A lonely hen.

[lostflight]

This morning I let my cocks out for their morning exercise and two of them didn't come home. This is extremely odd because they have been flying the area for about a month now and has always trapped quickly. However, today the wind was a little rough and the kit drifted a little from the loft.

Another odd thing is, all this season not A SINGLE EGG and just today I went into the loft and there was an egg. The one of the cock that did not come home with the rest of the group was this laying hen's mate.

So my questions are: will they come back? Is there ANYTHING I can do to increase the chances that they will come back?
Will she sit and raise the babies on her own?
I REALLY don't want to lose these babies they are the FIRST ones this year for me.

IDK what to do. Any help?

I spent all day whistling for them before and after I came home for work. I threw two of their loft mates down three blocks the direction they drifted and those two guys came home empty handed. Not a sign of the lost ones. I am very frustrated and worried. I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight.

[TAWhatley]

I sure sure hope they will be home tomorrow .. please keep us posted. Sorry that I don't have any advice for you .. perhaps others can assist.

Terry

[bluecheck]

Sorry, if they haven't made it back by tonight, the odds are about 85% that you won't see them again if they were just "drifting" unless someone reports them.

No, the hen won't sit and raise the eggs by herself, but if you have another pair that's been together for a bit, even if they haven't laid, you might be able to get them to sit. Pop an egg under the hen in the evening about 5 p.m., then two days later pop in the second egg. There's a good chance the pair will "assume" the other laid and will sit and rear the young.

[RIDER]

Give them a couple of days,If they were fed up they will want to fly and explore,one of my breeder cocks got out 1 day and was gone for 3 days but when they get tired and hungry they will come home!!!!!!!!!

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by lostflight

So my questions are: will they come back? Is there ANYTHING I can do to increase the chances that they will come back?
Will she sit and raise the babies on her own?
I REALLY don't want to lose these babies they are the FIRST ones this year for me.

I would not write them off just yet-it's way too early. There is no reason for them not to come back if they have been flying routinely, (unless they met with foul play) If you flew your other birds to root them out, they may not have been in the area. That doesn't mean they won't come back.

Perhaps in the morning you will see them, but continue to do the whistle and other noises they are familiar with, and let your other birds fly.

She may give up the eggs in time, if the male doesn't show up.

[lostflight]

Well this morning I was up early, and worrying again. Still no sign of them I took the others out to look for them again but nothing. I don't want to send these guys too far because they are only rollers.

I only have one other pair that looks like they are laying and I don't want to get rid of their eggs either because they are my very best pair, my foundation pair. Will it be too much for them to raise 4 babies? I don't want to push them too hard either.

I know they have not gone off with the wild ones because I've seen them ignore these guys like pests.

[lostflight]

So I called a buddy of mine today and fortunately he said that he has a pair that have just laid their second egg today.

Now here is my plan: I want to let my buddy's pair to foster the first egg. The second egg will have to wait until my stock pair starts laying to get incubated or until I find another pair to sit on it.

There is something though, my buddy only raises homers, will it be okay for a homer pair to foster a roller baby?
Does it sound much better for a pair to raise 3 eggs than 4? How likely are the chances that all 3 will survive to be weaned?

Help is greatly appreciated. I am really in a rush because I'm afraid to lose these babies.

[george simon]

Pigeons raising 3or4 babies at one time is out of the question its tuff enough for a pair to raise two young but 4 no wayGEORGE

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by lostflight

There is something though, my buddy only raises homers, will it be okay for a homer pair to foster a roller baby?

That would be fine .. go for it!

Terry

[lostflight]

Great news and Bad news.

Great news. One of the lost rollers showed up today. When I got home to feed them, he was in there already and looked pretty worn out, but maybe with a little feed he'll get better. So this gives me hope that the other one may just be nearby

Bad new. The father of the eggs didn't come home, still no sign. The female laid her second egg today but probably because she didn't see her mate she didn't care much and laid the egg on the floor (or perch) and if got stepped on (or fell). So the second egg is no more. I still have the first egg and it is now under my friend's care.

So I'm crossing my fingers hoping the last one will come back.

[Jay3]

Three or four babies is too much for a pair to raise. It would really be too hard on the parents. And not even good for the babies.

[bluecheck]

Here's the major challenge, it's not so much about the number of young in the nest in this case, it's the fact that the roller youngster would be much smaller than the racing youngsters and would likely simply starve to death the first week. It would be outcompeted by the homers. I've often had homers rear smaller birds like rollres, but the pair of eggs in the nest were both rollers. When there were two birds of different sizes, the parents almost invariably feed only the larger one. Don't know if they're programmed to think the smaller one is a runt and not worth feeding or if it's just outcompeted at the "feed trough" by the larger one, but it seems to be a pretty general reality that the smaller just doesn't make it.

[RodSD]

Homers as foster for rollers is way better than the other way.
Usually when rollers drifted with wind, they are lost. Some may return of course. It depends how far they drifted.

[Jay3]

Originally Posted by bluecheck

Here's the major challenge, it's not so much about the number of young in the nest in this case, it's the fact that the roller youngster would be much smaller than the racing youngsters and would likely simply starve to death the first week. It would be outcompeted by the homers. I've often had homers rear smaller birds like rollres, but the pair of eggs in the nest were both rollers. When there were two birds of different sizes, the parents almost invariably feed only the larger one. Don't know if they're programmed to think the smaller one is a runt and not worth feeding or if it's just outcompeted at the "feed trough" by the larger one, but it seems to be a pretty general reality that the smaller just doesn't make it.

Most birds and many other animals are that way. Not that the parents ignore them intentionally, just that the smaller one gets pretty much pushed out of the way by the larger, more aggressive one.