Posted January 16, 200916 yr A friend has been trying to breed her 2 and 1/2 year male for quite a long time. The male is quite flirty, feeding the female, and trying to mate with her. She readily preens and feeds him, but refuses to mate with him. She is around 1 year, possibly older..the owner has tried other females with the male, and all of them refuse to mate with him. The only reason I can think of as to why they do this is becuase perhaps the females don't think the nestbox is good enough? It is a small-ish one...could this be why the females refuse to mate with him? What other reasons could there be?
January 16, 200916 yr The female may not feel there are the right conidtions to breed. What is a "smallish"nest box? What is the cage set up like? Maybe take the nest box out of their cage, leave one out for abotu 2 weeks, then attach one to the outside of the cage and see what happens. Sometimes, some birds just won't breed. If they do not take to this, give them some time without trying to have them breed. Say, 4 months, then try again.
January 16, 200916 yr Author The female may not feel there are the right conidtions to breed. What is a "smallish"nest box? What is the cage set up like? Maybe take the nest box out of their cage, leave one out for abotu 2 weeks, then attach one to the outside of the cage and see what happens. Sometimes, some birds just won't breed. If they do not take to this, give them some time without trying to have them breed. Say, 4 months, then try again. Alright thanks. I'm thinking it's the cage setup etc that is why they won't breed, as different females have refused to breed with that one male, and when the female is paired up with a different male in a different setup, she did seem to want to breed. I was worried something might have been wrong with the male and that is why the female wouldn't breed with him..is that possible?
January 16, 200916 yr Author He is definitely a boy right ?? Some are ambiguous with cere colour. I'm pretty sure he is. He's a Recessive Pied, and his cere is (and always has been as far as I know) pink with a tinsy bit of blue around the nostrils..Which is definetly male, seeing as females would get a brown cere, right? Edit: Actually I think I remember the owner telling me once they were very confused as to his sex when he was young as his cere went from white and blue to pink and back again, and now it's pink....but it changed to blue and white a very long time ago, as I said, when they first got him..about 2 years ago. Edited January 16, 200916 yr by Jen144
January 16, 200916 yr He is definitely a boy right ?? Some are ambiguous with cere colour. I'm pretty sure he is. He's a Recessive Pied, and his cere is (and always has been as far as I know) pink with a tinsy bit of blue around the nostrils..Which is definetly male, seeing as females would get a brown cere, right? Edit: Actually I think I remember the owner telling me once they were very confused as to his sex when he was young as his cere went from white and blue to pink and back again, and now it's pink....but it changed to blue and white a very long time ago, as I said, when they first got him..about 2 years ago. White on a cere is an indicator of hen. If a recessive pied then it should never have had blue on its cere at any time. We need pictures...I believe both the mutation and sex of the bird to be in question. One possibility without seeing it is a DF dom pied sometimes has a two colour cere, also can look recessive. Post clear cere pictures and pictures of the bird front and back and we will try to help.
January 16, 200916 yr Author He is definitely a boy right ?? Some are ambiguous with cere colour. I'm pretty sure he is. He's a Recessive Pied, and his cere is (and always has been as far as I know) pink with a tinsy bit of blue around the nostrils..Which is definetly male, seeing as females would get a brown cere, right? Edit: Actually I think I remember the owner telling me once they were very confused as to his sex when he was young as his cere went from white and blue to pink and back again, and now it's pink....but it changed to blue and white a very long time ago, as I said, when they first got him..about 2 years ago. White on a cere is an indicator of hen. If a recessive pied then it should never have had blue on its cere at any time. We need pictures...I believe both the mutation and sex of the bird to be in question. One possibility without seeing it is a DF dom pied sometimes has a two colour cere, also can look recessive. Post clear cere pictures and pictures of the bird front and back and we will try to help. Okay here's some pics of him. By the way, he has no iris rings, and his eyes are a dark red, almost like an albino. As far as I know, he is a YF2 Cobalt Recessive Pied, probably with violet in him too. I don't have a picture of his whole back, but it's a creamy white with yellow patches..no markings except one little wing marking on each 'shoulder'.
January 16, 200916 yr He appears male. Is he clipped at the moment? A clipped bird finds it harder to balance when they mate, because they use their wings to "hug" the female and keep balance. Ps. he's a cutie Edited January 16, 200916 yr by Sailorwolf
January 16, 200916 yr Author Okay. But one more thing..why did his cere go like a female's when he was young?
January 16, 200916 yr Okay. But one more thing..why did his cere go like a female's when he was young? Hormone imbalance will do that
January 16, 200916 yr Author Okay. But one more thing..why did his cere go like a female's when he was young? Hormone imbalance will do that Ah okay. But he'll be fine now, right, as it was about 2 years ago and his cere is perfectly normal now? What could have caused a hormone imbalance? Edited January 16, 200916 yr by Jen144
January 16, 200916 yr Okay. But one more thing..why did his cere go like a female's when he was young? Hormone imbalance will do that Ah okay. But he'll be fine now, right, as it was about 2 years ago and his cere is perfectly normal now? What could have caused a hormone imbalance? Hormone imbalance is normal in youngsters.........like when a young mans voice breaks
January 16, 200916 yr Author Okay good. I know it's a bad thing when they are old for that too happen though, isn't it? I heard it can mean they have cancer or are just getting old?
January 17, 200916 yr I agree with SW .. If his wings are still clipped there is a high chance he will not mate successfully- Key areas to look at is 1. Age 2. Condition & Bonding 3. set up - includes nest box position , cage position, stability of perches and positioning of them too ... If they are all sweet as and the pairs have been tried over other birds there is there fertility to look at Good Luck
January 17, 200916 yr Author I agree with SW .. If his wings are still clipped there is a high chance he will not mate successfully- Key areas to look at is 1. Age 2. Condition & Bonding 3. set up - includes nest box position , cage position, stability of perches and positioning of them too ... If they are all sweet as and the pairs have been tried over other birds there is there fertility to look at Good Luck Okay age..both are over 1 year old. Well the female was in breeding condition. Set up is most likely the problem. If the male was infertile doesn't he get a brown cere? What about a female? Edited January 17, 200916 yr by Jen144
January 19, 200916 yr The boys can be infertile and still have a blue cere. A lack of testosterone or an increased amount of oestrogen is what causes their cere to go brown. Infertility can be caused by decreased sperm count, damaged germ cells etc etc. Also if his butt is too fluffy, the feathers will get in the way when he mates. You can clip his feathers around the vent or pluck them. Edited January 19, 200916 yr by Sailorwolf
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