parents will incubate the eggs and raise the baby, almost,
they abandoned it two weeks after hatching, it died.
The hen can raise the babies on her own after the cock escaped the aviary,
she ignored them and they almost died of starvation.
The wet nestbox sawdust can be replaced with dry sawdust when there are
hachlings in the nestbox, wrong, the parents killed the nestlings.
The babies will be ok for another few days in the damp nestbox, wrong,
one baby died of cold.
The babies will be ok for another few days in the damp nestbox, wrong,
one of the babies drowned in the goo.
The nestbox can be moved, wrong, the hen abandoned the eggs.
The eggs can be checked when the hen is sitting, wrong, she was scared and
abandoned the eggs.
Remove dud egg but leave fertile egg under hen, wrong, she got annoyed and abandoned the fertile egg.
The hen will protect the eggs from an egg-eating cock, wrong, he ate them.
The hen will protect the eggs/hatchlings from rodents, wrong, the rodents
ate them.
A few ants near the nestbox mean nothing, wrong, the hen was annoyed by
them and abandoned the eggs.
Its ok to introduce new birds into an ajoining aviary, wrong, a loud squabble started and the eggs/babies were abandoned.
Do maintenance work or new building around the aviary while the hen is
sitting, wrong, she got scared and abandoned the eggs.
Have visitors enter the avairy while hen is sitting on eggs, wrong, abandoned again!
Have visitors look and maybe handle new hatchlings/nestlings, wrong, parents
killed/abandoned them afterwards
Fewer successes
An inspecton of the nestbox belonging to a pair of Yellow-bibbed lories
showed that two eggs laid about a week before were missing, vanished without
trace. The next day a thorough search of the nestbox found one of the
fertile eggs well buried in the sawdust and wood shavings nesting material.
The egg had cooled a little but was not completely cold. It was placed under
a pair of Rainbow lorikeets who had laid two infertile eggs. They successfully
hatched the egg and fed the baby for over two weeks then suddenly abandoned
it (as if they realised it was not a proper rainbow lorikeet that was growing).
It was retrieved for hand raising and grew up a cock Yellow-bib in
perfect health. (and the breeder, me, had an excuse to open a bottle of
single malt and celebrate!)
Sometime previous to this an abandoned fertile egg from a pair of Scalies
was placed under this same pair of Rainbows. Again they successfully hatched
it and raised it for just over two weeks. They then suddenly abandoned the
chick and it died of starvation. This lesson we learned to good effect when the
Yellow-bib egg was placed with them. The hatchling was inspected every day
and then more frequently after ten days until it was obvious the Rainbows were
no longer feeding it.
A pair of Scaly lorikeets raised two babies to 15 days old, the cock bird
then escaped from the avairy on a stormy day and never returned. The hen
appeared to loose interest in the babies and would sit in the nestbox wihtout
making any effort to feed the them. They had to be removed for hand raising.
The hen was later paired with another cock Scaly and went on to successfully
raise more babies.
A breeding pair of Massenas lorikeets have successfully hatched either
one or two babies. However the hen abandons them usually after one to two
weeks. One two occasions the dead babies have been found in the nestbox
having starved or becoming cold (or both!). One one occasion after the hen was
seen outside the nestbox for over an hour a baby was rescued, weak but still
alive. It was fed some warm liquid with electrolytes and then placed under
a rainbow hen who had one baby the same age. The Rainbow continued to raise
the Massena until both were removed for hand raising at four weeks old. The
Massena hen is now watched more closely when she has babies and a second time
a baby was rescued after being abandoned at just three days old.
It was placed under the same Rainbow who, again, had an almost same age baby.
This time the Rainbow also abandoned both chicks
after just a further three days and now the two six day old chicks had be
removed for hand raising. The Rainbow hen had never abandoned chicks before
but this time it appears she had a chill or cold and was looking rather
bedraggled and out of condition.
Rainbow Lorikeet hatching.
|
2 Day old Red-collared
Lorikeets.
|
Some ideas to check nestbox/eggs/nestlings
When a nestbox inspecton is necessary,
first make sure the hen is outside the nestbox. An idea is to offer food
or a treat and the excited calling of the cock or adjoining aviary birds will
soon get the hen out to see what is happening.
If the hen rushes back to the nestbox when she sees a human go near it
then abandon he inspection attempt as she may get upset.
If the cock bird goes into attack mode to defend the nestbox then again
abandon the inspection attempt.
Contact us
If you have any questions or comments on lories, lorikeets or any part of this
web site then we would be very pleased to hear from you. Please sign our
guestbook, leave a message in the message forum (or reply to other messages),
or contact us by sending email to:
Kellie Stewart
(arawa.aviaries@xtra.co.nz)
If you are in New Zealand and would like to find out more about meetings and
subscribing to the Lory-Link newsletter then you can phone Kellie on
AUCKLAND (9) 827-3604 or Fax AUCKLAND (9) 358-0059
.
Last modified: 15 December 2002.
