Aussie Finch Forum

I would be interested to hear members opinions of the subject of spare hens. Next season I intend to breed multiply pairs of African Fires, Double bars and Gouldians - all quite passive species. My experience is that if I am going to lose a bird during the season it will invariably be a hen. Therefore, I would like to keep a few spare hens in reserve. My question is really, can I keep the spare hens of each species with the other pairs or do I have to store them separately until needed? How will the bonded pairs respond to the loose females even given that the species I intend to breed are generally considered passive.

If the aviary is large enough the double bars will be fine but the other two could become aggressive during the breeding season competing for the males imo.

I wish you all the best in being able to get spare hens. Even in the slightly more common and passive species that is not always an easy ask.

“I wish you all the best in being able to get spare hens. Even in the slightly more common and passive species that is not always an easy ask.”

Thats why I asked the question. I have plenty of hens now but replacing them later is expensive and time consuming.

When I initially started with black rumped double bars, spare hens would become a nuisance to other pairs. I observed on many occasions the spare hen knocking the breeding male off the other hen while mating, causing unsuccessful copulation and multiple infertile clutches. Same thing happened with my red faced pytillias. In my opinion any spare birds should be kept away from pairs and if one dies, all you have to do is take one of the spares from a separate cage and release it into the aviary. Make sure to fix the problem of course if a hen dies, worm everything and others treatments until everything is well.

Red - in that case. Wise of you to put the forethought into your situation.

Thanks for the advice guys.

Usually I run two pair of Gouldians in my aviary, let them have a couple of nests each and then remove the boxes.
The boxes go in about Feb and come out June/July , once the second round of chicks have hatched.
I usually get 15-20 fledged young from the four nests
This year I had a spare hen and decided to leave it in the aviary with the two pair. Only fledged 6 young this year
Coincidence ? I do not know, but I will not be doing it again

Cheers
Brett