Trying to breed goulds in aviary

[Ricardo Ronsini]

wildbill Yea, once zebras kick in breeding they will keep it going as fast as they can, here when the chicks fledge i take out the nests, otherwise some will start pluck and harass them, because they want to lay again.

Hope so, i know ASM are a pain in the ass.

[Ricardo Ronsini]

Babs The male seems to be helping, i often see either both in the nest or the female inside and he hanging around the entrance.

They picked a huge gourd one, near the doorway of the aviary.

[lovezebs]

Ricardo Ronsini

11 eggs, is a lot of egg
I've heard of clutches of 9, but never 11. If they were all to hatch, your parents will have trouble feeding so many.

Do you know if this pair has bred before. If they are first timers, they may just be doing a practice run. Have you had a chance to candle any of these eggs?

[Ricardo Ronsini]

lovezebs Yea, the last time i checked there were 11 eggs, but i don't know if they had laid anymore since then.

The female is a first time breeder, she was born in 2016, the male already is 3 years old, but that isn't of any help, because his last owner uses societies to foster the gouldians, so they both don't have much experience in breeding.

I see that now they are spending a lot of time out of the nest, more than it should be proper i think, so i don't know if this breeding is going to be successful, let's wait to see what happens next

[monotwine]

Ricardo Ronsini I find if Gouldians are laying large quantities like that then the hens are just depositing eggs and not breeding properly. They are either not happy with nesting options / mates.
If they were not parent raised they already have a steep learning curve to get over too.

I would suggest trying a few more conventional Gouldian nest boxes along side the gourds, and give them more time.
The gourds don't quite give the right approach with a little passage to the nest that the gouldian prefer. Perhaps they are simply not happy with the nest options. The hens make the final call and if all the girls are not happy then possibly you can try new nest types.

I raise Gouldians in a colony set up. I have had clutches of 10 in the past with 9 raised to fledgling by a single pair (though I suspect two hens laid eggs in a single nest). Gouldians can have large successful clutches, but that is not a normal size.

[Ricardo Ronsini]

monotwine thak you for the information.

Things here still confuse, i see they pairing up and using the nests, now we have 12 eggs in one, 10 in another and 8 in another, but the brooding doesn't seem to be constant and regular as it should be.

Yes, all of them were brought up by societies, and never were allowed to breed on their own before.

Now i think that the best thing to do is to wait a few days, and so i'll candle those eggs, if they are developing, it would be a nice surprise, if not, i'll remove them all and make some changes, following the advices that you guys gave me

[GouldianGuy]

Thats an excellent idea!

[Ricardo Ronsini]

Updating fellows.

I have 4 pairs sitting tight for a couple of days now, thank God , and you guys of course

In the nest whith a bunch of eggs where they started brooding and then stoped and then started again i found 14 eggs, half were good (and i was even capable to see a little heart beating through the shell), and the other half were bad and i tossed them.

So, now all of my pairs seem to be incubating properly, with only my halfsider as an exception, for she is alone, even though there still two spare males, that apparenttly engaged in some sort of a gay relationship

[GouldianGuy]

Ricardo Ronsini Your half-sider is a full female? Could also be half and half? I wonder if she would breed?

[Ricardo Ronsini]

GouldianGuy

Yes, both sides are female, although i can't tell you she is capable of producing youngs. It seems that she is.

I see all the signs that the normal hens have; Dark beak, dilated cloaca, she was even paried up with one of the gay males before he ditched her.

Now she seems desperated to breed, all the time looking for a nest site, and i have been finding some eggs in the aviary's floor that i could bet are hers.

[lovezebs]

Ricardo Ronsini

Grab an extra boy for her somewhere.

[Ricardo Ronsini]

They won't quit this sissy thing once they realize it is going nowhere?

[Sheather]

Just some advice calling it "sissy" is kind of crude.
I know they're birds, but there are "sissy" people on this forum too who might find that term to be in poor taste.

Sometimes two male birds form an attachment and no, they won't stop just because no eggs result if they're bonded. Pair bonds are usually just as strong whether it's male and female or same sex. The only way two bonded birds will usually split is if they're forced and kept out of each other's hearing. Gouldians are one of the harder species to re-pair if they decide they want a different mate, as well.

[Ricardo Ronsini]

Yes, i'm sorry if i have offended you or anyone else, it was not my intention.

As you wrote, i was referring to the birds, and unlike people, animals don't have prejudices, or care what you call them.

But i can see why you say that someone could get it wrong.

I can assure you that i don't have nothing against gays, since some of my best friends are.

I apologize once again.

[lovezebs]

Ricardo Ronsini

Hi Ricardo,

How is it going?

Did you manage to find another boy for your little girl?

How are the nesting couples doing???

We need an update my young friend!!!