Fighting Cock Birds

22 Jan 2012, 20:56

I apologise if this has been covered elsewhere, i had a look in BREEDING and GENERAL QUESTIONS and also did a search but cant find what i looking for.
I have two pair normals housed in one cage, and i appear to have one very dominant and aggressive cock bird ( a red head ). He has obviously chosen his preferred female ( a black head ), and has taken dibs on one nest basket in particular which he keeps flying to and sitting in and calling out like he is really frustrated, and then chases his female all over the cage and then divebombs the other male.
I am worried he will injure the other male, or peck holes in him which will cause him to get an infection and die? Do they do this??
And, the female doesnt appear to be receptive to his advances, and after all the chasing around the cage, she sits there, puffing like crazy.
The other pair look cozy enough and very sedate - none of this feverish chasing. They have been in and out of the other nest basket and just try to stay out of the way.
Do i just leave them all to do their thing and sort it out or do i intervene and seperate ???

22 Jan 2012, 21:23

Is the hens beak black or dark? how big is the cage? how many nest boxes?

22 Jan 2012, 21:58

That hen's beak is starting to go dark. There are four nests in there. Two are baskets, two are cane cup nests. The cage is a patio aviary, like what my breeding canaries are in - about 1.3 top to bottom and 70 - 80cm in width and depth.
Too small for two pair?

22 Jan 2012, 22:04

JEWEL wrote:That hen's beak is starting to go dark. There are four nests in there. Two are baskets, two are cane cup nests. The cage is a patio aviary, like what my breeding canaries are in - about 1.3 top to bottom and 70 - 80cm in width and depth.
Too small for two pair?

those nests are not appropriate for gouldians, you need to buy or build some nesting boxes ( budgie type boxes ) cage is a little small for 2 pairs imho.

generally with finches a cage or aviary that is longer then it is taller is better.

Jarryd

22 Jan 2012, 22:14

Yes cage is too small....suitable for 1 pair....

n as per previous post goulds prefer nest boxes

22 Jan 2012, 22:51

And the worst possible number of pairs to have is 2. Because the top dog only has 1 other cock to pick on. So 1 pair to a cage or 3 pairs or more to an avairy. Different people have different definitions of an avairy. But to me anything under 1m x 1m that I can't stand in is a cage.
LML

23 Jan 2012, 17:07

Gotcha !!

23 Jan 2012, 17:26

finchbreeder wrote:And the worst possible number of pairs to have is 2. Because the top dog only has 1 other cock to pick on. So 1 pair to a cage or 3 pairs or more to an avairy. Different people have different definitions of an avairy. But to me anything under 1m x 1m that I can't stand in is a cage.
LML

I have often heard that "theory" but a very experienced breeder (who is also on here) almost always uses 2 pairs per flight as he found he had less issues than with 3 pairs. Comes down to available space no doubt too. I had issues with 3 pairs in my only Gouldian flight last year, this year I'm spreading them around the other flights to have 1s and 2s.

24 Jan 2012, 10:49

Mostly the theory works. But you are dead right that it can be the personallity of the birds. And some guys are just plain aggressive. My "top dog" was in a 3 pair to an avairy situation as 2nd ringer and made a complete pain of himself till he got the top spot then settled down to father 17 chicks by 2 hens.
LML

25 Jan 2012, 21:17

Well i removed the other pair from the cage and the difference was immediate !
Both birds now going in and out of nest basket, making funny chipping noises, and the male is doing that little jumping up and down on the perch thing to her, and she sits there and wags her tail feathers from side to side !!
I know it was said that they dont like nest baskets but i guess in the absence of a box - they are both furiously harvesting the nest material from the other baskets and taking it back to the one the male chose. But oddly enough, the hen in the other pair i removed is more interested in what these two are doing in the cage next to her than in her own mate !?! Whenever he comes close to her she pecks at him and they do a beak clash of sorts. Not suited ? Fascinating !! I love just watching all their little antics, the cages are out the front of my kitchen window, and being a female it is where i seem to spend a good chunk of my time......

but at least now it is bearable