Aussie Finch Forum

G'day from California,

I have 2 male shaft tails who have been constantly mating each other to no avail... I just introduced 2 female shafttails to the cage. Will they remain "made for each other" or will they eventually pair up with the females for breeding? So far,(2days) they do not seem to like the intrusion that much.

Thanks!

Pair on their own would give best chance of bonding as nature intended.

Ae you sure the new birds are two hens? They are tricky to sex...

but assuming you now have 2 hens and 2 cocks, I would leave them a week or so, see if they start to pair up naturally (look for pair-preening, close proximity etc) and if not, take one pair out and put them in a holding cage for a couple of weeks. This will give both pairs the chance to make new bonds.

Thanks, I'm going to watch over the next couple weeks. I would hate to separate my two original cocks because they get along so lovingly, other than plucking tail feathers for nesting material. Thus, I was hoping that the new ones are in fact two hens and would not be so frustrated. As they are so hard to sex by appearance. It's night now in California and the two cocks are cuddled together at one end of the perch and the "two hens" at the other end. Many thanks.

Hi.
Welcome to the forum.
Cheers,
Loz.

Hi & Welcome to the Forum

May I ask "what is a Shaftail?" Is it some American bird ? Sorry for being ignorant, but I'm willing to learn.

The Americans call longtails shaft-tails, Guy. Tom
Time to move this to the longtail topic???

If breeding is your priority, I recommend separating the 2 males to break their bond & pair them individually with the hens away from the other males.

I had a pair of males that bonded and there I was thinking I had a hen and a cock, UNTIL one day having a beer with a mate, we saw them take turns on each mounting the other.
That was the end of my association with Longtails. If I ever get them again I will DNA them and not listen to the seller as I did on that occassion.