I just wanted to let you guys know; of an experience I had with trying to mate hens with different males. I read an article on here about mating good males with a number of different females to maximize the number of good chicks.

 

What I did wasn't exactly like the other person suggested. Just an idea I got after reading the article. I had this hen that I paired up with a certain male bird for a particular reason, but on the first round all the eggs were infertile & she thru them out, then she started on the second batch & because I hate wasting my time & the efforts of the hens with infertile batches, I got what I thought was a bright idea…WRONG!…

 

She was on her second egg & I still wanted to try her out with this particular male, but thought if I took the male out & put a second one in a couple of times, if the first male was still infertile, I would get some chicks from the second male. Well it didn't work out like I thought, the first male had been very attentive, feeding her all the time spending lots of time in the nest box with her…But on removing the first male & substituting the second, it didn't actually work out like I thought…straight away she left the eggs, became really lovey dovey with the second male, within a few hours, both the eggs had been punctured. I had planned in just leaving the second male for a short time & then placing the first back again & maybe doing this a couple of times. But once this happened I just left the second male with her, she continued laying eggs, mostly in the nest, but two on the floor, but even after laying five she hadn't set properly & spent most of her time outside the nest. So eventually I removed the eggs & place with another bird. After a few days she began laying more eggs & now seems to have settled down. What's that saying about the plans of mice & men…well I have left her with the second male [one of my new TCB's] first male is back in the aviary. I just thought I would tell you the story so that you could learn from my experience, maybe with other pairs it might work out, but in my case it was a total failure & a waste of time & I don't think the eggs I took away are going to be fertile either. But will let you know.

Edited August 6, 200717 yr by Norm

Your lucky Norm the hen didn't attack the new Male. I have never tryed that, meaning taking a cock bird away and replacing it with another. I was led to believe that a hen needs a few days on her own before introducing a different cock. Your hen hen must be a bit of a hussy, (Laughing out loud)

Yeah thanks Splat, I think most Budgies are “hussies” as you put it…(Laughing out loud)…maybe she knew she was with a useless cock. I had a cock that was with one hen for months & she wasn’t a success, I removed her & replaced her, they mated straight away…maybe they know more than us. I have bred her before she is a great mum & her daughters are turning out the same. I hope I will soon have some TCB bubs…

Yeh Norm good luck, I'm sure she'll come good. I had a hen last year, put her in with a young male and she was that much of a hussy they were at it by the time the cage door closed, couldn't believe it. She ended up having 6 feritle eggs but she died sitting on them but I did find her in time and put the eggs under another hen and all six eggs hatch, WASN"T THAT WAS LUCKY

I am not surprised, Norm, that you got that kind of result. It IS a wonder the hen didnt attack the new male as he could have been seen as an intruder in an "already happy home".

I know of a show breeder who was so excited about a $600 cock bird he had just bought that he immediately put it in with a hen that had just finished two rounds. He removed her remaining chicks and previous partner and, within moments, put the new boy straight in. Turned his back for just a few seconds and the hen had torn the new $600 birds head clean off !! The new bird was seen as an intruder by an already overworked and overstressed hen.

Any new pairings you do usually mean a clean fresh nest, so either parent may well throw out any existing eggs to start a "new life" with the newly paired partner.

I will try the one cock to 3 hens soon myself...but that will be one cock spending time in turn with each hen and the three breeding cages being accessible by a removable divider in a bank of 3 horizontal cages.

Edited August 7, 200717 yr by **KAZ**

I had a cock that was with one hen for months & she wasn’t a success, I removed her & replaced her, they mated straight away…maybe they know more than us.

 

 

I've had a similar experience Norm. Had two pairs together for months with lots of time spent in the nest boxes but no action and no eggs. Swaped the cocks and within 2 days one pair had eggs and were VERY lovey-dovey! The other "pair" did nothing - 2 duds for the "old folks" aviary come spring.

 

Cheers,

KathyW.

While reading this I was wait for you to say that the hen hadkilled the cock. That would be the least of what I would have expected. Glad it kind of work for you but I would highly surgest not trying this at home kids...

You were lucky,there was not a death in the cage,Perhaps you were thinking of dogs.Some breeders,mate 2 dogs to the 1 *****.Then DNA the pups,so they know the sire of each pup,not much good with budgies.Like you say Norm,you lern some thing new,everyday.

I have done similar things quite a few times & never had any problems, but from all your stories maybe I should be more careful. I have had quite a few cases where I tried one or two rounds with one cock & then found out he must be infertile. I then took out that cock, while they were feeding some fostered chicks & substituted another cock. My thought was that most hens lay before the end of their batch of chicks & if I didn't substitute at that stage I would end up with infertile eggs in another batch. The hens were sort of cool with the new cock for a couple of days, but then he started feeding her & the chick with no problems. I must have been lucky. Or maybe like Splat says my hens are hussies…(Laughing out loud).

 

I have read articles by experts that said that wild Budgies normally mate with several males to ensure that their DNA gets spread with as much varied DNA to ensure their survival.

Edited August 7, 200717 yr by Norm

I have read articles by experts that said that wild Budgies normally mate with several males to ensure that their DNA gets spread with as much varied DNA to ensure their survival.

 

In the "wild" they arent locked in a breeder cage and seeing their "patch" as their territory to protect. Big difference.

Well I had some little luck or good news yesterday, the eggs I took from the pair mentioned in this post, that I put with another pair, well one looks like it hatched, there were four eggs & I checked them a few days ago & three looked totally clear so I took them away, but one looked fertile so I left it, it hatched yesterday, so maybe with some luck my first TCB, either hen or a split cock.

 

It seems to be getting fed okay, but the batch I put it with is a bit strange. They are a really good breeding pair & usually have six eggs, but she stopped at 4 unless something happened to two & I didn’t notice. So it was this batch that I choose to put the orphan eggs with. Only one of their four eggs hatched & it’s about a week old, so the new chick is somewhat smaller, but had food so I think it will be okay. Another strange thing happened, after I gave her the other eggs, she laid two more eggs. These eggs may still hatch also, can’t remember having that happen before, such a long gap between the first 4 & 2 more.

 

So that was the first good luck yesterday & the second was that bird I had been given, because it didn’t have flight feathers on one wing, has grown them back, but that was tempered by finding two young with French Moult in two different nests that were just leaving the nest. Since I had that first batch of FM a couple of months ago, I have seen some young birds in the next aviary to where it occurred drop their tail feathers & grow back pale coloured feathers, which I think is the FM spreading. The two nest in cabinets were in the same shed complex, I have two separate aviary/birdroom areas separated by a few hundred metres. So I’m hoping this FM isn’t going to develop into a worse problem. I may have to stop breeding for a year & that would be a blow.