Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has had two hens sharing the same nest box?

I colony breed my budgies in a large outdoor aviary,I have several pairs of birds with almost twice as many nestboxes,

Several hens have gone into there chosen boxes to lay as normal,But two hens are both laying and sitting in the same box.

I have never had this happen before,Even though I have been breeding for almost 30 yrs.

THANKS GILL.

I have had one hen sneak a clutch under another hen and allow the first one to do all the sitting work. This led to too many eggs in the clutch to be managed and a pretty low birth rate. The hen couldn't keep track of all the turning (I suspect) and could not keep all the eggs warm (I know - they were spilling out from under her - well beyond the normal turning rotation).

 

I do wonder if the reason the second hen did not sit was the lack of space in their chosen nest (not a box - a niche behind aviary scenrey - they picked it). It was pretty tight for two hens.

 

The second clutch was a number of days behind the first so when second clutch chicks hatched they were trampled in the food fight by their larger fellow chicks from the first clutch. They didn't survive.

 

During the phase when the hen and **** crossed over feeding responsibility - the second hen started to contribute to the feeding work - though the two chicks left alive at that point were not hers.

 

4 in 15 (two clutches combined) hatched. 2 made it to fledge.

Thats not normal becasue usually hey would be killing each other for that territory!

Thanks for youre comments,

I have other pairs with eggs so I think maybe if the eggs do hatch I will be transfering the chicks to other nests Just to be on the safe side and give them a better chance of survival.

GILL.