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Hello, I was wondewring if it is possible to determine the colour of the chicks without knowing the colour of the grandparents? My male is Cleartail Yellow and female is Cleartail Grey I don't know the colours of their parents. They have layed two eggs and it's their first time.

I didn't expect them to lay this season as they didn't last season but I put the nesting box back in anyway because they like to sleep in it when it's cold. I was going to take it out a week or two ago because it's getting warm now only to find two eggs in there. I didn't have any nesting material in there but noticed they have made their own by chewing the wood into a dust and covering the bottom of the box in it... but there isn't much, should I add more? Last season when I had nesting materials in the box they threw it all out. I asked at my local pet shop and they said ringnecks don't need nesting material but I have since read online that it can be bad for the chicks legs?

Yes you can predict the colour of the chicks without knowing the grand parents. Is the Cock bird a Lutino masking Cleartail?

The best way to breed Cleartail is Cleartail to Split. Not many breeders breed Cleartail to Cleartail.

As far as the eggs go I would wait till the hen has finished laying then place nesting matierial in the box. Lift the eggs out then pack it in then replace the eggs. The reason for this is it can help keep the chicks together specially if it is an inexperienced hen.

Thanks for your quick response, they are both visual cleartails (I think, I'm not sure that I fully understand the difference between cleartails, lacewings, etc, but the male has a yellow head and green body, the female has a white head and grey body.) Why aren't they usually paired? Do they make weird coloured babies? lol

She has finished laying her eggs - there is only two, she's been sitting on them for a week and a half and doesn not like me interfering with her nesting box but I will do it quickly so she doesn't freak out too much.

A green cock to a grey hen will produce all cleartail chicks in green&grey green/blue and if the cock carries the blue factor then you can expect blues and greys in clear tail too.

Just updating, there are three eggs, and are due to hatch any day now, one is significantly heavier than the others, I'm not sure if that means it is the only fertile one because they are all a slight brown colour.

Fertile eggs can be recognized visually but this takes some experience. Do not discard your infertile eggs. Use it to gain this experience.Take the eggs and look through them against the sun or bright light. Infertile eggs will show the albumen and yolk within. Fertile eggs will be dark and if the eggs are a week to 10 days you will see the blood vessels network. If all eggs are clear remove them after 15 days. This gives the pair a chance to go down again. Light testing should not be done more than once.

Molossus2 wrote:Light testing should not be done more than once.

Can you explain why?

thx.

Hi Madas,
Sorry for the late response as I was away. It is believed that long and continuous exposure to lighting may be dangerous to the developing chick. I assume that this refers to either U V or other radiation forms. I will write to you about my trip.
Regards,

Hi, sounds like you have a green lacewing male to a grey lacewing female, but just to confirm, can you place some pics in a post

If you have a green lacewing male to a grey lacewing female then the babies will be as follows

1.0 pallid
x 0.1 grey(sf) blue pallid
% from all 1.0
50.0% 1.0 grey(sf) pallid /blue
50.0% 1.0 pallid /blue
% from all 0.1
50.0% 0.1 grey(sf) pallid /blue
50.0% 0.1 pallid /blue

Pallid refers to lacewing, and this is worked out without any splits, if the birds are split then the results will be slightly different

Thanks
Lushen Chetty