Hi, i have one pair, and here's their picture:

 

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/6976/p5040014sf8.jpg

 

 

obviously, left is male and right is female.. the male is about 1.5 years old and i'm not really sure about the female but as u can see in the picture, she doesn't have bars on her head and her cere is dark brown and crusty.. so i'm assuming she's in breeding condition..

 

they've been together for almost 2 weeks now and they are very friendly, the male occasionaly feeds and preens her and so i'm assuming they're bonded as well..

 

i introduced a nestbox outside the cage for almost 5 days now and they dont seem to be interested in it at all.. i haven't seen them even once going into it... i've also tried re-orienting the nestbox to various position, but no luck.. also, sometimes the male puts one if his foot on her back, but she simply snaps back and he moves away..

 

can u plz help... am i doing something wrong?? thanks!!

 

 

**Moderators message** picture has been changed to a link as it is larger than our 450 by 450 requirement.

Edited May 23, 200718 yr by Kaz

If the female isnt being responsive as she has shown, then she is not in breeding condition and not interested. You dont seem to be sure of her age. Could she be too young ? The photo is a bit unclear for us to see her cere properly. I would suggest you remove the nesing box and try again much later...a few weeks time.

Apart from her not being interested or ready, have you set the nestbox up high ? With the entry hole in a private place ( not facing forward to you ). Have you very sturdy thick perches for the mating pair ?

If the female isnt being responsive as she has shown, then she is not in breeding condition and not interested. You dont seem to be sure of her age. Could she be too young ? The photo is a bit unclear for us to see her cere properly. I would suggest you remove the nesing box and try again much later...a few weeks time.

Apart from her not being interested or ready, have you set the nestbox up high ? With the entry hole in a private place ( not facing forward to you ). Have you very sturdy thick perches for the mating pair ?

 

Nigelward - Take note of Kaz, I was in a hurry for my pair to breed and it took some time - But they had eggs now HEHEH....

Even though he feeds her doesn't mean he is "a Good Mate" for her.... My bonded pair are they ones breeding .... Like Kaz said remove the nestbox and try again later - Have the nestbox so the hole is facing away from your view...

Good luck with it all - and as for mating they will do it more than liekly when your not looking - I found that one out the hard way ....

If the female isnt being responsive as she has shown, then she is not in breeding condition and not interested. You dont seem to be sure of her age. Could she be too young ? The photo is a bit unclear for us to see her cere properly. I would suggest you remove the nesing box and try again much later...a few weeks time.

Apart from her not being interested or ready, have you set the nestbox up high ? With the entry hole in a private place ( not facing forward to you ). Have you very sturdy thick perches for the mating pair ?

 

 

u guys are awesome.. thank u so much..basically i followed u're advice and rearranged the nestbox so that the entry hole faces towards the wall and just as i was about to leave the room, i saw my hen go inside the nestbox and when i checked 30 minutes later, she was still in!!

 

thanks again

Well Done .......

I had a question, i've never seen my hen nibble at the cuttlebone and i think it's really important that she has some because at this stage there might be an egg forming in her and the last thing i want is for her to become egg-bound.. do u guys think she will become more intersted in the cuttlebone once an egg starts forming?

I had a question, i've never seen my hen nibble at the cuttlebone and i think it's really important that she has some because at this stage there might be an egg forming in her and the last thing i want is for her to become egg-bound.. do u guys think she will become more intersted in the cuttlebone once an egg starts forming?

Don't believe all you read about cuttlebone. A cuttlebone is not THE ANSWER for a hens need for calcium. Most birds just use a cuttlebone to nibble and play with more than something that instantly charges their system with calcium. In research you will find, the best source of calcium is actually finely ground and powdered eggshell put into their soft food. ANYONE starting out to breed birds MUST have a liquid calcium supplement available to add to the budgies water supply BEFORE breeding and during the raising of chicks. It is paramount in my opinion over any piece of cuttlebone in a cage.

Edited May 26, 200718 yr by Kaz

Don't believe all you read about cuttlebone. A cuttlebone is not THE ANSWER for a hens need for calcium. Most birds just use a cuttlebone to nibble and play with more than something that instantly charges their system with calcium. In research you will find, the best source of calcium is actually finely ground and powdered eggshell put into their soft food. ANYONE starting out to breed birds MUST have a liquid calcium supplement available to add to the budgies water supply BEFORTE breeding and uring the raising of chicks. It is paramount in my opinion over any piece of cuttlebone in a cage.

 

 

alrite, thanks for u're advice, i'll see if my local petshop has liquid calcium supplement.. can u plz provide more info about the soft food u mentioned? what is soft food and should i crush chicken egg-shell into their soft food?

 

Don't believe all you read about cuttlebone. A cuttlebone is not THE ANSWER for a hens need for calcium. Most birds just use a cuttlebone to nibble and play with more than something that instantly charges their system with calcium. In research you will find, the best source of calcium is actually finely ground and powdered eggshell put into their soft food. ANYONE starting out to breed birds MUST have a liquid calcium supplement available to add to the budgies water supply BEFORTE breeding and uring the raising of chicks. It is paramount in my opinion over any piece of cuttlebone in a cage.

 

 

alrite, thanks for u're advice, i'll see if my local petshop has liquid calcium supplement.. can u plz provide more info about the soft food u mentioned? what is soft food and should i crush chicken egg-shell into their soft food?

 

Soft food is basically a homemade eggfood with vegies in it. There are some recipes on here somewhere. I will look for you.

Cheers kaz

 

For fresh eggfood you boil some eggs. Shell them and dry the eggshells out in the microwave. Crush the eggshells to fine powder and put back in with the egg which you mash up. Add some grated carrot or sweetcorn, and some fine sliced greens like pak choy or bok choy, or even the snow peas finely sliced. Add some breadcrumbs, and stir through. Sprinkle some bird seed over and through it and serve. They love it, its better for them than the egg and biscuit available to us here and they will chow down on it.

hey, thanks for the reply... I prepared the eggfood you mentioned and they seem quite reluctant to eat it.. but they nibble at it occasionally.. i have some more questions:

 

how often should i give them this eggfood?

 

how often should i give the liquid calcium supplement?

 

for the calcium supplement, will it work if i dissolved some cuttlebone powder into their water?

 

thanks again!

hey, thanks for the reply... I prepared the eggfood you mentioned and they seem quite reluctant to eat it.. but they nibble at it occasionally.. i have some more questions:

 

how often should i give them this eggfood? I give eggfood 3 times a week

 

how often should i give the liquid calcium supplement? 2-3 times a week prior to breeding, in their water....and at least 2-3 times while feeding babies

 

for the calcium supplement, will it work if i dissolved some cuttlebone powder into their water?NO

 

thanks again!

When you first start out with soft food, naturally they wont touch it that much, unless the person that bred them used it. At first just give a small quantity, a large pinch & always keep it fresh, remove old uneaten stuff.

When your birds are not breeding you can just feed it a couple of days a week as others have said, but once I place the birds in a cage to breed, I feed a small amount as suggested, each day to build up the pair & encourage them to breed & I hope to improve their eggs. [Extra protein etc]. As the young hatch still give only a small amount, but if they hatch a large batch & as the young grow, I give larger amounts, you can if possible feed more than once a day, as fresh is best & I think it stimulates the parents to feed the young up more, any variety like green food, corn or other vegies does the same.

is it unusual for the male to enter the nestbox? i've seen both my male and female enter the nestbox together... what does this mean?

 

thnks.

dont worry, some males do some don't. It's not uncommon at all.

Has she laid an egg yet????

Let nature take it course...

It will all work out in the end

Has she laid an egg yet????

Let nature take it course...

It will all work out in the end

 

 

hey, no she hasn't laid an egg yet and i'm in no hurry... it's been about 5 days since she has discovered the nestbox so i guess i have to wait... i dont know if they've mated so far but they are very friendly together with all the signs of bonding..

Very good, I just thought since your male is going in there alot that there may have been some action (Laughing out loud).....

eggs take from 8 to 14 days to show up

eggs take from 8 to 14 days to show up

 

8-14 days from when? from the date they are interested in nestbox?

 

it has been almost 7 days since they've become interested in nestbox and the female still loves to visit the box and the male sometimes follows her in.. but still no sign of egg.. i noticed lately that the female has become more protective of the nestbox and refuses to leave it even when i approach the cage..

i would say 8-14 days after you put in the nestingbox.

Hi, i have one pair, and here's their picture:

 

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/6976/p5040014sf8.jpg

 

 

Looking at this picture, your female looks younger then your male, this could be a reson for the NOT interested part... note the white rings around your males eyes, then look at the females, even though the bars are receeded I am no expert but I would class her less then 18 months old

Neat, good pick up. Does the hen have iris rings? If not she is more than likely under 12 months of age.

 

 

Feathers.

I saved the picture and zoomed right in!

it may not be clear in the picture, but the hen has a grayish iris ring when i see her from close..