Aussie Finch Forum

hi guys. i've had a pair of cubans for almost a year now, but the the lest month or so the cock is constantly chasing the hen around the aviary. he does this often with nesting material in his mouth and has built a rather decent nest, but the hen seems completely disinterested in him.

the unusual weather in melbourne seems to have thrown all my birds. neither of my ruddy pair seem to be showing any signs of breeding behaviour either. this time last year the aviary was full of nests with chicks.

anyhow i'm after advice. remove the hen? if so how long? get a second hen to take some of the burden? i was really hoping to get some chicks out of this pair.

Hi Toothless,

yep, sounds like a good time to separate all the hens and cocks.

Then, a good chance to clean out the aviary and re-brush etc.

Keep them separated for 6 weeks...I have mentioned my feeding regime on here quite a few times but here I go one more time lol:

2 weeks on 50/50 red panicum & white french millet
2 weeks as above add some green seed heads and veggie mix
2 weeks as above and slowly start to add live food, soft food, egg mix.

Put the hens in the main breeding aviary first for 1 day, then introduce the cocks back in the next day bright and early.

You should have nests being built within 2-3 days.

Good luck!

thanks dano. will do.

okay dano, i have removed the cuban hen and my last two ruddy hens and placed them in my only other form of accommodation - my hospital cage. i'll keep them in my spare room for the next couple of weeks and try the diet you suggested. The avairy has just recently been completely relandscaped as the configuration of the path and the vegetation made it near impossible to catch birds when necessary. i'll reintroduce them in a few weeks as suggested - however by then i'm thinking it will be near winter anyway. bad time?

these melbourne winters have taken a massive toll on my hens. i am planning on putting in a heat lamp when the cold sets in. i'm just sick to death of losing hens to egg binding.

i definitely need a second aviary.

A second avairy? Nah. You need 2 more at least. Good luck with your Cubans, they build big nests for such little birds.
LML