showlow
2 posts
May 15, 2005
6:10 AM
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Hey guy's----How long should I give birds to mate? I got these birds at the same time. They were in a flying/breeding pen. I kept them about a week, and picked 4 pair to put in individual breeding cages. It's been 2 weeks and so far 1 pair has eggs, nothing from other 3 pair. Do you think I should break them up, or wait a while longer? They don't fight, they just don't lay. I have 3 open nests in same loft, with 3 cocks, 3 hens. It's been about a week with them, so far a lot of strutting and noise, but no pairs on the nest. I am just getting back into raising Rollers, I have been out of action about 15 years. I don't remember it taking this long to get them mated and on eggs.
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rollerpigeon
Site Moderator
294 posts
May 15, 2005
6:46 AM
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Hello Showlow, first off, “welcome” back to the world rollers and “welcome” to our site. There are many knowledgeable fanciers from all over the world that visit and contribute to this site. We look forward to your participation.
In the past, when I had an open breeding loft, I would have some pairs that would rather set on the perch than go into the breeding mode, even with plenty of nest boxes available.
My solution was to begin using individual breeding compartments. Since then I have never really had this problem. The closeness forced on them by the individual pen more readily sparks the courting instinct in both cock and hen.
However, even with these compartments, I would have the occasional pair take a long time to lay eggs. I think mostly it is due to the young age of either the pair or a lack of aggressiveness on the part of the cock as if he does not drive the hen diligently, she may not be motivated enough to want to mate.
To correct this, I would remove the hen from the pen for several hours and then re-introduce her. This “alone” time will give the cock a sense of ownership of the pen and when the hen is put back in, he will attempt to either chase her out and/or breed with her, and this will continue until she relents and takes to his pursuit and breeds with him.
FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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Newflyer
1 post
May 15, 2005
7:50 AM
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test
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Alan Bliven
142 posts
May 15, 2005
12:45 PM
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How old are the birds?
If they are young they may take a while.
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Alan
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showlow
3 posts
May 15, 2005
2:38 PM
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Not young--02,03,04 Birds. I tried letting the hens out for a few hrs. I will see if that helps. Thanks for the feedback.
Bob
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Leo
Member
19 posts
May 15, 2005
3:17 PM
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It sounds like they are NOT mated, an should be paired off,..right now they are driving each other, Pr them off. Put wheat germ oil over their feed an soak over nite,or vitamins in water, Sometimes they wont mate if they can Hear am old mates voice. After all is done then they should be ok the way you have them now...They will eventully mate the way you have them ,but the hens could be a little "fickle" for a while,even on eggs,may leave them an start over.......LEO
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rollerpigeon
Site Moderator
295 posts
May 17, 2005
6:39 AM
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Showlow, another idea if you are not able to use single breeding compartments is to use a small wire cage and put 2 birds that you want paired in together until they have paired up.
Be sure you put a nest bowl and nesting material in it. I think you will see more courting activity this way. When you are satisfied that they have paired up, put them back into the breeding pen.
One additional thought, remove any perches, as I have seen hens simply fly up to a perch and leave the cock cooing in circles on the loft floor and an end to breeding activity.
This forces the hen and cock to use the nesting boxes or perch on the loft floor (unlikely for a healthy bird). This has worked for me in the past when I used open loft.
FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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showlow
4 posts
May 17, 2005
12:40 PM
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Not open loft exactly--open loft with some nests, also 6 breeding cages 22" widex12"highx12"deep with removable doors. So far 1 pair is on eggs, so door is removed. The other 5 pair are just not doing much. I tried removing the hens for about 5 hrs, then putting them back together. Didn't seem to help. These birds are new to my loft, my loft is new.
Bob
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