Help Me Out Here

Michael · Post by **Michael** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:18 am

Im about to give up on these Gouldians. Have tried everything with this new pair but they just cant get things right. Gave them a new nesting box with the adjoined entrance veranda. They immeiately took to it and built a nice nest inside. The female laid three eggs in it but now the male will not let her near the nest. He keeps driving her off and chasing her around the cage. Not sure what to do but am just about ready to give up on this pair. Very frustrating

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:23 pm

How old are they?

Michael · Post by **Michael** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:55 pm

I have had these for almost six months now and they were fully coloured up when I got them. The breeder I bought them from had just bought out the entire flock of another breeder and didnt know the exact ages.

Seems so strange that the male keeps driving the hen away whenever she comes near the nest. Im at a loss

Post by **Sally** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:18 am

It is still possible for them to be only 1 year old, and their first attempts at breeding. Sometimes it just takes a while for them to settle down.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:42 pm

I have my gouldians in my flight with mixed birds... the other day my male gould was dancing for a female star... it was pretty funny... she just flew away.

Michael · Post by **Michael** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:04 pm

Well Neither are sitting on the eggs yet. The male keeps popping in to check on them but doesnt stay in the nest more than 15 seconds or so. The female rarely goes in and if so only lands on the veranda area of the nest then heads off again. There are now five eggs in the nest. Guess we'll see what happens in the next few days. I know they dont normally start sitting tight till all the eggs are laid so if its going to happen it should be soon. If not its going to be a large clutch. If they dont start incubating in the next few days I guess Ill be removing the nesting box and try again later. How long do the eggs remain viable, assuming of course they are fertile, without either bird incubating.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:02 pm

Is either of them sitting overnight?

Michael · Post by **Michael** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:37 pm

No neither as of yet is sitting overnight. Sadly, I doubt this clutch will make it

Post by **Hilary** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:02 pm

Hey, you're giving up before you even get started! Goulds often won't start sitting until they are done laying, so she's not even due to get interested until right about now. If she doesn't start sitting in the next couple of days the earliest-laid eggs will be at risk, but give them space and see how they do. As others have pointed out they're also young and this is the first try, so this may be a practice run, but who knows?

Michael · Post by **Michael** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:07 am

Thanks Hilary
Well, even tho they arent yet Im sittinig tight for now anyway. Egg count is still at 5 with no new addition this morning. We'll see what happens in the next few days but somehow my gut feeling is I wont have any luck with this clutch. Provided they dont start to incubate in the near future, any advice as to what I should do next? At what point do I remove the eggs / nest? Seems a shame to take the nest away after they did such a good job building this one.

On the bright side, If we have to start over it'll give me a chance to do what I should have this time. Am going to mount a couple of those small infared cameras on the nesting box so I can keep tabs on progress without making them uncomfortable. Will be cool should they come through on the next clutch.

Post by **Sally** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:15 am

Omigosh, a nest cam!!

I would leave the eggs for at least a week, and then you can remove them. I'd just leave the nest, they will reuse it. And sometimes too frequent nest checks can upset the pair, so whether or not you have the nest cam, try to not even keep track of what is going on, just let them do their thing, and see what happens. Wild birds will not tolerate something checking their nests, and our finches are just barely this side of wild.

Michael · Post by **Michael** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:39 pm

Yes, nest cam. Picked up a couple of these small cameras you can hook up to your computer while I was in asia. Very cheap and give you black and white picture even in complete darkness. If I remove the nest Ill drill a couple of holes in the top and angle them in. Will be great when the children arrive.

Was wondering if it might be better to remove the nest should things not work out. Im thinking that she might try a new clutch right away and that would likely be too stressfull for her physically.

Ive set the nesting box up with some cover so that I can discreetly check inside the nest when they are out and they wont know.

By the way, egg number six arrived today. Either going to be a big family or a big dissapointment.

allgirlsmom · Post by **allgirlsmom** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:09 am

Yeah, hang tight, I think you'll see consistent sitting here soon. Mine began sitting after the eighth egg. She laid one per day then skipped a day. So that's nine days after the first egg appeared. When they all hatched, the last one died after a few days, probably from not being fed as much since the others clamored louder than she.

Good luck. Keep us posted!

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:10 am

Hmmm, well keep us updated!

Michael · Post by **Michael** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:44 am

Wow, Nine eggs. Wouldnever have expected so many. How did the remaining eight do?