Breeding Question re: chick tossing

[Strawblady2000]

I am wondering, as my breeding experience is only linited to goulds and societies...

Are strawberries as known for chick tossing (pitching babies) as gouldians are?

I had goulds last year that managed to incubate the eggs until hatch time, but after they hatched (soo after) all babies were thrown from the nest. What a sad sight.

I've read that strawbs easily desert the nest...with eggs or young.

I've been observing from afar, but do not know how tightly strawbs sit or if I'll even know the nest has been abandoned. From what I can tell, someone is in the nest about 85% of the time. If I enter the bird room, they all go to nest.

I know, and I apologize...I've been asking SO many questions. (Probably adding to the "american" stereotype, lol, but I can say my kiddos are half English :-P )

I really appreciate all of you.

BTW...I must say that this is probably the nicest board I've ever been to. Most boards here in the US have some really nasty people on there.

[Waxbillman]

thanks, we are a nice bunch and its thanks to Laura and co that we are here.

strawberry finch are not as bad tossers as Gauldies can be,
give them plenty of shelter and the right diet and generally they are good. obviously you can get bad birds that will never do a very good job, and also sometimes inexperienced birds sometimes do it, give them a chance, though obviously after a few rounds if they don't rear you will have to foster - though hopfully you won't need to go that far.

Matthew

[kenny]

hey nikki
ask away anything you like,as matt says that is what we are hear for and with laura in charge it is the best info site on the british web,i think so anyway we will try and answer anything you wish to know and i am sure we can learn off you also so keep the posts coming

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Just wanted to follow up...

4 beautiful alert babies fledged a couple of weeks ago. These strawbs were GREAT parents!!! Thanks to what I've learned from here and the strawberry group...and the mealworm nudge, lol, it worked.

Clutch had 5 eggs and 5 hatches, but one chick died early on.

Wow. My first strawberry chicks!!!

Thank you all so much!

Changed out the old nest today. Now...to start the patience game all over, lol!!

Nikki

[laurab]

Hi Nikki

Thanks for keeping us up to date with your news, always a pleasure to read your posts. ;-)

[kenny]

hi nikki
great news there mate.you seem to be having a great breeding season up to now and its only march

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Thank you all!

Now, I face a cage dilema, lol...

Hubby will shoot me if I get anymore.

Nik

[Waxbillman]

well done Nikki

keep them coming

Matthew

[Ladywolf]

Strawblady2000, I have had birds "toss" chicks but I found out that it wasn't an acual "toss". I gave to much nesting material to the birds and whenever they came out so would a baby. I also found I have a very nervous hen, if I walk by her cage she would fly out in a tizz and there a baby would fall. I moved her cage up high and now she oesn't do it anymore. As for the nesting material, I don't put near as much in and no more babies on the bottom of the cage. It's not to say that "chick tossing" doesn't happen...I'm just saying this is what I did to fix my problem. And like you I'm egerly waiting to see what my Strawberries will actually do, this is my first time. I'm forbidden to go by the cage, only to feed. LOL husband rules that cage LOL.

[Strawblady2000]

Hiya Ladywolf!

Youre right...this can be a problem, especially when certain species will overbuild nests.

With my strawberries, I let them do most of the work...I use wire hayracks and just put various nesting aterials in them, but not too much of each. This way they can build to suit. Amazingly, none fell, as they packed their nest and made an intricate little tunnel-shaped opening.

As I had only bred gouldians in the past, I wasnt sure if strawbs were "pitchers" as well ( I rememebred, lol). My first pair of goulds pitched the babies...after pecking off their wings and at their little heads. It was so sad to see such a beautiful bird be so cruel. I foster all of the chicks from this pair, as they did this with 2 clutches.

Thanks for posting & sharing!

What kind of birds do y'all keep?

[kenny]

hi nikki
a lot of the time the hens are not actually throwing the chicks out,as you say when you walk by the hen shoots out of the nest if it is a little nervous and sometimes ,especially in a warm climate where the hens get slightly sticky the chicks stick to a tight sitting hen and comes out of the nest with the adult if she has overbuilt the nest and the chick has adhered to the adults breast.puting the nest up higher has cured this as she will not be scared so much it depends on the type of nest also,some wooden nest boxes have a lip on the inside so as the adult leaves the nest anything that is stuck to it chick or eggs hits the lip and falls back in the nest.i am not saying this happens all the time as sometimes you do get birds that for some reason they take a dilike to the chicks and throw them out of the nest.sometimes it can be thrugh an over enthusiastic cockbird that desides it is time to have another brood and reline another nest before the others are hardly grown.the simple answer to that one is of course remove the cock bird till the chicks are reared if it is possible as i know it is not always viable to do this

ken