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Post by dradyz on Oct 22, 2013 21:50:57 GMT 10
Hi I have a pair of conures the cock bird is ys split cinnamon and is 2.5 years old the hen is a pineapple and is 11 months old, if your going to post about the age don't bother I don't mean to be rude but I don't want a lecture I would like advice. Now they have been in the nesting box the last 2.5-3 weeks and only come out if a morning for a feed and to wake everyone up and some evenings when there in the box you can hear one of them make a very soft and short noise and it last between 30 seconds to a few minutes, they are both showing signs if aggression when any fingers are placed near the entrance to the box and box of them are dragging there beaks down on the walls of the box. I keep checking the box every 2-3 days but there are no eggs? Any guess's why? Is what I'm describing normal behaviour or breeding behaviour? Thanks
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Post by avinet on Oct 23, 2013 10:16:30 GMT 10
I keep checking the box every 2-3 days but there are no eggs? Any guess's why? Is what I'm describing normal behaviour or breeding behaviour? Thanks Normal breeding behaviour around the nest box. Given her age it is possible she is still too young to produce eggs although not too young to exhibit breeding behaviour. I usually found 15 to 18 months, 24 months with one pair, was when successful breeding occurred - it was rare at 12 months. No harm in letting them try but don't necessarily expect success with young birds. As a general note - and this is advice not a lecture - when you read that a species can breed at 12 months, or 18 months etc the key word is "can" not "will". Writers are usually referring to the most optimistic possibility not the most likely. Generally, double the age for when they "can" breed to get an age when they are likely to breed. African Greys can breed at 3 years, most don't until they are 5 or 6 and some can be 8 or 10 years before breeding. My hen laid her first eggs this winter at 7 years old, - infertile because the male at 8 years old isn't ready yet. Patience is a great attribute when breeding birds. cheers, Mike |
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Post by dradyz on Nov 2, 2013 13:25:13 GMT 10
Hi Mike
Thanks for your advice, but can you help she recently laid an egg but she has buried it in the nesting material? Why is she doing this and is it normal
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Post by avinet on Nov 2, 2013 17:37:09 GMT 10
Hi Mike Thanks for your advice, but can you help she recently laid an egg but she has buried it in the nesting material? Why is she doing this and is it normal What size is the nest box, what have you used for bedding in the box, and how deep is the egg buried? cheers, Mike |
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Post by dradyz on Nov 3, 2013 0:33:16 GMT 10
Hi Mike Thanks for your advice, but can you help she recently laid an egg but she has buried it in the nesting material? Why is she doing this and is it normal What size is the nest box, what have you used for bedding in the box, and how deep is the egg buried? cheers, Mike It is a box from parrot society specially for green cheek conures, I asked many breeders and all they used was eucy mulch which you get from bunnings and they have had great results and gave me a bucket to take home. The material is approx 1-1.5 inches deep and the egg was mostly covered could only see the top of it sticking through but I'd say 3/4 was buried |
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Post by dradyz on Nov 3, 2013 14:38:14 GMT 10
While they were feeding today I checked the box through a view window which goes into the walkway and doesn't disturb them and they can't see I'm there, the egg is gone so I search through the nesting material and found a part of the egg which appears to be crushed but I didn't located the rest of the egg or yolk. Any ideas
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Post by avinet on Nov 3, 2013 20:58:56 GMT 10
While they were feeding today I checked the box through a view window which goes into the walkway and doesn't disturb them and they can't see I'm there, the egg is gone so I search through the nesting material and found a part of the egg which appears to be crushed but I didn't located the rest of the egg or yolk. Any ideas Are they first time breeders? Your nest box set up sounds fine - no problems there. Perhaps the bit of egg you saw and thought the rest was buried was the part of the egg you found today - and one of them had already destroyed most of the egg. Just speculating here. First time breeders can be pretty hopeless - and my experience with Green-cheeks is that especially applies to them if they are under 18 months old. Also it is a bit strange there has only been one egg so far - you normally expect an egg every 2 days until a full clutch is laid. But again a first time breeder can be erratic. cheers, Mike |
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Post by dradyz on Nov 3, 2013 21:10:11 GMT 10
While they were feeding today I checked the box through a view window which goes into the walkway and doesn't disturb them and they can't see I'm there, the egg is gone so I search through the nesting material and found a part of the egg which appears to be crushed but I didn't located the rest of the egg or yolk. Any ideas Are they first time breeders? Your nest box set up sounds fine - no problems there. Perhaps the bit of egg you saw and thought the rest was buried was the part of the egg you found today - and one of them had already destroyed most of the egg. Just speculating here. First time breeders can be pretty hopeless - and my experience with Green-cheeks is that especially applies to them if they are under 18 months old. Also it is a bit strange there has only been one egg so far - you normally expect an egg every 2 days until a full clutch is laid. But again a first time breeder can be erratic. cheers, Mike It's her first time but his 2nd, yes only one egg. Any suggestions |
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Post by avinet on Nov 4, 2013 8:55:22 GMT 10
As I said earlier in this thread, patience is a great attribute when breeding birds. She is a young bird and this breeding lark is all new to her - don't expect much until next year. It may happen earlier but that would be a big bonus. My guess is that after the summer she may be ready to properly breed - depending where you live. Here in SE Queensland I have had breeding from April through to November - with a break in summer for moulting etc. In southern states you are more likely to just get spring breeding.
As I also said earlier my Grey hen finally laid eggs this winter, 6 in all and all infertile - $25,000 in infertile eggs - I'm thinking of giving the male Viagra! So I will just be patient for another year and look forward to next year with fingers crossed but not holding my breath.
cheers,
Mike
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Post by dradyz on Nov 4, 2013 12:02:35 GMT 10
Ok thanks mike you've been a great help,
How would I go pulling the eggs and putting them in a incubator. What temperatures would I set the incubator at the and a rough guide on lowering or increasing with age? And how often do you have to turn the Eggs
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Post by avinet on Nov 4, 2013 23:00:38 GMT 10
Ok thanks mike you've been a great help, How would I go pulling the eggs and putting them in a incubator. What temperatures would I set the incubator at the and a rough guide on lowering or increasing with age? And how often do you have to turn the Eggs I'm not an incubator expert - it isn't easy and I have found it much better to let the parents do the hard work. Incubators are expensive - several hundred dollars for a reasonable one. They will keep the temp and humidity at the correct levels, and most will also automatically turn the eggs. A reasonable one that is new on the market is at eshop.bellsouth.com.au/epages/bellsouth.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/bellsouth/Products/%22RCOM%20SURO%22. I have seen and had good reports of the other Rcom incubators so I would expect this model to be up to their usual standard. I plan to get one to have on hand for when my Greys finally have fertile eggs in case the hen decides she doesn't want to be a Mommy. And then when the eggs hatch you have a day one baby to raise - with a green-cheek that is not at all easy, they are so small. I've done it with Alexandrines successfully but my success with cockatiels is only 50/50 at best - and Green-cheeks are smaller. If you want to get into incubation then an essential book is www.birdkeeper.com.au/bird-books/a-guide-to-incubation-and-handraising-parrots Much easier to just be patient  cheers, Mike |
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Post by dradyz on Nov 5, 2013 22:03:16 GMT 10
Ok thanks, any suggestions why she laid one egg on Friday night earlier Saturday morning and hasn't laid any since.
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Post by dradyz on Nov 5, 2013 22:03:54 GMT 10
Ok thanks, any suggestions why she laid one egg on Friday night earlier Saturday morning and hasn't laid any since.
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Post by avinet on Nov 6, 2013 10:44:18 GMT 10
Ok thanks, any suggestions why she laid one egg on Friday night earlier Saturday morning and hasn't laid any since. Young bird - really too young to expect to breed successfully. Young birds can be erratic breeders. Patience! Wait until after summer to have successful breeding, anything before is a matter of luck. a bonus! Mike |
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Post by dradyz on Nov 9, 2013 18:39:21 GMT 10
Ok thanks mike, how much material should I be putting in the conure boxes?
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Post by avinet on Nov 10, 2013 11:46:26 GMT 10
Ok thanks mike, how much material should I be putting in the conure boxes? 4 to 5 cm is plenty for a conure cheers, Mike |
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