I have a yellowface cinnamon grey opaline hen. She is 4 years old and I've been trying to breed her for 2 years. As soon as I start trying to colony breed she lays an egg, which she has never done before.

3 aviary pairs have chicks and I believe I know the parentage. Some of the chicks are almost ready to leave the nests.

Exciting news!

Any trouble in the aviary as yet?

No none at all. Only four pairs in their.

4 nests of chicks, some look to be clearbodys and their are 3 yellowface spangles aswell.

I dont know how it came about I think I have the parentage wrong, one of the negatives of colony breeding.

 

The clearbodies are 3 months old now and look good.

I dont know how it came about I think I have the parentage wrong, one of the negatives of colony breeding.

 

Yes... you don't have any say who decides to mate... and just because one male is helping a hen raise her chicks, doesn't mean he's is the father!

WOW Those clearbody chicks are BEAUTIFUL

 

Will you be selling any of them Pearce??

I may end up selling some.

I've stopped colony breeding now. Going to start cabinet breeding again.

 

A mother neglected her chicks (As far as Im aware) overnight. I went in this morning and 3 of the chicks were dead and cold, and the mother was not in the nest box.

 

It must be harder for birds in colony style conditions to identify which nest box is theirs?

If their were 20 nest boxes all looked identical and were same height, how would a hen tell which one is hers? Do they smell or do they take random guesses. If so couldnt that be why fighting occurs? One hen goes into the wrong nest box, incubates the chicks for a little while, then the real mother comes in, they fight, and the chicks die.

I've stopped colony breeding now. Going to start cabinet breeding again.

 

A mother neglected her chicks (As far as Im aware) overnight. I went in this morning and 3 of the chicks were dead and cold, and the mother was not in the nest box.

 

It must be harder for birds in colony style conditions to identify which nest box is theirs?

If their were 20 nest boxes all looked identical and were same height, how would a hen tell which one is hers? Do they smell or do they take random guesses. If so couldnt that be why fighting occurs? One hen goes into the wrong nest box, incubates the chicks for a little while, then the real mother comes in, they fight, and the chicks die.

 

This is less about a mother neglecting her chicks or losing her nestbox and more about others stopping her getting back into her nestbox. A lot of budgies in aviaries breeding get on top of the nestboxes and stop the parents flying to or getting back into the nestbox hole to feed their babies. If it is prolonged over, say an afternoon, then the mother quits.

I've stopped colony breeding now. Going to start cabinet breeding again.

 

A mother neglected her chicks (As far as Im aware) overnight. I went in this morning and 3 of the chicks were dead and cold, and the mother was not in the nest box.

 

It must be harder for birds in colony style conditions to identify which nest box is theirs?

If their were 20 nest boxes all looked identical and were same height, how would a hen tell which one is hers? Do they smell or do they take random guesses. If so couldnt that be why fighting occurs? One hen goes into the wrong nest box, incubates the chicks for a little while, then the real mother comes in, they fight, and the chicks die.

 

This is less about a mother neglecting her chicks or losing her nestbox and more about others stopping her getting back into her nestbox. A lot of budgies in aviaries breeding get on top of the nestboxes and stop the parents flying to or getting back into the nestbox hole to feed their babies. If it is prolonged over, say an afternoon, then the mother quits.

Iam going back to to cabinet breeding, this is good Pearce,some take longer then others to see the light

buy I guess for you, the light is shineing bright,

Sorry to hear pearce. I guess it was inevitable, but im glad you have some chicks remaining

I will take photos of baby budgies tomorow.

cool of the clerbodies?

I will try.

I will try.

 

That's the spirit Pearce! Pictures are always welcome!

 

And you will find cabinet breeding more predictable and easier to control and monitor.

Edited August 14, 200916 yr by renee

Is it possible to move nesting boxes with babies out of the aviary situation, and into cages? They will go with their parents but will they're parents neglect them or something similar.

I've had 2 babies jump out of the box so far and its not good at all.

 

How do others who have colony bred deal with this, and can they be moved?

 

thanks.

 

 

 

One of the birds fell about a meter, would he have died from the impact of the fall or would he have starved to death overnight?

Edited August 22, 200916 yr by Pearce

Is it possible to move nesting boxes with babies out of the aviary situation, and into cages? They will go with their parents but will they're parents neglect them or something similar.

I've had 2 babies jump out of the box so far and its not good at all.

 

How do others who have colony bred deal with this, and can they be moved?

 

thanks.

 

 

 

One of the birds fell about a meter, would he have died from the impact of the fall or would he have starved to death overnight?

The perils of aviary breeding. :question: I did it in a limited fashion 4 years ago and yes a couple little ones jumped out earlier than they were ready to fledge. I didn't know how to stop it and I'm afraid 1 did die overnight and another was attacked by other parents .... :rofl:

I thought you had already stopped colony breeding???

 

I moved house with a hen, cock and 5 bubs. I can remember how old they were exactly, but probably about a mth old. I had a new cage at my new hose with a new nest box etc... I moved them in their old breeding cabinet, and blocked the hen off into the nest box with her chicks. Then, after a few days at my new place, I moved them all over to the new cage and nest box.

 

I was lucky as it all worked for me. There are not gaurantees... but I think moving chicks is a little eaiser then eggs

I thought you had already stopped colony breeding???

I want to but I was worried if I move them, they might be neglected. And if I remove the nest boxes with nothing in it, the birds with no nest box will kill the chicks in the only remaining nesting boxes so they can make a nest.

Its never ending, another bird has started laying eggs now and about to hatch in a few days, so it will never end.

 

you would think the chicks would cry for food and the parents would still feed them, If I moved them.

Edited August 23, 200915 yr by KAZ

I thought you had already stopped colony breeding???

I want to but I was worried if I move them, they might be neglected. And if I remove the nest boxes with nothing in it, the birds with no nest box will kill the chicks in the only remaining nesting boxes so they can make a nest.

Its never ending, another bird has started laying eggs now and about to hatch in a few days, so it will never end.

 

you would think the chicks would cry for food and the parents would still feed them, If I moved them.

 

 

Yes... Then you just need to bite the bullet and move them... just be prepared for losses.

im for ever moving my birds around with chicks eggs what ever i even moved all my breeding pairs 2 hours away when the black friday was here and birds with chicks eggs and one hatched on the way in the trailer so... they should be fine

its no different to fostering chicks from box to box in a sense or adding eggs for that matter

i say just make sure hen is in box and cock bird when you move them put straight into a cage that is ready with enough food and water to feed them all for a week so u dont need to disturb again

good luck

as for the birds all laying before you can change from colony to cabinet well mate your the owner just remove eggs

and all nests some times you have to take a loss to gain a win

thankyou all, do you think a baby would die from a 1 meter fall from impact? or would he have died from starvation overnight.

Nice babies Pearce.

 

My mum colony bred budgies for many years and generally things went okay. Mind you they were not show birds of any description.

 

The fall of 1 metre should not have killed a baby but there is the possibility I suppose if he fell onto concrete, usually from exposure to temperatures colder than those needed for brooding especially if they are not properly fledged yet. Starvation would take a day or so.