okay so my lights went in today and my lino is going down this week, so my cages are being put in and then BAM this weekend I will be putting my first pet pairs down to breed.

 

Since they have all been in the avairy I was wondering what time frame I should have the hens in the flight cages before adding the cock and the nesting box?

 

Some people say 3 weeks then a week with the nesting box then add the cock, others say 4 or 5 days.... so a LIttle confused. So can anyone please give me a time line of what they do it would be great.

Put them all in at the same time. I have seen some of my birds mate within seconds this way and others take longer. Generally I am getting eggs by the end of a week.

How can you be sure that the egg are from the cock then? Some sites say that it takes three weeks for sperm to be cancelled out within a hen.

I have always put both in together at the start and had eggs 8-10 days after. Never had any trouble telling the parentage of the chicks.

How can you be sure that the egg are from the cock then? Some sites say that it takes three weeks for sperm to be cancelled out within a hen.

Before puitting down to breed my birds have been in a holding cage for a few weeks....hens in one and cocks in another.

I was speaking with an elderly gentleman at the stock feed the other day and he told me it's better to keep the cocks and hens in seperate avairies, that way "When they get it together in the breeding cage they really want to go for it", that's the way he put it. He made me feel quite uncomfortable the way he was talking and I'm far from a prude.

Oh Denise I can see your face now LOL :hap: .....

 

Great Advice there I will take note of that!!!

 

I have a dual ( twin) avairy once fixed up I will make sure that the Girls and Guys are in their own part :hap:

Does that mean I get to buy another avairy? Untill my flights are fixed then I guess they will be in holding cages... hmmm might get another patio cage so then I have two larger ones....

 

Later down the track i think I am going to need to either get another avairy or build my flights in the rest of the garage! :hap:

I was speaking with an elderly gentleman at the stock feed the other day and he told me it's better to keep the cocks and hens in seperate avairies, that way "When they get it together in the breeding cage they really want to go for it", that's the way he put it. He made me feel quite uncomfortable the way he was talking and I'm far from a prude.

No need for this. When birds are kept this way they learn to bond with their own sex instead of seeking out opposite sex partners. I know many who started out doing it this way and pretty soon chnged back to mixed aviaries. Its is also said that in single sex aviaries the hens get lethargic and fat sitting about bored and moody. In a mixed aviary the hens are more active. Also the young learn by the flirting behaviour in a mixed aviary.

I have heard that the Hens can get aggressive towards each other in a single sex avairy. For my pet types I want them to pick their partners so a mixed avairy is required. Hmmmm now how to convince my sister to let me put in another avairy and some flights.....

I don't keep mine in seperate avairies. I think he was just a dirty old man by the way he was speaking

I don't keep mine in seperate avairies. I think he was just a dirty old man by the way he was speaking