FINCHforum

I have had a pair of shaft tails for a while now and they wont breed. they haven't really shown much interesting breeding either. what do i need to do??? I have them on a lighting schedule, they get egg food and veggies every day, and they have a nest box that is secluded to give them privacy. What else is there to do???

How old are they, how long have you had them?

Shaft tails do best (breeding)when they are at least 9 months to a year old. It is recommended not to breed them before 9 months of age.

What type of nest box or nest are they using? Nesting material? Is it possible you may have two hens or two males....pictures will help front shots are best. Hopefully it is a true pair but we can help ID them for you.

I breed shaft tails and had much luck with them, typically they are not hard to get to breeed provided they are old enough.

Coconut fibre...they love building their own nests.

they should be 9-12 months old. Mine need lots of nesting amterial such as coconut fibre and paperbark. I havent bred large numbers but have had no trouble breeding them Mine take mealworms.

poohbear wrote:Coconut fibre...they love building their own nests.

[ http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc217/raebhoop/misc%202/0093b53c.jpg ]

Great photo

Try making them a tube nest and load up on nesting material. Also hang a stick nest but leave a lot of room on top between the nest and the top of the cage. Put some fake plants around the nest as well. This way they can build their own nest on top. See the pic below. This is made with plastic mesh from Home Depot. Mine would not use a nest box. They wanted top make their own as much as possible.

I have used open fce wooden keet boxes in the past, lots of cocofiber, they will build out the nest evern further after the hen is done laying eggs and sitting. As Chase has in his cage I use the plastic mest in cylinder shape in all my cages as roosting spots, I have also used it as nest. If using this I suggest you line it with something solid on the bottom like folded paper towels with some bedding on top and let them build from there....this will prevent hatchings from wiggling thoug the cfiber and falling though or getting stuck in the mesh.

I know that the male is over a year old the supposed female looks much younger but I don't know the exact age that she is. I am using a standard finch nest box with a half opening. I also have a lot of cover around their nest box for privacy. I'm worried thet the female is a young male cause they don't seem vey interested in breeding at all. I will definitely take some pictures and post them maybe you guys can help me out.

During breeding in females the break may darken a little during breeding...I would not rush getting them to breed if you think she is under 9 months since the older she is it will lessen the chance of egg binding/infertility issues. Also seeing as this may be their first clutch there is a possiblity it may not be as productive or you can end up with infertile eggs. Don't get discouraged, just let them rest for a bit and try again. By their second or third time, with age and experience you will or should see better productivity.

Awesome thanks, well i put in a wicker basket to see if they would like that instead of the nest box and the male jumped right in it just a few seconds after. And is now putting a lot of nesting material in it, the female is starting to help out as well. So maybe they just didn't like the nest box or something this is my very first pair of shaft tails so i'm not familiar with their breeding habits. Hopefully we are making progress.

Also the beak of my female is starting to darken a little bit so hopefully she is coming into breeding season, i will keep a close eye on them cause i don't want anything to happen to her

Is this a canary size bamboo nest or a finch nest....they need larger nest than zebras...if it is a covered bambo got for the canary size not the smallest one, finch size.

Yeah i got the covered one and its the largest size they have. So hopefully it will be big enough.

Shaft tails build out theire nests, even after the hen is sitting. If you supply them long strands of cocofiber cut in half the will close in around the entrance of the nest leaving an small entrance way for them to get in and out. Once they lay the eggs do not disturb them, do not candle the eggs...they are very protective of their nest, eggs and chicks.

A tip I learned from a local breeder:
FEATHERS.

They love feather nesting material.