Fostering

Steve remembers playing in the dirt of his father’s aviary as a young boy.  Today he is in a partnership with his father and brother called "The Holland Stud".  They are all judges and Champion exhibitors.  The MBS is grateful for Steve's contribution to our Articles list.

Not until a long distance telephone conversation over the Christmas holidays did I realise how little information there is regarding fostering exhibition budgerigars. It seems to be a subject that most make up as they go along. We in The Holland Stud have as a matter of cause fostered for as long as I can remember, the fact is that our father has a few sayings when it comes to our birds and one is “Never put all your eggs in one basket”. What he means by this is that we should spread the risk of loosing eggs and chicks over as many nests as possible and not hope that the paternal parents will raise all their chicks. We look at this as a percentage game. It is common practise for us to split a number of pair’s eggs or chicks between several pairs. The reason is simple, it is rare that all the pairs will fail to sit the eggs and raise the chick where as it can be the case that one pair (and its normally your best pair) will do this. By spreading the eggs and chick across the aviary we should get some return off all of the pairs. So the question has to be what, and when to foster! There are a few simple rules to start with that must be followed to start with. First you should date mark all your eggs as they are laid, second when you move eggs mark the egg with the cage number they have come from. Good record keeping is an ecclesial when fostering eggs or chicks around the aviary so that you can ensure your following years pairing are not too close. If you are to foster eggs, always foster into a nest where the eggs in that nest match the date of the eggs being fostered into it. (Hence the need for date marking eggs) I have know breeders foster eggs into a nest that are much younger than those in the nest, only to see the hen clear the nest because nothing has hatched and she is preparing for her next round. Remember hens have a natural cycle when they are laying and failure to see chicks in the nest box at the appropriate time seems to trigger the cycle to kick in early.