How on EARTH have they not had babies yet???

[ann]

i just don't get it! i have 1 proven male and 1 proven female society finch. they are definitely a pair, and they have bred multiple times. both are old enough, and she has laid eggs before, one was normal sized but infertile, and the other was a third of the size it should be, and also infertile. lets just say there is no lack of eh hem "trying", he sings all the time, they build nests, and they are absolutely inseparable. i was so looking forward for little babies i just cant believe they haven't had any yet! could anyone tell me what could be wrong ( hes courting her as i type this for the 2nd time today!), im especially confused about the egg sizes, thanks in advance!

 

[IcyWolf]

How old are they?

 

[ann]

im not really sure, the male i got from my friends brothers dad who was giving them away, and the female i bought from a pet store, but both have adult plumage

 

[BillsBirds]

Since you know both are proven, it's hard to say. I recently lost a bonded pair of parakeets (M&F) that were together more than 9 years and never bred. Like yours, they tried but never laid eggs. They were so inseperable that they died hours apart. My vet friends have said that possibly one, (or both) was infertile.

 

[cdog]

Since you got one from a pet store you don't know how many times it has been inbred. That could be why you aren't getting any fertilized eggs, the one from the pet store might be so inbred it is sterile.

 

[IcyWolf]

They could also just be older birds that are no longer producing fertile eggs. Usually, when females get older they will stop breeding altogether, males however will continue to breed but produce infertile eggs. Just a thought.

 

[ann]

that could be it, I'm not sure how old the male is, and they did have hybrid zeebies at the store and there was more than 1 society per cage (although the pet store is very responsible and clean). oh well, at least my goulds are fertile, the guy i got them from said they have had babies before, but he had to raise them, silly gouldians! the male sings to her and i have caught them breeding twice, but no babies....yet! does anyone know anything about the egg size, it has me stumped...