Breeding turks

[anzac]

Thanks to all the great advice Mike and Greg have given me re my turks. Just reading up on the breeding on BirdCare. com .au and its says (quote)

The Neophemas may breed before the age of 12 months, but it is preferable to let the birds fully mature prior to commencing breeding. Hens that start at or after 12 months of age are usually better mothers and more reliable. The hens usually have a longer breeding life if they are 12 or more months of age prior to starting to breed. Cock birds are often prevented from mating till they are about 18 months of age. This usually allows cock birds to fully sexually and physically mature and usually prevents the first clutches of eggs being "clear". The slightly older cock birds are usually more reliable and better parents.

Since both Billy and Tilly were only fledged Oct 2010, should I not give them a breeding box this year?

The other thing that concerned me was this comment (quote)

Young should be removed from the parent birds as soon as they are fully independent so as to avoid possible aggression from a parent.

Now I never had a problem with the young staying in with my canaries or my bourkes and makes me reconsider letting them breed at all now. I could put the young back in with the canaries in their aviary but that may get a bit crowded and I doubt there is a huge market for selling turks in WA. Any suggestions? Or am I just putting the horse before the cart and they may not be that good at breeding and/or raising their young anyway?

[anzac]

Whoops also meant to add what are "clear" eggs, do they mean unfertilised? Cheers, Leanne

[avinet]

Clear means infertile - the embryo failed to develop. That can be because the male isn't producing viable sperm, or he doesn't mate properly (common in young birds) or it just didn't work out this time. The usual assumption is that if the female can produce eggs with yolks then those eggs are capable of being fertilized, so if they are not being fertilized and they are seen to mate then the male has a problem. If the eggs are clear and the pair haven't been seen to mate then perhaps she isn't letting him mate.

Sometimes they can be like a pair of Red Rumps I had where the female mated on top of the male for 12 months, then went away to lay infertile eggs - surprising that! At the time Red Rump mutations were valuable, but by the time they worked it out the price had dropped for their mutation and the babies were worth half of what they could have been.

The stuff you quoted was generally right, I used to think 18 months was a good age for them to start breeding, but if they bred earlier I didn't worry. Nobody in the wild tells them they are too young to breed! I never had a problem leaving the babies with their parents for a few weeks after they weaned, but I would take them away before their parents start breeding again.

I would put a box in around September and see what happens.

cheers,

Mike

[blucalypt]

I will go with what has already been said.
Turks are normally pretty good re fertility rate, some young cock dont do the job 1st time round, but are normally right by the 2nd clutch.
I dont experience much in the way of aggression from my pairs. I normally remove the young before the next clutch hatches, but dont rush until then. Young are normally independent by the time they have been out for 2 weeks anyway, so it's not a long wait.
I let mine breed in their 1st season, as do most breeders I know, this usually puts them close to 12 months anyway. I did have one hen who was bred in March, which I kept, not expecting anything from her the next season. She laid in the next September, catching me by surprise. She is still here and still a good breeder 4 years later, but she was probably the exception rather than the rule as far as breeding age is concerned.
I leave my boxes in all year round. Out of breeding season the birds like to use them as a higher perch. Each May all boxes are cleaned out and scrubbed in a disinfectant, dried out in the sun, then re-hung ready for the next season.

[anzac]

Thanks for all the advice guys as always I might be over thinking the whole thing anyway. I'll just stick a box in and let it happen if it does. I have a few pairs of canaries in the communal aviary and only one pair seem to be any good at it anyway. We'll be putting them in their own aviary on Anzac day in memory of Anzac, my dead turk