Hi everyone! It has been awhile since I have posted, but I have a question. I have researched breeding for over 2 years now and I would like to breed. I have put a nest box in, in the past in which Charley (female recessive pied) showed interest, but my male Shamrock showed no interest in breeding. Since then they have bonded more and groom and feed each other. Charley's cere though still has not changed to breeding condition even though she will be 2 in October. (It has never changed since I have owned her almost 2 years this September.) So I want to see if you think she is a female and if so is my male in breeding condition. (He is almost finished molting and his cere looks much darker than before.)

 

Shamrock my male.

 

 

The next two are with the flash.

 

 

 

Charley Female? No flash.

 

 

Edited June 22, 200718 yr by Shamrock19

yea, charly is a female. For a recessive pied male the cere would be pink

Yes female, I had a recessive pied boy You can click here to see the discussion about breeding conditions and how to tell if they are ready plus you can read our FAQ in the Breeding Section there is excellent infomation. Click here for Discussion

The photo of the pied shows her out of condition for breeding, but some hens never have a cere change. I have a hen that cere is light blue. I'll be pairing her in the next week or two.

 

If you have had the nest box there for a while with out any interest, removed it for a week and then retry it for 4 weeks.

Thanks for the responses everyone they were really helpful. I think I am going to put the next box in within the next few days as both have been very active, vocal and chewing everything. I am not sure of the genes of these birds, but I was wondering what possibilities there could be for any chicks.

Edited June 23, 200718 yr by Shamrock19

all normal greens unless the cock is split to blue this is because blue is a recessive gene and needs to be carried by both birds

 

you will only get recessive pied unless your boy is also carrying the recessive pied gene

 

there are always surprises in the nest depending on what other recessive genes they can be carrying and any sex-linked genes the cock can give to his hens

Thanks Elly! That's what I thought about the outcome of the chicks. Yeah I noticed on other member's posts about the surprise chick. It gets really confusing!