Gouldians eggs never fertile

[TheFinchMan101]

Hi my pair of BH,WB,YB and BH,PB,YB gouldians have had about 5 clutches of eggs so far this season and I've had not one single fertile egg ever, their in breeding conditions definitely i mean they sit on the eggs and stuff but there never fertile, the hen is young but I'm not sure about the male so that could be it, their on eggs at the moment but that looks like another bunch of duds. What should I do should I get another male for her, I'll post up a photo up later if you think I should.

[POLAR GOULDIANS]

Hi FM 101,
it is likely that the problem is with the cock bird, and you could try replacing him. The bigger problem will be the strain producing 5 lots of eggs has had on the hen, if you try to breed her again she will be getting run-down and will be very susceptable to a variety of diseases, which could probably result in you losing her. It might be wiser to cut your losses now and let both birds have the rest of the year off. It would still be worth trying the cock bird again next year if you like the look of him, but maybe not if you are uncertain of his age.
Hope this helps.

[bleeding green]

I'll second the opinion of the PG. Great advice.
Generally speaking, if eggs are consistantly infertile the problem lies with the male.

[matcho]

Had the same problem earlier in the season but put it down to the heat and shite weather we had in Sydney etc. Cocks and hens are only in 1st and 2nd season. Wormed and treated for air sack mites and bingo, I'm all away, just not goulds but stars and painted as well. Admittedly they only had one or so clutches, not as many as you .So far have 5 fully fledged chicks, 6 chicks in the nest and three other nests with eggs(Goulds). Stars have nest of chicks and two nest of painteds. Maybe it might be right to give them a rest or get a new male and put it to one of the hens for one last try but I agree it sounds that the hens may be getting a little bit worn out with all the egg laying, any how good luck.

Matcho

[jusdeb]

Have to agree that the first thing that comes to mind with any breeding problems this year is the weather .
Here we had no Summer heat , shocking humidity , Autumn lasted a week then this cold snap .

Maybe give them a break to rebuild calcium stores or if you want to try again then some D3 / Calcium in the water a couple of times a week .

Good luck.

[TheFinchMan101]

Well that's the thing she had most of her clutches earlier in the year, then she went egg bound early march, she got better than I gave her a rest up in til 2 weeks ago so she's had a good 2 months rest, so I dot know why it's not working, I'm still thinking though that it's the male that's infertite, so I might try her with another male.

[wagga]

The 5 clutches and the egg binding issue are of concern in the same year. Couple that with the current cold snap puts alot of strain on the hen. Separation of the birds to stop her laying again, and like the other forum members after that many infertile eggs the cock sounds like the problem. I am assuming the aviary is not overstocked, dominate cock birds can interrupt other pairs during copulation, all perches are secure and cock is fit and verile.

[TheFinchMan101]

Yeah well I got 2 breeding pairs in the aviary and 4 babies from the other pair which are starting to colour up, so it's not overcrowded or anything, and the aviary is pretty big.

[bleeding green]

It might be the 'dominant' male issue then?
Out of interest, what head colours are the 4 birds in the aviary?

[Tigerfan]

Maby it is an issue with the other cock bird interrupting them.. You should not have two pair. It's the only bad number to have. Try putting them
On there own or adding another pair
If the cage is big enough.