Separate Flights

Do they work ? A question that is very hard to prove one way or the other.

My opinion is, they are a added expense for a questionable gain.

 

The budgie is a very social creature, they are also very quick to adapt to a given situation. As everyone knows when you bring home that new bird from a auction or from the local pet shop, it is only a week or two (after a quarantine period )and that bird has settled right in.

The idea that separating the hens from the cocks to increase virility is something that I think has been brought over from other livestock breeders. Some large exotic parrots are very aggressive to the opposite sex and are as such kept in separate flights.

Same with cats and dogs and other forms of livestock that are kept separated to control the breeding cycle.

Budgies will form a bond with opposite sex and same sex birds. So there is a bond there to a particular bird whether they are in a flight of the same sex or not. There is also a pecking order in the aviary, have a flight full of cocks that want to be "king" can increase the possibility of aggression and bullying.

I would separate the cocks and hens into stock cages a few weeks before pairing but even this I stopped as I couldn't see any benefit and had birds mate straight away straight out of the flight. You will also get budgies that just don't like each other, only to go mad over another partner.

Something to think about when you are designing your next aviary. Although separate flights are handy when its time to cull.

I would love to hear from people who have had both styles.

I wont seperate the sexes in the flights. I have heard from more experienced show breeders than myself who have all done this in the past and now prefer not to. They were ending up with males who preferred male company over a hen...forced gay behaviour or conditioning ? They also say its keeps the hens active and less fat and lazy to have attentive males around them.

I have tired both styles of avaries , and I believe a mixed sex avary to work best for me , reason being that I think to seperate cocks from hens promotes homophillia which leads to infertile rounds in the breeding cabinet , also the yound cocks get to chase the hens around the avairy when maturing which helps their development .

After saying that , I do seperate before pairing for 2 weeks because the hen can store sperm in her body and being a show breeder you want what you pair together to breed and produce their young.

I am undecided, I am designing a new aviary & was thinking of 2 flights but unsure as to separating hens & cocks or having a separate flight for the juvenilles & the other for the adults. Currently they are all in the one aviary

I am undecided, I am designing a new aviary & was thinking of 2 flights but unsure as to separating hens & cocks or having a separate flight for the juveniles & the other for the adults. Currently they are all in the one aviary

 

 

Like you Ikon, The reason this is flapping around my head is the arrival of the new aviary. I think it is a greater benefit to the birds to have a reasonable sized flight area. A fit budgie is the goal. The juvenile flight is a good idea and can be used for fat hens, odd feather duster, french moult, and birds in a deep moult.

I agree with Kazza, especially like the last comment

I always ask a breeder when purchasing or not what type of breeding box setup they use, and do they fly bird in separate flights. I have a couple of cock birds that were segregated. As soon as they were realised into my flight after a month or so in quarantine they paired straight to the same sex.

 

Will be interesting to see how these birds breed and cope with a demanding hen.

I fly both sexes together during the off breeding season. I segregate the previous year to older year. Eg the 2007 birds are separated so that I can see the possible birds for the nationals.

 

This is how they are at the moment. but I will change that in a months time and segregate the hens and cocks for the start of the breeding season.

I fly both sexes together during the off breeding season. I segregate the previous year to older year. Eg the 2007 birds are separated so that I can see the possible birds for the nationals.

 

This is how they are at the moment. but I will change that in a months time and segregate the hens and cocks for the start of the breeding season.

 

 

When you go to the Nationals Daz say hello to Stephen Elliott for me. He rang me last night to talk birds and etc. Great breeder! Great bloke!

Said he is preparing for the Nationals as well.