I have 4 hens 7 boys, in outdoor 10ft-3ft aviary.

i have just put in my nestboxs,

the thing is i want the hens to only have one round of eggs.

but some might not of finished before others.

So my question is.

when the babies leave the nest at about 4 weeks.

is it the hen or **** that weans the babies for the next 3 weeks after leaving the nest..

I was thinking of taking the hen out as soon as the babies leave the nest.

I have 4 hens 7 boys, in outdoor 10ft-3ft aviary.

i have just put in my nestboxs,

the thing is i want the hens to only have one round of eggs.

but some might not of finished before others.

So my question is.

when the babies leave the nest at about 4 weeks.

is it the hen or **** that weans the babies for the next 3 weeks after leaving the nest..

I was thinking of taking the hen out as soon as the babies leave the nest.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

It's not that easy, it may take them longer to leave the nest. They can both feed the babies for some time after leaving the nest. They can even start to lay their 2nd clutch of eggs before the last chick has left the nest. then you are left with the eggs and what to do with them.

:nest:

 

 

Breeding without breeding cages can be very harsh on all your birds they can fight over nesting boxes and it can become very bloody. They may like 1 nesting box more than the others and fight to the death if you aren't careful. Some hens can even throw out other hens eggs. Sorry I'm not been very positive about this, but I'm sure you would want to know what could happen, and on the other hand nothing may happen and they may all breed without anything happening.

I'm sure you have looked into all of this

 

If you take the hen away the male may not feed the babies and they could die. The other hens may want the nesting box and kill the bubs.

 

Good luck with everything and keep a watchfull eye out on your birds when they start to pick there nesting boxes.

Thanks for that.

I found this is it wrong then,the bit about removing the hen,its saying the dad will take over?

the website i got it from is at the bottom.

 

In the US, best results for breeding season is from October through to

March. Budgies pairs will try to triple clutch, one right after the

other, in one breeding season. However, if they have successfully

reared chicks from the previous two clutches, they should be stopped

from starting the 3rd clutch for health reasons, to prevent burnout,

weak chicks, etc. And the pair should be rested for a whole year until

next breeding season. To stop a pair, remove the mother from the cage

when the YOUNGEST chick is about 10 days old. The father will take over

the care of the chicks. Watch them closely for the first 48 hours, as it

sometimes takes a day or so for Dad to realize that Mom isn't coming

back and he needs to take over. If you notice the babies crops empty,

you may need to give a handfeeding.

 

http://www.geocities.com/budgie-place/faq_breeding.html.

If i see 2 hens going in the same nestbox at different times should i panic.

when do i know which box they have picked.

i think i have seen one of of hens going in and out of different boxs.

is it a case of waiting for the eggs to see what one its going to be.

I would recommend that you use breeding cages instead of just putting boxes in the aviary. When i tried colony breeding all my hens fought over one box, threw out each others eggs, bit each other. One of my hens has no toes and the others were all bleeding and horrible. It's not a nice experience. :nest:

 

For colony breeding to work i have read that you need 2 cocks for every hen and 3 nest boxes for each breeding pair. All nest boxes should be the same style and shape because hens are really picky.

Edited May 31, 200519 yr by Bea

that sounds awful Bea.

 

I thought everyone used breeding cages. How do you know the parentage of a budgie if they are allowed to breed willy nilly and wouldn't it lead to interbreeding in the long run?

If you colony breed you can't be certain of who the father is and yes, eventually you will probably get inbreeding. It's more work than it's worth i think. The cost of a couple of breeding cages isn't that much and it would save a lot of trouble.

better for the budgies all round i would say Bea!

 

Are you breeding this year Bea?

I plan too. It's all very exciting! I plan to sell some babies but it's very hard not to get attatched to them. At least 2 of them have good homes...the others will probably end up staying with me.

can't wait for that either Bea.

Just don't keep the babies.

that cancels out any interbreeding,

as all my budgies are not related from the start.

You're very strong then, not getting attatched to the babies!

Its not going to be easy.

but i have to in case i want to breed again.

i have only breed one pair before in a cage about 5 years ago,

and at that time i did keep the babies 2.

I then moved home and had to get rid of all the budgies.

I set up my aviary in my new home about 1 and a half years ago.

This is my first time in this aviary, i put the boxs in last friday.

Sunday was the first time i see a hen go in side one of the boxs.

Is it about 10 days after they first enter the box you get the first egg.

how do you get rid of all your babies then James?

do you advertise them or sell to pet shops?

i would be like Bea i must admit. I would get too attached to the babies. I'd end up keeping all of them.

i moved from london to norfolk.

i gave them to a friend who had a big aviary.

i only had a hen and **** and 2 babies.very sad day.

As for the new babies i have a few friends waiting.

and the rest i have someone who can take them to sell

himself he has a very big avairy.

Plus i have only 4 hens whats the most i could have.

Edited May 31, 200519 yr by james2701

i don't know. i don't breed. Bea can probably answer

I will ask Dean when he gets home. He used to colony breed with great success. I prefer to breed in boxes, I then know who the parents are and roughly what to expect. I also find it easier with babies if they need hand feeding or spotting if things are not all okay. Dean says it because I enjoy having them in the house, hes right, but my other reason is I am looking at breeding for show so will need to know everything about each bird so it makes more sense for me to box breed.

 

Rachael

colony breed with great success.

I like the sound of that, it sounded like i had no hope.

Some tips on colony breeding would be great.

Edited May 31, 200519 yr by james2701

what is line breeding?

He said he will be back about 7pm so he will be on line then.

 

I dont know what line breeding is either never heard of it.

 

Rachael :bb:

I've read about it in a horse book....it's when you breed a baby back to a parent or brother/sister/aunt/uncle to bring out a certain trait. I don't see how it's any different to inbreeding though.