Hi everyone,

 

I have a question about putting the hens in the breeding cabinet. Last year i only bred 2 x pairs who were already together in the aviary and so put them both in at the same time and all went well. This year, i have purchased more birds and am wondering if the cock and hen are not already paired, is it better to put the hen in the cabinet for a while by herself or should i put them both in at the same time?

 

If i do put the hen in first, how long should i wait until i introduce the cock bird? I have heard that the right time is when the hen is spending a lot of time in the nesting box and i have also heard to wait a week and then introduce regardless of what the hen is doing.

 

Thanks for the help

great question Kim. I look forward to hearing about this topic too :hap:

I have always put mine in the breeding cabinet at the same time as each other. They always seem to know why they are there especially once they see the nesting box. Some birds get straight down to business within minutes and others might take a week.

I do the same as Kaz. Patience is the key when breeding. If nothing happens for 2 weeks than I remove the male bird & intoduce another in a few days.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

I have put 4 pairs in just before lunch today. We had a combination of completely ignoring each other or having a peck at each other! I have kept a close eye on the pecking in case it got more than a "get away from me" peck and that seems to be dying down now. The ignoring is still happening with 2 pairs though.

 

One of the hens has been in the nest box and thrown most of the shavings out - so i am guessing thats a good sign. Will keep you updated and tomorrow will take some pics of the pairs to post.

 

Thanks again for the advice.

I place mine in a training cage first to see what their reactions to each other is. Some time if they start fighting straight away, it's not good to continue. If they get along, great they go in to the breeding cage.

I place mine in a training cage first to see what their reactions to each other is. Some time if they start fighting straight away, it's not good to continue. If they get along, great they go in to the breeding cage.

okay thanks Daz, by fighting do you mean really aggressive to each other, or just the odd peck if the cock went to "kiss" the hen? Things have settled down really well tonight i think. I now have one pair kissing each other, one pair preening each other (this is the pair that have thrown the shavings from the nest box) one pair tolerating each other and the other just still ignoring the other.

 

I am thinking maybe i should seperate the pair tolerating each other til morning and then try the training cage tomorrow? or do you think they will be okay now that the pecking has stopped?

I place mine in a training cage first to see what their reactions to each other is. Some time if they start fighting straight away, it's not good to continue. If they get along, great they go in to the breeding cage.

okay thanks Daz, by fighting do you mean really aggressive to each other, or just the odd peck if the cock went to "kiss" the hen? Things have settled down really well tonight i think. I now have one pair kissing each other, one pair preening each other (this is the pair that have thrown the shavings from the nest box) one pair tolerating each other and the other just still ignoring the other.

 

I am thinking maybe i should seperate the pair tolerating each other til morning and then try the training cage tomorrow? or do you think they will be okay now that the pecking has stopped?

They will be fine. Even the ones that dont seem to like each other at first, do after the nestingbox catches their eye :oliveb:

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update - everyone is much happier this morning and the pecking has stopped! If (no..... wishful thinking .... when things happen) i will start a thread in the breeding journals.

Here are some pics of the happy (or happier than yesterday) couples:

Couple 1 - First Taj:

and Athena

 

Aussie and Matilda

 

Tinkie

Freeway

 

Pete

Sita

Together: