Plumhead: "false" broody hen

[hanabi]

Ok I am once again in need of some advice from the more experienced members of this forum. Some of you may know that I purchased two pair of Plumhead finches a few months ago. The hen of one pair laid eggs on the cage floor almost immediately, so I know she is capable of producing eggs (fertile or otherwise). Not long after that she became seriously ill to the point here she wasn't eating or drinking (basically a "dead bird walking"), and I only managed to save her by carefully force feeding her with Poly Aid and the antibiotic Oxymav B (Triple C had no effect).

She recovered well and was returned to her mate, who built her a lovely abode in a canary nest. She loves the nest so much that, for over a month now, she sits in there almost all the time, only taking breaks to stretch her wings and feed, then it's back to the nest. During these breaks the cock often enters the nest and sits for a period. There are no longer any attempts by the cock to mate with the hen either. To me, this behaviour mimics the behaviour of a pair when they are brooding with eggs in the nest. I have checked the nest several times and there are definitely no eggs in there.

So, what to do? When my domestic chickens go broody (no rooster) I usually get them back into gear by forcing them from the nest several times a day until the behaviour stops. I'm thinking that, in the case of this Plumhead hen I have several options, but I'm not sure which is the best course of action:
(1) leave her be and let her "recover" naturally;
(2) remove the nesting material from the nest, but leave the nest in place. That will hopefully stimulate both the hen and cock into breeding mode again, with the cock rebuilding the nest.
(3) remove the nest completely and return it in a week or two.
(4) some other option??

What would be your course of action, with the target being a first successful clutch?

Cheers.

[Rox]

Hi Ross,

I would remove the nest for two or three weeks and then introduce the empty nest again, with loose nesting material for them to build the nest from scratch. It may just be the boost the hen needs to start laying eggs. Right now it sounds like they are stuck in a false brooding routine and need a good distraction before starting again.

Good luck!

[hanabi]

Rox

Thanks! Removing the nest should certainly hit the big reset button.

So the first vote is in and it is for (3) above. Any others willing to give some advice?

[Sally]

I agree with Rox completely. I would also withhold egg food and/or live food during this 'reset' time, and introduce them when you put the nest back in. Sometimes the high protein can trigger breeding instincts.

[hanabi]

Sally

Thanks to you and Roxanne. Today I removed the nest and egg food (which they weren't eating actually). Let's see how they go now.

Cheers.

[wildbill]

good advise from the other forum members. I would go one step further. try to get onto or grow some green seeding grasses/millet just like in my photo. I bet after a couple of weeks this would stimulate their breeding mode and you will do ok.
remember these birds in the aust bush don't rock up to a seed dish and decide foods in -lets breed. their breeding season is timed perfectly so that there is plenty of green seeding grasses about to feed their young. a good season they might breed 2 or 3 times -a bad season maybe once. green feed and seeding grasses is very important for all aust finches.

[hanabi]

wildbill

Thanks, that is good advice and I have often thought about providing green seed, but I have my reservations. I have various grasses that are seeding here at the moment, but all my birds are cage-bred and therefore don't have the cast -iron gut robustness of aviary-bred birds like you have in Oz. I'm very wary of bringing in a disease carried by the local wild bird population and wiping out my stock. We're talking about $350 Aussie dollars for a pair of Plumheads and AUS$750 for each pair of Painted Firetails I purchased recently.

I'm wondering if I can simply soak the wild seed heads in a weak solution of disinfectant (say, bleach?) and then rinse? Worried the seeds may absorb the disinfectant. I can try soaking store-bought seeds but I don't have any Vircon S for disinfecting those either. Maybe try and grow some seeding plants under cover? What do you think?

Cheers.

[wildbill]

if the seed is of good quality I see no reason why you cant just grow it yourself to the near ripe stage. its risky picking seeding grasses along the road at the best of times. plus if you don't know what your picking -it could be poisonous to the birds.
white millet is usually pretty easy to grow so that would be a good choice. it usually takes about 9 weeks from start to end. once it gets to the near ripe stage - green to slightly yellow seeds you just cut the spray and place in plastic airtight bags and freeze immediately. remove at a later date and use when convenient.
plumheads are a shy bird and don't like disturbances. might be different your way. painted well they don't care that much if you disturb them or not. when conditions are good they are pretty good breeders.
you might as well have something rare. when it comes to the crunch it cost no more to feed a cheap bird than an expensive one

[hanabi]

Rox
Sally
wildbill

Well the big reset went very well indeed. I took the nest out for about a week in total, but I noticed a much more lively hen almost immediately and then mating after only three days. Popped the nest back in (with the previous build still intact) and the hen was straight back in there. A finger test yesterday located one egg, and another test today located two eggs, plus continued mating, so I think they are on their way to a new clutch.

Thanks for the advice guys.

Cheers.

[Rox]

Hi Ross,

Glad to hear that the reset worked!! Good luck and holding thumbs that you get some chicks on the perch