Aussie Finch Forum

So I have 2 pair of birds in my aviary. Eight nest boxes to choose from.

Lost all the chicks from the first pair. Found them all dead strewn about the aviary floor.

Second pair have 2 live chicks. Caught the black headed male pulling the chicks out of the red headed males nest this morning.

What's the deal here? Doesn't want the other males chicks to survive? Or is the black headed male not right in the head?

Sounds like he is stuffed in the head. Maybe find a few more pairs and put them together and see if they rearrange the pairs. If he continues to do it I would get rid of him.

Mum had a Red headed Gouldian male who behaved like this several years ago. Solution was to have more hens than cocks. Only Gouldian cock I have ever know to put hens down sucessively. He wants both hens to himself, as he has too much male hormone. Mum's bird was father to 3 rounds of chicks by 3 different hens. As soon as round one are feathered round 2 has hatched, then the same with round 2 and 3. Get another hen or 2 if possible or you will have to put him and his mate in a seperate avairy to stop him. Hope is is a desirable bird if he has all those hormones.
LML

I've pulled the male from the aviary and will try to get the hen tomorrow. No idea where to put them at the moment but I'll work something out.

I should have also mentioned to make sure all the nests are the same and at the same height in the aviary. If the nests are different heights he might want the highest one and is chucking the chicks out to get it.

All the nest boxes are on a shelf so they are the same height. I'm also thinking that the male pulled his own chicks out of the nest. If I can get a breeding cage sorted I'll put him and his hen together and see what happens if they are alone. Maybe the other pair being there was an issue for him.

If you can, buy a small Lorikeet nestbox, a finch box with a ramp or an 'L-Shaped' finch box. Then, the birds physically can't throw the chicks out.

Here's some examples:

https://www.wildlifesupplies.com.au/sho ... g-box.html

https://www.wildlifesupplies.com.au/sho ... d-box.html

I have a different opinion on nest box location.
I don't have them at the same height for the exact reason you are telling us. Most colonies or multiple pairs of birds will most likely have an
apex pair. This often happens with Gouldians in fact there has been a reasonable amount of work done on Gouldians in this area.
A possible outcome if you have 5 pair of Gouldians in a compact aviary, you will most likely get the following.
The Apex pair will breed freely.
The next strongest pair will breed but not as much as the top pair
Third pair will struggle but should produce
Fourth pair may attempt but generally fail
Fifth pair may not even try most likely.
To help alleviate this problem have boxes spread around and definitely at different heights.
The apex pair will generally use the higher box if all aviary conditions are similar.
Gouldians are not the gentlest specie of birds especially will regard their own.

Agree with EO - I have always spread my nests arround, but with most on a level shelf. Mum has always had hers on 2 shelves with the dominant pair always going for the top shelf. Breeding results from dominant down in numbers. And my Gouldians have never had any trouble standing up to the "so called" dominant Zebs, and frequently dominating them.
LML

Given the size of my aviary I think the best choice is to reduce it to one pair. Calling it compact would be generous.