well, as some may have read, miss purple's man, cheeky, died yesterday :'(

 

she is in a cage, about 2.5 x 3.5 foot, with another couple, who have all got along just fine, chose nesting boxes with no fighting, etc, and both have eggs ... the other couple have 7 eggs, 6 of which i'm pretty sure are fertile, and 4 of miss purple's are

 

my question i guess is, not whether you guys agree or disagree with the "colony breeding" set up i have, but whether i should just leave them, the other male is paying a lot of attention to miss purple and her nest, as well as his own, he's always been interested in her a little (just wants to be king of both castles i think)

 

how high are the risks now, that she doesn't have cheeky to look after her, that something will happen to her or her eggs, or her hatchlings when they start, which should be this week

 

should i try to either put her and her box in a new cage? or try to move the other couple? or just kind of wait & see?

 

on top of that, miss purple is missing cheeky a lot, spending more time outside the box and calling him, etc, which i'm guessing isn't all that great for her eggs ...

 

i wish i wasn't doing this post

hi ains, id just leave them and wait and c see. you never know the male in the cage mite take on both females and there young. i have a female that will feed her own young and the other pairs young as well. hope this helps. cheers stacey

Edited June 11, 200718 yr by Nerwen

I haven't colony bred and don't plan too, however I know that hens can raise the young on their own. What is the behavior between the two hens? I think they might be the ones to cause damage to the other's nest.

thanks

 

the hens get along, well, don't really even pay much attention to each other really, so i don't THINK at this point that should be a problem

 

i don't have much choice other than to wait and see, so thats what i will do, as moving any of them could just cause more trouble

 

and Patches doesn't seem to mind having 2 ladies ... tho watching them just now i think he's realising what high expectations have been created for Miss Purple by Cheeky

Ains, I personally would not colony breed, but many have without problems. Just keep an eye on them. If you think problems may arise you would be better off leaving the hen and her nest and taking out the other budgies.

 

 

Feathers.

Ains, if I were you I would just leave things go as they are. You can’t remove the other pair as they have eggs too. Yes the cock will think it’s great having two hens, but it will be a big strain on him. He will try to feed both of them. Just hope that both pairs don’t get too many young that hatch, as that will make the strain worse. Males are very accommodating, if you have another male at all you could add him to the aviary, but I would wait till some of her babies hatch, as he may encourage her to leave & start a new, but once the babies hatch, he will probably pair with her & continue to help feed the babies. I have done this myself & it’s worked, I have even replaced a cock that was not fertile during feeding of some fostered young, with a new male so that when she went down on eggs again, which usually happens so quick after the chicks are raised, so that the next eggs would be fertile & it worked fine. Within a day the new cock paired with the hen & continued to help. Miss Purple will spend more time out of the nest, as she must feed herself more now that she has lost her mate, she wont stay long enough I would think to effect the eggs & she probably is being fed some by the other male.

I should read things properly. I completely missed that the other pair also had eggs.

 

 

Feathers.

Thank you for your advice

 

Patches, whilst paying attention to Miss Purple, doesn't seem to be feeding her ....

 

She has now 2 hatchlings, hatched tuesday and yesterday, with 2 more fertile eggs ... both babies had full crops this morning (the other hen has 7 eggs, and at least 6 of those are fertile)

 

i could easily get another male, so you think that if i added a male he would bond okay with miss purple now she has her hatchlings? she wouldn't fight him .... i guess more, would the 2 males fight? patches is a big bird, and was boss of cheeky

 

i would prefer patches not to have to feed both females

Thank you for your advice

 

Patches, whilst paying attention to Miss Purple, doesn't seem to be feeding her ....

 

She has now 2 hatchlings, hatched tuesday and yesterday, with 2 more fertile eggs ... both babies had full crops this morning (the other hen has 7 eggs, and at least 6 of those are fertile)

 

i could easily get another male, so you think that if i added a male he would bond okay with miss purple now she has her hatchlings? she wouldn't fight him .... i guess more, would the 2 males fight? patches is a big bird, and was boss of cheeky

 

i would prefer patches not to have to feed both females

 

Not a good time to add another male to the equation.....I would not risk it. The new male ...if he liked miss purple, might try and entice her to start all over again in another nest. It is a rare cock bird that will take on another hens chicks. Has happened but rarely. Just be sure she has all she needs to feed these chicks without too much stress. When I have hens raising babies alone I keep putting millet sprays in their nestbox. I have even put little containers of soft food in for the hen as well.

Thanks Kaz, i put a millet spray in for her yesterday morning, thinking it might make it easier for her, so will continue to do so

 

what is the best container to use to sit soft food in inside the box? just a small shallow dish i guess?

 

Thanks again everyone who responded

The times I introduced another male, there wasn’t another male in the cage, so that could be a complication. Don’t worry a hen can do a pretty good job by themselves, but might be a little tired after. If the other pair don’t hatch too many babies, you can foster some to them. I use plastic lids from jars, as soft food dishes, it’s best not to give large amounts just little, fresh & often. I have never put food inside of nests.

Thank you

 

My good news is that both hatchlings have full crops this morning & definitely are bigger than yesterday

sounds like things are going well. I would make sure I rest her after this clutch to ensure she can catch up on her rest, nutrients and such. .

yeah definitely! plus she would need a new mate to go again

 

she destroys the millet as soon as i put it in and babies have HUGELY full crops this afternoon, so fingers crossed all is well

 

so grateful for everyone's thoughts and advice

Good job. Try a little moist mix of PASSWELLS Budgie Starter ....I use little bottlecaps for soft food in the nest. If a hen is going against all odds trying to rear a clutch alone, you may as well spoil her.

woohoo i've been giving them that budgie starter anyway, they love it! so tomorrow i will try some in a bottle top in her nest for her

Good news so far and good luck..:grbud:

 

My only worrie would be if the other hen saw her mate with Miss purple or feeding her, she could get agressive then.. So the food in the nest is a good idea the less she has to rely on the cock bird the better I think.

 

Good luck again..