Lance Posted January 9, 2007 Report Posted January 9, 2007 Hey everyone. When you lock a male and female into a nest box for the purpose of mating, how long do you leave them in there? When do you do it and all that stuff?
schouwman71 Posted January 9, 2007 Report Posted January 9, 2007 The cock first must be use to his box before you pair up,when you do pair up put the hen in and just keep an eye on them just to make sure the cock does not hurt the hen.after a few days i usually start letting them out a pair at a time.doesnt take long before the hen follows the cock back into the box.Les
Lance Posted January 9, 2007 Author Report Posted January 9, 2007 Okay sounds good, do i let them out at feeding or just put a special bowl in or something?
Peckedhen Posted January 10, 2007 Report Posted January 10, 2007 An old paint tin 8" high in the nest box gives the hen somewhere to perch and escape the cock. Remove the cock from the box, carefully put her on the paint tin and hold her a minute till she realises she can perch there, then put the cock back in. If the cock is really hurting the hen you can try putting them in a loft on their own so she has space to escape. In a day you'll see them huddled down in a corner, then you'll know they are paired, they can go back in the nest box then but keep an eye on them. Hey every one ;D ;D..me giving advice!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D
Wiley Posted January 10, 2007 Report Posted January 10, 2007 good advice peckedhen, not everyone has paint tin lying about but if you turn over the nest bowl so they cant sit in it this is also another good place they can use to get out of the way of the bullying cock bird. other then that pecked brillant advice spot on ;)
rockinrick Posted January 10, 2007 Report Posted January 10, 2007 An old paint tin 8" high in the nest box gives the hen somewhere to perch and escape the cock. Remove the cock from the box, carefully put her on the paint tin and hold her a minute till she realises she can perch there, then put the cock back in. If the cock is really hurting the hen you can try putting them in a loft on their own so she has space to escape. In a day you'll see them huddled down in a corner, then you'll know they are paired, they can go back in the nest box then but keep an eye on them. Hey every one ;D ;D..me giving advice!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D does make change pecked lol and good advice it is at that
Lance Posted January 10, 2007 Author Report Posted January 10, 2007 An old paint tin 8" high in the nest box gives the hen somewhere to perch and escape the cock. Remove the cock from the box, carefully put her on the paint tin and hold her a minute till she realises she can perch there, then put the cock back in. If the cock is really hurting the hen you can try putting them in a loft on their own so she has space to escape. In a day you'll see them huddled down in a corner, then you'll know they are paired, they can go back in the nest box then but keep an eye on them. Hey every one ;D ;D..me giving advice!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D Great advice, I'll keep that in mind. My cockbird, one that no other bird in my loft will even bother fighting has taken over nearly every nestbox and wont let any others in them, so i've decided to lock either him or my other pairs into the nest boxes and was wondering how when and how long daily i should keep them/him in there.
Guest Posted January 10, 2007 Report Posted January 10, 2007 What I do lance with a cock like that is pair all the others up and remove the said cock to another section with the hen he is pairing with. Then when all the others are coming and going from their boxes for 3 days take him back in and give him his box back. When they are all in together the other cocks should now be a bit more posessive of their boxes and fight back. You can even lock him in his box for another couple of days with some tobacco stalks so he starts building and concentrating on the one box. If he is really persistent I ususally give the cocks a little helping hand. When they start fighting and he has his back to you facing the back of the box grab him quickly and pull him out so he has to fly to the floor, it sometimes gives the impression the other cock is really strong as he keeps just getting tossed out. Did this again when I paired up my widowers last week, one cock insisted on taking another box after a couple of goes at this they are now all happy in the loft.
Lance Posted January 10, 2007 Author Report Posted January 10, 2007 What I do lance with a cock like that is pair all the others up and remove the said cock to another section with the hen he is pairing with. Then when all the others are coming and going from their boxes for 3 days take him back in and give him his box back. When they are all in together the other cocks should now be a bit more posessive of their boxes and fight back. You can even lock him in his box for another couple of days with some tobacco stalks so he starts building and concentrating on the one box. If he is really persistent I ususally give the cocks a little helping hand. When they start fighting and he has his back to you facing the back of the box grab him quickly and pull him out so he has to fly to the floor, it sometimes gives the impression the other cock is really strong as he keeps just getting tossed out. Did this again when I paired up my widowers last week, one cock insisted on taking another box after a couple of goes at this they are now all happy in the loft. Haha i like that. I think i'll just keep him locked in the box. They got mad at feeding time today, i put the food down before i let them out, i nearly got pecked O_O.
mickmcgrevy Posted January 11, 2007 Report Posted January 11, 2007 It also depends on what type of nest boxes you have. If you have the standard widowhood type it is a good idea to fasten the hen in one side and the cock in the other for a couple of days, this usually does the trick. My boxes are about 24inch square, and I can have the nest box front fixed either at the front or half way back, so I just have a few spare fronts and fasten the hen in the back and the cock in the front. When they have been like that for a couple of days I let them together, if they are ok, thats how they stay, it not seperate again. Usually 2/3 days is enough. All the best Mick
Diamond dave Posted January 11, 2007 Report Posted January 11, 2007 Great advice Darren - I also pull them out of the box in the same way - its amazing how aggressive you may have to be to get them out. I thought I was the only one who had to do that! Lance, you should also bear in mind that no matter what you do, some pairs will just not go together! Good luck with your breeding mate. Diamond.
Guest CS Posted January 11, 2007 Report Posted January 11, 2007 The cock first must be use to his box before you pair up,when you do pair up put the hen in and just keep an eye on them just to make sure the cock does not hurt the hen.after a few days i usually start letting them out a pair at a time.doesnt take long before the hen follows the cock back into the box.Les Yes, that's what we do....
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