When is Young too Young ??

[Freddy Finchman]

Hi All,
A few months ago i bought a " Normal RH/GB " uncoloured Gouldian, put him in with other RH GB'S, anyway he has coloured up into a beautifull male !!
He would only be 8 months old at most, Well he has shacked up with a older hen that had her other half " Moulting ", I had to take the one moulting out of the cage. He is being the perfect bird, made the nest , sitting on about 5 egg's when the hen want's a break etc, They seem good together, so i will let them carry on their way,
I can see young hen's being " Too Young" , Some goulds are straight into breeding, Any thought's would be great ??

Cheers Freddy

[jusdeb]

He sounds like a born breeder and a keeper .

As said a hen I would be worried about but boys will be boys

Hope he produces lots of healthy babies for you .

[matcho]

IMHO I dont think that this is a good thing. In Sydney, (where I live) I do not give the opportunity for breeding until at least the end of Febuary when I place the nest boxes back in the avairy. I learnt this from last season, way too hot in January Febuary and ant activity. At the moment I have a bucket load of young birds and matures, BUT they are all going throught moult and are under a fair bit of stress. All of the young males are singing and in courting mode although not fully coloured. (Sounds familar to the homo sapien 13-14 years old. Know what it's for but don't know how to use it... yet) I don't think that having them start to breed this early will have any good results. I think you will find that infertility will be a problem and the added stress of moulting and producing eggs as well as trying again to breed may have a long term effect on the hens for the forthcoming breeding season. I might sound harsh but try and seperate at this stage and put them together late Feb. That way they have had the time to recover from the moult and get through the hottest part of the year , thenwhen you see your hens with dark beaks and the cocks with pearly red tips then you can be fairly sure things should be good.

Matcho

[jusdeb]

Matcho has some good points and I think most Gouldian breeders abide by these rules however, the horse has bolted on this one and to shut the gate would mean 5 eggs that dont make it ( if fertile ) .

I tend to be a optimist with these things and look for positives in any situation thus my carefree reply but I would be following the guidelines set out by experienced breeders in the future .

Hoping it all works out for the best anyways ....

[matcho]

Gee Deb,

If ever I doscover a new bird I will name it after you : "Debbus fence sitterus"

Matcho

[jusdeb]

fence sitterus = less controversy . Must be getting old

[Diane]

Are your birds inside or outside Freddy?

[E Orix]

I do not know why and when other people pair their birds up, in particular Gouldians. The reason I do it when I do is because of my locality and its climate.
My Gouldians are generally paired up the first week of January. That is when the nest boxes go in. Why because our climate is too cold to have them breeding during winter as like you know Gouldian females don't sit on chicks after about 10 days and if its cold all chicks will perish unless there are at least 3 in the clutch.Actually I may pair up mid Dec. this year as they always seem ready and will be finished before winters full blast.
The point I am getting too is what is correct for Melbourne would not be the same as in Sydney and most definitely not for Perth etc.
The local info is you best bet. In the wild they nest in the wet season why because it is cooler and there is far more food available to feed there chicks.
Also are your birds going to be bred inside or in outside aviaries,that makes a big difference.
As for how old you should allow birds to breed,Gouldians are virtually at the bottom of the food chain,because of this they have evolved to breed at a very early age and to have large clutches.Most breeders have had semi coloured birds breed for them. If they want to breed so be it.

[Freddy Finchman]

Are your birds inside or outside Freddy?

My Bird's are inside BB, All the hen's have moulted, only a couple of cock's to finish their moult.

[jusdeb]

There ya go ...que sera sera , what will be will be . Sometimes the birds know better than us OOOPS pert near fell off me fence .