Female refuses to lay eggs!

Tips for successful breeding and troubleshooting breeding problems.
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finchman
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Female refuses to lay eggs!

Post by finchman » Sun Dec 27, 2015 9:07 pm

I have a pair of gouldians I have had for several months now (since July) that have been displaying breeding behavior since I got them. But, the female won't lay eggs. They court, bow heads, get frisky in the nest, and spend at least 2-3 hours in the nest box daily. They have done this for months! Her beak doesn't change to black, although it is a little black on top and red on the sides. I can't figure it out. There is plenty of natural light and they have a huge flight cage. I even tried to put a plastic finch egg in to stimulate her to lay but that didn't work either. They did spend more time in the box though, as if they were guarding it. I hate to break the pair up because they really like each other, but I am baffled at what the problem is. I have another pair I got at the same time that didn't even like each other at first that have had 2 clutches. (1st clutch 1 hatched and was tossed, and second is being fostered, 1 blue baby hatched and doing well :D ). Anyway, has anyone else experienced this? It's driving me crazy!

debbie276
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Re: Female refuses to lay eggs!

Post by debbie276 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 10:02 pm

They may be too young yet or not fully in breeding mode. Not sure where you live but it also may be the wrong time of year.
Debbie
long time breeder of lady gouldians:
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GREAT articles on avian lighting:
https://mickaboo.org/confluence/downloa ... ummary.pdf
http://www.naturallighting.com/cart/sto ... sc_page=56

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Sam007
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Re: Female refuses to lay eggs!

Post by Sam007 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 10:59 pm

Seems like your female is not in breeding mode yet as her beak is not black.
I love Gouldian Finches.

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lovezebs
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Re: Female refuses to lay eggs!

Post by lovezebs » Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:03 am

finchman

Your girl is not in breeding mode by the sound of things.
How old is she? Ideally, your female should be around a year old, before you'll want to breed her (although some will breed around nine to ten months old).

I would offer more protein in their diet. Lots of hard boiled eggs. I add pulverized freeze dried mealworms to my eggs, along with spray millet crumbles.

Also don't forget the cuttle bone, and crushed egg shells, for calcium.

I also offer a large variety of greens along with their deed diet.
~Elana~

Linnies~ Canaries ~ Zebras ~ Societies ~ Gouldians ~ Orange Cheeks ~ Shaft Tails ~ Strawberries ~ Red Cheek Cordon Bleu ~ Goldbreasts ~ Red Brows ~ Owls ~ Budgies ~ Diamond Firetails ~ Javas ~ Forbes Parrot Finches ~

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MariusStegmann
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Re: Female refuses to lay eggs!

Post by MariusStegmann » Mon Dec 28, 2015 12:09 pm

She won't lay if she is not in breeding mode. If she is not molting, and is healthy, you have to feed her to get her in breeding mode.

I have a yellow hen that is laying eggs at the moment and she has so much red on her beak that it looks like she savaged another bird and has a bloody beak.
Marius
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