FEATURE
breeding immediately. Usually four eggs are laid, but nests of two to even seven eggs I have already experienced. The eggs are 34 mm long and 28 mm wide. The incubation period is 14 days. I tried to keep data since 2001. Although the birds sometimes nested in my vacation and / or it was not always exactly clear what day the egg was laid, not all details are 100% accurate. Nevertheless I have nice summary of average values. Hens breed very steady, and usually won’t
let them chase away from the nest. Inspection of the nest is sometimes difficult, because in fact that can only happen if the hen has left the nest occasionally. All nest boxes I can open from the outside of the aviary. I made shutters in it. Almost all hens allow me to open the shutter while they sit on the eggs or chicks. They will not chase and stay on the eggs while they adopt a defensive or offensive posture. Therefore it is not possible to check whether another egg has been laid yet. Meanwhile, the slightly tamer birds let me push themselves aside by my hand so that I have a better view of the number of eggs. I just have to watch out for my hand then because they can bite pretty hard. By now I am so familiar with my birds that I dare to disturb some of them during breeding. Obviously I do not recommend you to do so. I just want to show with this that my Lesser Vasas breed very fanatically and that they are not easily upset.
Every other day an egg is laid. The eggs
hatch after 14 days already. Often the first-born chick is almost one week older than the fourth chick. Because the chicks grow very fast, the
last-born chick, that is much smaller than the rest then, sometimes is overlooked by the hen and insufficiently fed. About two times I have fed myself the fourth
chick with a syringe during the first week. The first time I recognized late and the
chick was too far dehydrated and did not survive. The second time, I luckily was alert to it and the chick survived. Other years, the hen raised four chicks on her own without my help. After hatching the young birds stay in the
nest for about five and a half to six weeks. When they leave the nest box, they are almost as large as the parents, but still very awkward. They can hardly stand on their feet and flying also does not work well. It looks like they have left the nest
After hatching the young birds stay in the nest for about five and a half to six weeks. When they leave the nest box, they are almost as large as the parents, but still very awkward. They can hardly stand on their feet and flying also does not work well. It looks like they have left the nest too early, but it seems normal, because in all my pairs the chicks left the nest box so early.
BIRD SCENE 25
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