I would not be changing cage or their locations. Put them now in the cage you want them to breed in with the nest box. Breeding zons do not like changes of any kind. Have the routine in place that you plan to keep. When you feed, when you visit , etc.
laying birds won't be over weight. It takes a lot of stored energy to make good eggs.
50/50 daylight means equal about of light and dark. Yellow Napes live very close to the equator where the sun rises and sets about the same time all year.
Low humidity,, napes breed during the dry season in their native habitat. Which means they eat seeds and nut that are high in fat .During nesting season you should not feed fruit/veggies, feed the high fat nuts and seeds or a HiPro pellet. Of course you can't keep them on that diet all year so return back to their healthy diet after nesting season. They also are cavity nesters and rains will drown the babies in their nest. The onset of rainy season is the same time as the young are fleghling and fruits, greens are most common, making it easier for them to find their own food.
Chewing soft woods ,,, stimulates the males and females because in the wild they would be preparing their nest cavity by enlarging the opening and linig the nest, Amazon do not carry nest materials to their nest, they use the wood surrrounding the nest cavity. Also having other zons insight just before nesting will stimulate the males as he would be defending the nest site from others in the wild. HOWEVER the other zons should be out of sight while nesting so he isn't occupied with the outside birds when he should be minding the hen.
It's about impossible for me to comment on the age of your hen. Most times a good and ready hen will be the one start the mating by displaying for the male or attepting to get infront/under the male. male shouldn't be too much larger than the hen and should not have too sharp of claws, both of these situations can lead to infertile eggs.
A bit about mating, even out of season a pair of bonded zons will mate during the year. It's a form of bonding and keeping their relationship intact, much like preening. Just because they are mating doesn't mean they are about to lay eggs. If the mating is occuring in the AM then it doesn't mean much but if it starts to occur several times a day then, your get close to time and the visual barriers to other birds needs to be in place.
If you need more info ,just ask. But like i said i don't want or have time to write a book about breeding zons. You need to find a mentor in your area. Good luck ,Richard (capt and Jake the YN)
