ringneckmutations.com

The breeding season is now over and all chicks have fledged successfully. I've had mixed fortunes with some lovely coloured birds being bred but unfortunately lots of dead in shell chicks from over 100 eggs. I've reviewed my management of the birds and the breeding process and nothing is different to that of the last several years which have been very successful. I have concluded that the late cold winter and early cool dry spring could be to blame. The birds didn't start laying until March/April which is some two to three months later than normal which could be down to the very cold weather in January and February. When eggs were eventually laid humidity levels were very low during incubation and more importantly during the hatching dates. Raised humidity levels are required during the two to three day pipping and hatching period and this didn't appear to occur; I think because of the cool dry weather. Chicks that were pipping the egg shell when examined before I left for work in the morning were dead in shell when I returned home. Other chicks that were only a few days from hatching were suddenly dead in shell. This was probably due to the egg drying out and the chicks being unable to release themselves from the shell as their body contact with the dried out shell had rendered them stuck. As a result of these problems and the unpredictability of the British weather I am seriuosly thinking of purchasing some incubators and artificially hatching next seasons chicks. I haven't done this before and it will be a new experience for me so I am going to consider all the pros and cons before I commit myself. I'll let you know what I decide!

Some of the chicks (at the back) and their parents (at the front) are in the pictures below.

Some of the chicks are now only a week or two away from fledging and include Blue, TurquoiseBlue Lacewing, Cobalt Cleartail, Turquoise Grey Cleartail, Albino, Creamino and many other colours.

Creamino

Cinnamon Grey

TurquoiseBlue Lacewing

Cobalt Cleartail

Many of the chicks are now sprouting clourful feathers and its a guessing game for a few weeks as to what mutations they are, although some are obvious already like the Turquoise Lacewings, Grey Lacewings and Creamino in the photos below.

These chicks are between ten and sixteen days old. All bar one now have leg rings. Note the plum red eyes of these chicks which are Lacewings.

I now have thirty-one chicks in the nests with 28 eggs about to hatch. Four of the pairs of birds have started laying a second clutch of eggs after I fostered their eggs to other pairs that had either dead in shell chicks or infertile eggs.

Below is a picture of the chicks from a Blue Lacewing-Ino cock x Turquoise Grey Lacewing hen (pair 6), they are between two and six days old.

The Grey cock x Cinnamon TurquoiseBlue hen (pair 18) unfortunately had five dead in shell eggs and one hatchling from the six eggs in the clutch. I fostered the chick to another pair of birds which was accepted without any problems (the chick above) and now the hen has laid another clutch of four eggs which may yet increase.

I have also fostered fertile eggs from three other pairs. I have done this as the foster parents and the donor parents only had two or three fertile eggs with the rest being infertile so it made sense to increase clutch sizes to four or five eggs and hope that the donor hens would lay another clutch. Fingers crossed!

83 eggs in total laid to date.

80 eggs in total laid to date.

           The first chick of the season hatched today, less than one hour old!

Blue Lacewing-Ino cock x Cinnamon TurquoiseBlue hen (pair 16) - first egg laid today.

64 eggs in total laid to date.

Cobalt Grey, split Cleartail cock x Blue, split Cleartail hen (pair 8) - first egg laid today.

Cobalt Grey, split Cleartail ?? cock x Blue, split Cleartail hen (pair 9) - first egg laid today.

TurquoiseBlue Lacewing-Ino cock x Albino hen (pair 15) - first egg laid today.

Egg 1 from Cobalt cock x Violet hen (pair 1) was seven days past its expected hatch date and a check with the egg monitor revealed that the previously fertile, healthy embryo was now dead (known as dead in shell). The photos below show the egg and dead chick. I'm hoping the remaining two eggs are still viable. However, I have fostered these two eggs to another pair to incubate in the hope that the Cobalt/Violet pair will lay another clutch. They are a two years old first time breeding pair so the fact that the eggs were fertile is a plus.

Egg with dark shadows inside the shell,             Chick and yolk sac still attched to the shell.         Developed chick a few days from hatching, typical of dead in shell.                                                                                                                    note the yolk sac and the egg tooth.

However, the first egg laid on 16 March by pair 13 was infertile and was removed. I then opened the egg and photographed it to show what they look like.

Grey Cleartail cock x Grey, split Cleartail hen (pair 11) - first egg laid today.

30 eggs in total laid to date.

Creamino cock x Blue Lacewing hen (pair 14) - first egg laid today.

Four other pairs have also laid additional eggs. I will start checking the eggs for signs of fertility in the next few days using the Buddy egg monitor. To see how it works check out the link on the links page.

24 eggs in total laid to date.

Grey Lacewing-Ino cock x TurquoiseBlue Lacewing hen (pair 5) - first egg laid today.

19 eggs in total laid to date. 

This pair will produce some lovely colours such as Cobalt, Turquoise Cobalt as well as Cleartail in Turquoise, Blue, Turquoise Grey, Cobalt and Turquoise Cobalt - fingers crossed.

Blue cock x Blue hen (pair 13) now have three eggs.

Grey cock x Cinnamon TurquoiseBlue hen (pair 18) now have four eggs.

Cinnamon TurquoiseBlue hen

Another other egg was laid by an experienced Cinnamon TurquoiseBlue hen paired with a Grey cock (pair 18).

This is the first egg laid in 2010 

Violet hen (back), Cobalt cock (front)