Plumb Head Parakeets

ogfrenchhorn

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Hi everyone! New to the forum. I've had birds ever since I was a kid. I've bread budgies, cockatiels, canaries, and Indian ringnecks. I've hand fed lots of babies, most recently I hand fed a baby starling that fell out of his nest 2 days in a row at 7 days old.

3 years ago I bought a pair of Plumb head parakeets. They told me they were 3 years old and would be ready for breeding in the spring. Sure enough they laid eggs and they hatched. Unfortunately both hatchlings ended up getting kicked out of the nest (probably as soon as they hatched) and I didn't see them until it was too late. These past two years they laid eggs but they didn't hatch. Breeding season will be here in a couple months and I'm wondering if I'm feeding them the wrong diet. I feed them cockatiel and conure food. I also feed them zoopreem (sp?) and fruit. Every now and then I feed them soak and cook.

They proved that they can produce babies so I know the male isn't sterile. The only thing I can think of is diet.

Almost forgot. I did feed them mazuri stock builder last year but it didn't work.

Any suggestion on what I can do?

These birds are outside in a cage that's about 60x24x36 inches


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GaleriaGila

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Welcome. Glad you found us. I know ZERO about breeding any birds, so I'll await more expert input. Meanwhile, good for you for reaching out!
 

SilverSage

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They need a lot of fresh VEGGIES in their diet as well as high energy high quality seeds, sprouts, lots of orange red and pink fruits, complete proteins... all SORTS of things. It could also be your set up; I have had birds destroy nests due to disturbances.


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ogfrenchhorn

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They need a lot of fresh VEGGIES in their diet as well as high energy high quality seeds, sprouts, lots of orange red and pink fruits, complete proteins... all SORTS of things. It could also be your set up; I have had birds destroy nests due to disturbances.


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Ok I'll start giving a bigger variety of fruit and vegetables. I get my seed from Magnolia Bird Farm. Their food is way better thank the stuff you typically get from other pet stores.

I offered 2 nest boxes last year. A tall box and a boot box. They chose the boot box and laid 7 eggs but none hatched

The only time I go near the cage is when I feed them. I try to stay away when their nesting.


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SilverSage

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It might not be YOU disturbing them, it could be an animal or something.

Also, you say the eggs didn't hatch, but were they fertile? Because eggs being infertile would be completely different and have different causes than dead in shell.


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ogfrenchhorn

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It might not be YOU disturbing them, it could be an animal or something.

Also, you say the eggs didn't hatch, but were they fertile? Because eggs being infertile would be completely different and have different causes than dead in shell.


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Ok

The last 2 batches were infertile. The first one wasn't. So I know that they are able to have babies


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SilverSage

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Fertility can be a health issue. When was the last time your birds had a full vet work up with blood work, swabs, and parasite checks? Just because your male was fertile 3 years ago doesn't mean he is now.

Also it could be a lack of sufficient perches, the right sized perches, etc.

It could also be that your hen is injured. If she has a leg injury and isn't able to balance properly or support his weight, then even if he is fertile they may not be making a good connection during breeding.


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ogfrenchhorn

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Fertility can be a health issue. When was the last time your birds had a full vet work up with blood work, swabs, and parasite checks? Just because your male was fertile 3 years ago doesn't mean he is now.

Also it could be a lack of sufficient perches, the right sized perches, etc.

It could also be that your hen is injured. If she has a leg injury and isn't able to balance properly or support his weight, then even if he is fertile they may not be making a good connection during breeding.


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I don't know that the hen is injured. She looks fine but I have not inspected her because they bite and I don't handle them. The perch thing makes sense. I'll add more with varied sizes. I'm going to try this and adding more fruits and vegetables to their diet. I don't want to disturb them since breeding season is about to start. If that doesn't work I'll take them in for a check up to make sure everything is in order


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SilverSage

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I personally advise a MINIMUM of a vet visit with all the above before the start of each breeding season; breeding puts a strain on the system and can threaten the life of a bird not in optimal health.


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ogfrenchhorn

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Ok. I'll start looking for a vet in my area


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ogfrenchhorn

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One more question. Does anyone have experience with Vita-Sol? My dad used to use it for his canaries for mating season.


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SilverSage

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It's imperative for anyone taking on the responsibility of breeding to have a good relationship with a good AVIAN specialist. And I highly discourage artificial vitamins.


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ogfrenchhorn

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It's imperative for anyone taking on the responsibility of breeding to have a good relationship with a good AVIAN specialist. And I highly discourage artificial vitamins.


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Got it


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ogfrenchhorn

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Ok, found and awesome Dr. Who is now treating my B&G with a broken leg. I scheduled an appointment for the plumb heads at the same time as the follow up appointment for the B&G


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ogfrenchhorn

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Forgot to update. I took the plumb heads to the vet last week for a basic check up and they were given a clean bill of health. I discussed their breeding history and their diet. The Dr. said that their new diet is excellent and that she would hate to do blood work just to find out that the issue was diet. She said that the birds are capable of breeding since they did have hatchlings the first year I had them and it makes sense that they died of a dietary deficiency. She said to continue with the new diet and if they don't have babies this season we can proceed with blood work to see what's causing the problem.


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ogfrenchhorn

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So these guys have been on their new diet since January and they're loving it. The hen has started going into the nest box. Maybe this will be the year.

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SilverSage

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How exciting! I'll
Admit that plumheads are on my "dream bird" list along with mustache parakeets :) actually those are the only two species still on my dream bird list!

I wanted to share with you an experience I had this year with infertile eggs from a previously proven male.

To make an extremely long story short I purchased a "proven" IRN male. I know there is always a risk when you buy a proven bird, because why are they selling if the bird is producing? But I was extremely short on adult males and I took the risk. He produced 4 infertile clutches with 3 different hens. I decided to sell him. But I hadn't done it yet, and this season I had a female that for various reasons I wanted to allow to go through the motions of breeding to straighten out her hormone levels, but I didn't want her to actually produce. So I paired them up and got exactly what I wanted. They mated, they nested, they laid eggs... and wonder if wonders, to my dismay, I got two fertile eggs! Oops. I switched her eggs for infertile ones from another nest because I still don't want her to actually raise any babies. But the male isn't infertile after all!

I did a lot of reading up on the subject and basically looked at all the factors we have already discussed in this thread.

But I also looked at the behavior of the hens he had previously failed with and their new partners. I was getting similar infertility results with those hens. I brainstormed with my mentor and we believe that in one case, the hen simply didn't want to mate. She has laid but hasn't bonded to any males so far. In the second two hens they are both extremely eager to nest; our theory is that these two hens were so eager to lay and start sitting that they didn't take time to breed properly. In the future I intend to address this by hanging the boxes but LEAVING THEM CLOSED for longer so she has to take time to get bred before going straight to nest.


I was also going to mention that I make a priority to acclimate my breeders to my interaction. I check the nest box every day starting the day I hang it up, closed or open. This way it isn't a shock to them. I do it immediately after feeding, and the first few days that the hen is in the box I wait for her to leave. After that I tap on the box to warn her that I'm coming in. By doing this every single day just got a moment they aren't surprised by it when they have eggs and babies. That way I'm able to monitor the progress of the nest very closely. I always know when my babies are hatching, so I can intervene right away if needed. It also greatly increases my chances of recovering the egg shell which I give to the new family in a display box, but can also be used for DNA sexing without having to clip a nail or pluck feathers.


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ogfrenchhorn

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How exciting! I'll
Admit that plumheads are on my "dream bird" list along with mustache parakeets :) actually those are the only two species still on my dream bird list!

I wanted to share with you an experience I had this year with infertile eggs from a previously proven male.

To make an extremely long story short I purchased a "proven" IRN male. I know there is always a risk when you buy a proven bird, because why are they selling if the bird is producing? But I was extremely short on adult males and I took the risk. He produced 4 infertile clutches with 3 different hens. I decided to sell him. But I hadn't done it yet, and this season I had a female that for various reasons I wanted to allow to go through the motions of breeding to straighten out her hormone levels, but I didn't want her to actually produce. So I paired them up and got exactly what I wanted. They mated, they nested, they laid eggs... and wonder if wonders, to my dismay, I got two fertile eggs! Oops. I switched her eggs for infertile ones from another nest because I still don't want her to actually raise any babies. But the male isn't infertile after all!

I did a lot of reading up on the subject and basically looked at all the factors we have already discussed in this thread.

But I also looked at the behavior of the hens he had previously failed with and their new partners. I was getting similar infertility results with those hens. I brainstormed with my mentor and we believe that in one case, the hen simply didn't want to mate. She has laid but hasn't bonded to any males so far. In the second two hens they are both extremely eager to nest; our theory is that these two hens were so eager to lay and start sitting that they didn't take time to breed properly. In the future I intend to address this by hanging the boxes but LEAVING THEM CLOSED for longer so she has to take time to get bred before going straight to nest.


I was also going to mention that I make a priority to acclimate my breeders to my interaction. I check the nest box every day starting the day I hang it up, closed or open. This way it isn't a shock to them. I do it immediately after feeding, and the first few days that the hen is in the box I wait for her to leave. After that I tap on the box to warn her that I'm coming in. By doing this every single day just got a moment they aren't surprised by it when they have eggs and babies. That way I'm able to monitor the progress of the nest very closely. I always know when my babies are hatching, so I can intervene right away if needed. It also greatly increases my chances of recovering the egg shell which I give to the new family in a display box, but can also be used for DNA sexing without having to clip a nail or pluck feathers.


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I got these as a young pair and supposedly it was going to be their first season together. Now that I think about it, maybe my pair are siblings.... because, like you said, who will sell a pair that produces. Well, my plan is still to take them in for blood work if they don't have a successful season this year. Maybe the blood work will show if they're related.

I have thought about trying another hen but these birds are hard to find. I should have jumped on the other pair I saw at the bird farm last year.

Quick question... how can you tell if an egg is fertile?


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