I have had luck with most ...but there are a couple that I have had not even had lay an egg...1 pair hen lays soft eggs. My question is ...Would it be alright to pull the hens and put them back into flight and then put a different hen back in with the cock for the next round? Or is this not a good idea? Also I have a cock on loan and have 2 hens I would like to breed him to...His current hen is in nest laying eggs...3 so far. So can I go on an put him in with the other hen in another breeding cage? Or do I have to wait till the first hen raises the clutch? Thanks for the help. sueann

Budgies won't immediately mate with a new mate. They have to bond first and in my experience takes anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks. Plus if the hen isn't in condition it will add to the time necessary for bonding.

Unless extreme conditions dictate (ie death of a cock) do not let a hen raise chicks by herself - it takes too much out of her.

Removal of a cock from a hen that has eggs will result in the hen abandoning the eggs and both hen & cock calling incessantly to each other. The cock may also hurt the new hen.

I have had luck with most ...but there are a couple that I have had not even had lay an egg...1 pair hen lays soft eggs. My question is ...Would it be alright to pull the hens and put them back into flight and then put a different hen back in with the cock for the next round? Or is this not a good idea? Also I have a cock on loan and have 2 hens I would like to breed him to...His current hen is in nest laying eggs...3 so far. So can I go on an put him in with the other hen in another breeding cage? Or do I have to wait till the first hen raises the clutch? Thanks for the help. sueann

All I can say is patience, patience, patience.

I have had luck with most ...but there are a couple that I have had not even had lay an egg...1 pair hen lays soft eggs. My question is ...Would it be alright to pull the hens and put them back into flight and then put a different hen back in with the cock for the next round? Or is this not a good idea? Also I have a cock on loan and have 2 hens I would like to breed him to...His current hen is in nest laying eggs...3 so far. So can I go on an put him in with the other hen in another breeding cage? Or do I have to wait till the first hen raises the clutch? Thanks for the help. sueann

 

I am no expert but I will ask some questions so they can help you more.

 

What are you feeding your breeding pairs? This is important and I ask this because you said that 1 pair laided soft eggs, so you really need to find out why, a nutritional deficiency possibly.

 

As Karen said it is best that both parents raise the babies, there was an article about using 1 cock to 2 hens but by reading this article you really have to know the cock & both hens ability and also to have a lot of experience yourself, too many things can go wrong. There is a reason why nature gives of 2 parents .

All of my breeder pairs are set up with cuttlebone and mineral grit...oystershell grit is also available in a separate dish. They are also fed fresh fruits and veges..baby spinach leaves and fresh sprouts are their favorites it seems. They are all given millet spray, I feed higgins parakeet mix and protein 25. I add liquid calcium to their water usually once a week.

I would take out the spinach that is my advice as the iron in spinach will block calcium absorption which could be causing the soft eggs in the hen. That is what I would start doing, as with the rest of the advice our expert breeders will be on later on in the day because our day is their night and they will have more advice for you on how to boost your hen's calcium which is most likely causing the eggs to be soft.

I would suggest that if a hen lays one of two soft shelled eggs, it may be corrected by feeding, but if a hen on a good diet continues to lay them, it may be some kind of permanent condition & it would probably better to not breed from her. As others have suggested, to start mixing cocks with different hens is difficult & needs someone with lots of experience & you would have to have other feeder pairs available to take the chicks, so as other have suggested it's probably better to just be patient & breed one pair at a time.

If a hen doesn’t start breeding of course you can replace that hen with a new one, most cocks will accept a new hen, but if you need to replace a hen that is more difficult as hens can be very protective of their cabinet & can attack a new cock. Better if possible to remove her to another cage & introduce the new cock there.

Edited April 14, 200817 yr by Norm

I would suggest that if a hen lays one of two soft shelled eggs, it may be corrected by feeding, but if a hen on a good diet continues to lay them, it may be some kind of permanent condition & it would probably better to not breed from her. As others have suggested, to start mixing cocks with different hens is difficult & needs someone with lots of experience & you would have to have other feeder pairs available to take the chicks, so as other have suggested it's probably better to just be patient & breed one pair at a time.

If a hen doesn't start breeding of course you can replace that hen with a new one, most cocks will accept a new hen, but if you need to replace a hen that is more difficult as hens can be very protective of their cabinet & can attack a new cock. Better if possible to remove her to another cage & introduce the new cock there.

 

Thankyou Norm...and everyone else for their help.