Grrrr

MariusStegmann · Post by **MariusStegmann** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 7:27 am

I was very disappointed yesterday when I looked inside a RFPF nest and found the chick dead inside. It had blood on it. Several times I saw another pied cock sat on the perch outside the nest and make as if he wanted to go inside the nest. The parents would come and chase him away. I thought that he was just looking for a fight, in the mean time he was just binding his time to kill the poor chick. When the breeder sold it to me, he had a chuckle and said "He is very dominant". Now I know what he meant. I am going to separate my PF pairs intpo separate flights tomorrow. I have been putting it off but this was the last straw.

finchandlovebird · Post by **finchandlovebird** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:17 am

One breeding pair per cage is always a good idea

Sam007 · Post by **Sam007** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:21 am

finchandlovebird wrote: One breeding pair per cage is always a good idea

Agree!

Post by **lovezebs** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:26 am

MariusStegmann
Oh dear, and after waiting all this time. Sorrry about the baby. That one male should be placed in solitary confinement.

Post by **finchmix22** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:30 am

I'm very sorry you lost the chick. When I first started with PF's, I had two pair of Forbes in the same flight. Well, they fought and one plucked out the eye of the other, soooooo, I learned to keep the mating pairs, of any species, separate to avoid any unnecessary tragedies or injuries. It stinks to learn the hard way, I know.

MariusStegmann · Post by **MariusStegmann** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:46 pm

Tomorrow, they are all going into separate aviaries. Each pair will have 3.5 meter long by 1.8 high by 1.8 wide. I now suspect the father, after I had another look at the dead chick. The crop was empty and I know that birds sometimes abandon a single chick because it does not beg loud enough. The pair might have tried and failed to remove the chick from the nest and that caused the blood. It just might be that the cock decided that 1 chick is not worth their while. Once the pairs are in separate flights, I will keep a close eye on this particular pair.

Rox · Post by **Rox** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 3:54 am

Ai, they are giving you a rough time aren't they

Separating them should help. It amazes me how sometimes a colony setting will work fine and other times, it just won't. And your aviary is huge. Makes you wonder what goes through their little heads...

MiaCarter · Post by **MiaCarter** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 4:46 am

Agh. That's awful.
Grrr is about right!
It makes me really sad to think about this as the babies are so so helpless. I just hope he went quickly or that he'd already passed when the blood occurred. Poor little guy.

I've done colony breeding and it has worked out really nicely.
But the breeding pair has always been the dominant pair, so I've never been concerned about this.

But it's definitely enough to make me reconsider that approach as there are no real benefits to colony breeding that I can see. Except perhaps that it's more convenient in that there's no upset associated with reshuffling.

I know that males attacking another couple's babies --- if that's what happened --- is more common in cases of perceived limited resources. So I might evaluate whether there could be any issues in that regard.
Or it could just be dominance and not wanting another male's offspring to survive, so as to give the dominant male's babies a better shot at survival.

Nature can be so evil.

MariusStegmann · Post by **MariusStegmann** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 5:32 am

MiaCarter Yes, but nature is cruel, never evil. Only humans can be evil with the ability to discern right from wrong. The colony breeding gives the owner more enjoyment, to see the interaction between the different species. It depends where your focus lies. Breeding or the pleasure of watching your birds.

MiaCarter · Post by **MiaCarter** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:23 am

MariusStegmann -- I like that. Cruel rather than evil. We'll go with that.

Hope your guys adjust to their new digs quickly!

MariusStegmann · Post by **MariusStegmann** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:43 am

Rox Yes they are giving me a hard time. The problem is that my expectations are too high. If I have 3 eggs, then I want there to be be 3 live, weaned chicks. Also I tend to attribute human traits to them, and there is nothing human in their little heads. All they care about is the basic things, eat, drink, mate and for the males to spread their seed as wide as possible. I was thinking when the male kept on trying to look inside the nest that he was teasing the parents. Not true, that is a human trait! Perhaps he heard the chick begging and wanted to feed it, while the parents decided to abandon the chick, but not the nest. Yesterday, I collected a seagreen hen from Monotwine (don't worry not yours) and when I put in inside the aviary, there were quite a few cocks that were trying to mate with her, with the hens on their turns also chasing after their unfaithful mates. I just imagined it in human terms. Some married men chasing after a sexy young thing while the wives are chasing them with rolling pins.

MiaCarter · Post by **MiaCarter** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 10:56 am

MariusStegmann -- It's funny you mention that, humanizing animals, as I'm a huge offender in this regard! I humanize, but I know they're not like us. Though sometimes, they do surprise you! I mention this because I saw the exact opposite yesterday with flirting!
Molly Sue started dancing for Priscilla (not his mate!) Simultaneously, both Molly Sue's mate and Priscilla's mate swooped in to break it up! It was hilarious! It was a very clear, "Oh no you don't!"
I've also seen the opposite like you describe, of course -- things that would make us females pluck their mate's tail feathers!

It's hard not hoping for/expecting actual birds when you've got eggs. I've lost so many, yet I still hope....but also know not to count my birds until they wean!

Was there just the one RFPF baby?

Rox · Post by **Rox** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:09 am

I've learnt not to get excited until the chicks are at least 2 weeks old. And even then, some don't make it to fledging. Learnt the hard way too many times getting my expectations up, especially with the waxbills. But it is hard not to humanise them isn't it!

They definitely teach you patience, lol

MariusStegmann · Post by **MariusStegmann** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:12 pm

MiaCarter There were 3 eggs, but only 1 hatched. The female is still very young, maybe 6 to 7 months old. Male is supposed to be young as well so it was a first breeding effort for them.

Zebrafincher · Post by **Zebrafincher** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:01 am

Birds never cease to amaze me with how viscious they can be (and how sweet). I've seen birds actively attack others until they are seriously injured/dead (on internet/tv). In Australia, they've rounded up groups of people who have used roosters, and male canaries and other birds for 'cock fighting". I keep my three males in separate cages and supervise them when they're out. My star finch is a runt, and the other two seem to instinctively know this, and they're always out to get him. Mind you, he'll go them back, so its an interesting little family of boys....

Zebrafincher

FINCHforum

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