males who don't sing

[kathmcm]

yes, we are talking about you!

[BigBear0007]

Try putting him in a cage alone, and see if that helps?
My male is now in the flight with a hen and will only sing occasionally.
When they are on their own they call for females to come!

[Chichireeo]

Ha ha ha! He looks like he's saying "who, me?"

[debbie276]

LOVE the picture!!

[G8love4finches]

I heard that they sing until they find a mate then they stop?

[Chichireeo]

With my GS, the calling is not as pleasant as the singing. The calling is more intermittent and repetitious. The actual singing is complex and he sounds like several birds singing all at once, and with special sound effects. You can get calling if the male is separated from the female, or you can try bringing in male competition for singing.

[kathmcm]

Thanks for these replies! I have the two in a 40x30x20" flight cage right now. If I put the male all by his lonesome in a small cage, and he starts to sing, would he stop again when he's back with the female?
Have you had 2 males and a female GS together in a single cage, and were there dust-ups?

[Hilary]

I guess I'm lucky. My GS male is with his mate in a mixed cage and sings heartily (and I have to say just a little shrilly) every evening. I agree, though, that males tend to sing when they have somebody to sing to, and call when they're looking for company.

[traceyincanada]

So here I was, sitting the room when all of a sudden I hear my (previously mute male), start to sing. I almost got whip lash turning my head so fast to look.

And what did I see when I wrenched my neck so quick? He was actually on top of the female while singing! The whole event lasted probably 2 seconds.

I don't know if anything can actually be accomplished in such a short period of time but now the two of them are flying around the cage with nesting material in their beaks.

The unfortunate part is that they don't seem to have a clue as to what to do with the nesting material even though they have a canary cup in there. They just fly around with the cotton in their mouths, going no where.

And of course there's no more singing either but at least now I know that he is capable of singing, albeit just for a millisecond.

[kathmcm]

That is fantastic!! Congratulations to you (and your birds!!)

How long have you had them, and do you know how old the male is?

[traceyincanada]

Thanks I'm not holding my breath though. The "act" lasted a millisecond and so did the song so I don't think there will be any babies coming from this interlude but I am hopeful that one day, they might actually know what they're doing and that perhaps he'll even start to sing again.

I have no idea how old either of them is although the male would have to be at least 6 months old to have lost his necklace. I got them both at Petsmart about a month ago.

[debbie276]

It doesn't take more then a few seconds with birds:
When the breeding season is upon them, female birds’ ovaries enlarge as do male testes. The males produce sperm which travels from their internal testes (more streamlined arrangement than mammalian external male gonads) to the male cloaca which then is extruded from the bird’s body and swells with semen. After whatever breeding rituals particular to its species, the male mounts the female and pushes his cloaca against hers. In a matter of seconds the semen is transferred by this touch, known as a “cloaca kiss.” With the possible exception of some papillaries which may actually reach inside the outer edge of the female cloaca, no penetration takes place. In fact, birds really don’t copulate; they inseminate.

Best of luck!

[traceyincanada]

Thanks for the info Debbie. That's fascinating and gives me hope that they might actually have known what they are doing after all. They don't seem to know what to do with their nesting material though which has me disappointed.

If it turns out that he did successfully mate with her, how long after will she lay the egg?

[RigorMortisKitten]

Aww he is so cute ^_^ wonderful picture