Canary pair feeding, building nest but not breeding

[fredbernie]

I'm not sure how to describe this thoroughly, but I have two pairs of canary (1 red agate and 1 frost red). Both pairs are properly sexed and the agate male has fathered several chicks with other females. The other three never have chicks before. Both pairs are behaving quite weird.

The agate pair have built nest for a month. I even saw the male feeding the hen and he sings very violently, never see the mating though. Yet, they are still hoping around with no egg in the nest. I know it takes time, but one month even more is a bit too long.

The red male is feeding the female like crazy. The female usually start it by touch the male's beak. They have been doing so for a month or two by now. Still no egg has been laid.

So, I have no clue how to start their breeding cycle and really need help. Thanks!

[Roldog]

Are you giving them at least 12 hrs of daylight ?if so the female may need a little more time.patience

[TailFeathers]

Hello
I had the same problem once. Take them out for one week and a separate cage keep him there increased like to about 14 hours a day supplement food with high-protein foods and any fresh veggies and greens as directed and then reintroduce the male when you see that the hen is chirping and hopping about trying to get to him.

You must see them do the wild thing and not simply feeding each other. Otherwise find a new hen for him. And A new malefor her

[Rox]

fredbernie what are you feeding them?

[fredbernie]

Thank guys. I'm separating them now and still see the feeding through the wires. They surely get 14 hours of light for 2-3 months by now. They are in-door, but I use two 40W full spectrum white light tubes. It should be fine for a bird room of 4mx3mx3.4m.

@Rox: I feed them seed mix (canary, red millet, black+white sesame, red+black rape, flax, hemp, niger, rolled oat), egg food mix (CeDé egg food, Zupreem fruit blend, dried breed), fresh boiled egg once a week, fruit (apple, grape, papaya, jack fruit, banana, pear) and veggie (broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce except for iceberg, spinach), vitamin supplement (Ferti-Vit of Versele Laga). Here is the feeding routine. I give each bird 2 spoons of seed mix+1 spoon of egg food everyday at 6pm which should last until 10am next morning, turn the light off at 10pm, turn the light on about 6am, give them fruit+vegie(+fresh boiled egg) at 6am. Once the fruit and veggie is all consumed, I give them more. Basically, they eat more fruit and veggie than seed and egg food. As I can see, that's enough for one day. Nothing is left until the next day except for fruit and maybe some egg food.

[Rox]

fredbernie definitely nothing wrong with their diet!!

I agree with the others, separate them for a week or two. I hope it works!

Good luck

[TailFeathers]

What is the temp in there? It needs to be at least 70 if it is bump to 75. Take the hen out of the cage and fly her a lot in front of the male and then take her to another room where he can call for her. Then do the same vice versa. Exercise the hen a ton make sure she's flying laps around a safe area. Use a pole stick.. I forgot what those sodden sticks are called for now, but you can get them at Home Depot. Long round cylinder stick. Use that as a long perch for them to get up and and you to transport them I and out of cage.

Next thing, cut back on fruit and veggie and increase seed. Seed must be the main staple. Feed baked mealworms once to twice daily. Break them into seed size.

Offer calcium, sanitized egg shell(boil them).

Add one to two drops pure honey that is half way crystallizing. Make sure it's pure with bee pollen not the fake stuff.

Make sure the male sings like crazy, especially when the female leaves the room as I instructed earlier in this post.

After that they should be ready.

[fredbernie]

Temperature is about 25-30C, the room is very well-lit and well-ventilated. Abt the feeding, I follow the method of the previous owner who breeds canaries like magic. But you're true, I do have concern on the seed and veggie ratio.

[fredbernie]

As of today, everything is the same. I have separated the pairs, males still sing and females still stay frequently in their nest and respond actively to their husband's calls. Other females are also in heat and call like crazy when the 2 males sing, some females even sing back, a sure sign that they are about to lay. I'm sure they are females, as they laid egg before. Maybe the females are in some sort of stress. So, is there any way to "de-stress" a canary? Thanks!

[TailFeathers]

As of today, everything is the same. I have separated the pairs, males still sing and females still stay frequently in their nest and respond actively to their husband's calls. Other females are also in heat and call like crazy when the 2 males sing, some females even sing back, a sure sign that they are about to lay. I'm sure they are females, as they laid egg before. Maybe the females are in some sort of stress. So, is there any way to "de-stress" a canary? Thanks!

Where r u located and what's the weather like right now?

Also, have these birds been mates before? If you mate a pair for too long they will love each other without mating anymore. That's why I'm rotating all my pairs, no more than twice bred per season to the same partner.

How old are these canary hens who won't mate and do they have and visible defect in them right now?

[fredbernie]

Thanks all for the support. The agate female has laid one egg this morning, but she dropped the egg on the cage floor not in the nest I gave her. Strange right, she built a nest, stayed in the nest for all time and now dropped the egg on the floor. I have changed something in the cage and now she is staying in the nest with a fake egg. Let's see what would come tomorrow.

@TailFeathers: this is the first time they are paired together. The red pairs are 12-13 months old and never laid before. The agate male had been paired with two other female this season, this is his third clutch with a third female, he is almost 2 years old. The female agate is 12 months old and this is her first time being mom.

[fredbernie]

Oh, before I forget. I've loan the red female to a friend. He has a frost red male and his female is not yet in condition. From what I've heard, they've mated. So finger crossed.

The agate male is very good at being father. His first two clutches were all 100% fertile and he did a very good job at mating this time. The mating became very intense for the last 10 days, every 15-30 minutes or so for one time. So let's see if I could have some chicks.