# Single Mother



## mhzl123 (Oct 15, 2015)

I have a hen that laid four eggs, initially I figured they were not fertile because I have not seen her mating with any of the males in my aviary. Several days after she laid them I candled and all were fertile. Fast forward several weeks and three have now hatched. She has been an extremely devoted mother, only getting out to eat, drink, potty and then going right back to sitting all by herself. The first of her eggs hatched on the 16th, the second yesterday, the third today and the fourth has pipped. I have 6 birds altogether in a large outside aviary, 3 females and 3 males. Out of my 6 birds 2 have bonded and also have 4 fertile eggs, one that hatched yesterday. I worry that the single hen will not be able to properly care for four babies with no help. She now seems to spend a lot of time out of her nest eating, which is understandable but will the babies chill? It is late summer and normally extremely hot in Houston, Texas at this time but as luck would have it we are getting a lot of rain right now so it's cooler than usual. I read that a single parent can normally handle two chicks. Should I assist feed or should I see if the other pair will accept her baby that hatched today and maybe the one that will be hatching soon? Since they are all in an aviary together would that cause problems? Will she hear her baby in a box close to her and know it is hers? Will she miss it? Attached is a picture of her babies, taken while she was out eating. Any advice is appreciated!


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

A single hen might even struggle with just two. Fostering to the other pairs is your best bet. If this is somehow not possible, assisted handfeeding may work if you feed the chicks part of the day and return them to the nestbox after their crops empty to give mom a break. Straight handfeeding may work too. A latex glove full of warm water added to the nest during the day while the mother is out and about should keep the chicks from chilling.


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## mhzl123 (Oct 15, 2015)

Thank you for responding. I went ahead and took the chick that hatched this morning out and placed it with the pair that has the chick that hatched yesterday and three other eggs, so far so good. I plan to do the same with the fourth one if it hatches out. That will give them a total of 6 babies. All of my birds are first time parents so I don't think my one nesting pair can handle 8 babies. If I let my single hen keep 2 babies do you think I will need to assist? When you say feed part of the day and return with an empty crop, do you mean I would actually take them out and bring them in with me and leave her with an empty nest box for a full half of the day? If that is the case, will she be willing to take them back once I do that? I was thinking if I had to help then I would just feed and place them back in the box, will that not work? The latex glove is a great idea!! Thanks again for any and all advice!


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

mhzl123 said:


> Thank you for responding. I went ahead and took the chick that hatched this morning out and placed it with the pair that has the chick that hatched yesterday and three other eggs, so far so good. I plan to do the same with the fourth one if it hatches out. That will give them a total of 6 babies. All of my birds are first time parents so I don't think my one nesting pair can handle 8 babies. If I let my single hen keep 2 babies do you think I will need to assist?


Yes that would be best.



> When you say feed part of the day and return with an empty crop, do you mean I would actually take them out and bring them in with me and leave her with an empty nest box for a full half of the day? If that is the case, will she be willing to take them back once I do that?


All of mine always accepted them back, just make sure she has some eggs to sit on in that box. Make sure the box is not completely empty or there is some danger she will abandon the nest. Even if you have to salvage some infertile eggs from another nest or use dummies.



> I was thinking if I had to help then I would just feed and place them back in the box, will that not work?


There is a chance she may attack the chicks if their crops are full and they do not respond to her attempts to feed. Also, sometimes handfeed formula doesn't mix well with what adult birds feed their chicks causing crop problems. For these reasons, just returning them to the nest immediately is not a great idea. If you have a brooder this is an option.



> The latex glove is a great idea!! Thanks again for any and all advice!


Not my idea, you can read about great ideas like this here:

http://www.justcockatiels.net/

and

http://www.internationalcockatielresource.com/


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## Dylan&Gracie (Nov 21, 2014)

A good single bird can raise three chicks.
Two should be doable, as long as she is devoted.


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