Off we go - Round two - Caique breeding

[Irishj9]

Of course I knew in the back of my mind that the caique breeding season in the southern hemisphere would begin sometime about July. Still I have been ignoring the gathering rumblings in the aviary for probably a fortnight now.

Firstly Soentjie and Cha_Cha, the eldest females, have finished their moults and look MAGNIFICENT. Soentjie in particular looks like a Spanish galleon in full sail. Big, well fed, brightly coloured and with attitude.

Secondly Soentjie has been in everybody else's nestbox in the last week, looking to see if there are any design features more compatible with her view of a perfect nursery. She also urgently requests to be let out of the aviary these days, so that she can review the space behind the fridge again. Maybe it would be best? Yes it is vertically challenged, but on the plus side the humans cant get in behind there easily, and its RIGHT BESIDE where papa keeps all the birdie food?. Hmmm more surveying may be required...

Then there's the aggression levels. Definitely heightened. The girls chase each other round at bedtime, and not for fun either. Dusk is a parable of barely suppressed violence, like an antihero in a Tarantino film, fondly caressing a huge knife while quoting the Bible and grinning.

I caught Cha_Cha snapping at a lovebird yesterday. Persistently!. CHA_CHA!!!! Have you forgotten you're a LADY?

And speaking of lovebirds, they're proudly displaying 4 new chicks. Two of them are pied ( adorable). So the aviary is full of baby 'feed me' lovebird noises from 7am. ( Of course this is part of the caique breeding strategy..jealousy, lol)

So the ex arrived to sort out the lovebirds last night, and I didn't trust him to get away without an attack from the caiques today, so they're all confined to their cages. Only BAM_BAM recognised him after a two year absence and flew chirping to his shoulder immediately. ( or maybe BAM_BAM is a slut lol).

Heigh HO, I'm rambling on, that's because we have to draw the line HERE! Breeding season is GO!

__________________________________________________________________________________

JP

 

[MommyBird]

OMG a room full of hormonal caiques. What a thought!

 

[Birdbabe]

OMG a room full of hormonal caiques. What a thought!

Yea, that scares me.... JP, your a brave man....

 

[Irishj9]

OMG a room full of hormonal caiques. What a thought!

Well its the FEMALE caique AGRESSION you need to watch for. Everything I have read points to possible male on female agression once mating activity begins.

Nobody said anything about FEMALE on FEMALE agression, at dusk every day, prior to final nestbox selection, while the males look on going WTF?

The ex convinced me to keep the pairs separately caged, permanently, until this hormonal cycle passes. Or even rotate their wider freedom outside the flights, so that the chances of, in his words, 'losing a bird' are diminished.

So I kept Soentjie and Jack_Jack in their flight all day. They looked at me like ' why are we in jail?'. Made me feel so guilty.

 

[Begone]

Good Luck!

 

[Irishj9]

Oh its likely to be a slow process. We still have to have our July storms, weeks of rain and high winds. Flat lands flooded. temperature down to 5C at night.

I suspect the birdies will hold off laying till at least end July.

This means about 3-4 weeks of hormonal foreplay I guess

Ho Hum

 

[Irishj9]

Well the ex was in the aviary all day yesterday organizing the lovebirds accommodation. It looks great now, all organised along one wall with features and wood, and nestbox spacing to reduce bickering over nestboxes and sites.

But while there he spotted Igor and Evil Eva really 'getting it on' lol.

He even chased her down to the floor of the cage to continue. She wasn't too pleased, so there is the expected male forcefulness.

I think the strategy of less flock time and more private flight time will pay off.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

I caught Cha_Cha snapping at a lovebird yesterday. Persistently!. CHA_CHA!!!! Have you forgotten you're a LADY?

But Papa, all is fair in mating and nesting! If one does not exert one's self, one will not get the best place! Remember, a lady is only a lady in the parlor; in the bedroom she is a wanton: and in the nursery a she-wolf!

 

[Irishj9]

Well, those of you who have been reading my updates will know that Spot has been a real B*tch lately and the instigator of regular bedtime aggression with the other females.

Spot and mate Bam_Bam have been allowed to roost under the coverings of their old cage, while the others returned to their cages and nest boxes. This is because they steadfastly refused to sleep IN the old cage, and its attached nest box, and it was only two days ago I discovered why.

Some busy birdie had party opened the nestbox inspection hatch at the back!. Well, could you sleep with the back door open?. I didn’t notice this till now because the cage is installed in a corner of the aviary with the nest box deliberately in darkness.

At last my BIG APE brain kicked in.

Maybe THAT’S the reason Spot won’t sleep in the cage.? In her mind it's not secure. She’d rather sleep under the covers on top.

Maybe THAT’S why she argues with the other hens (who all have their own nestboxes) every evening?.

Maybe it’s a miracle that this stupid human can hold down a job as an IT Consultant?

So last night ex and I got into action. Removed the very heavy nestbox from the old cage, lifted it up high on the outside of the spare flight, secured it and cut an opening in the mesh from the inside.

Ex showed Spot the handheld net, (used for catching naughty birds) which she hates with a passion. She attacked it immediately of course, and he simply moved her and the net into the new flight. Put the net on the floor, closed the door.

Now what? She flew straight up. Took one look at the nest box, jumped in, and spent the next hour installed in the opening, chirping happily at her mates.

‘LOOKIT ME and my newly installed nestbox!. Its higher than YOURS HAHA!’

WTH?

You mean all this aggression was caused by me not noticing her nestbox issue?

Time will tell, but it’s looking like it’s the HUMAN who was the stupid one, again!

 

[SandraK]

Nothing like a fid to make one feel like an idiot ...

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Face it, JP, we are only human....

 

[Laurie]

Did you ever get babies yet JP?

My birds are getting a little crazy here. I know it is not the usual time of year but I am not sure that they are keeping track. Turbo will not let Peaches out of his sight and will only get a few feet from her for a few seconds before he goes back to sticking like glue to her side. I tried to put him in his cage before I had her there and I couldn't walk four feet before he took off heading back to find her.

He has taken to guarding her like she is the food dish or a favorite treat (maybe she is).

Every chance he gets he nonchalantly tries to put his little foot upon her back. Only sometimes does she indulge him. Almost got of video the other day!

Fun with feathers!

 

[Irishj9]

Lol @ Turbo!.
No babies yet, though there was one fertile egg last time. Certainly the stress levels, noise and agression us up another notch. I've taken to letting the WBC's have their aviary time separate from the GTC's, in the hope of avoiding emergency vets.

 

[Irishj9]

OK Spot has now reached the werewolf stage of her hormonal cycle.

i.e. any Hollywood werewolf film. The beloved is unfortunately bitten by a werewolf and turns into a monster every full moon. During this time, they must be locked up for their own safety and those around them.

Spot's temporary madness now extends randomly beyond dusk and is a sight to see. She would happily spit fire in your eye after she had dragged it from your skull and pooped on it.

Poor girl is really having a hard time this hormonal season. The other 3 females are more Ho-Hum, 'life goes on' type of characters. Thank the Lord, because Soentjie is three times bigger than Spot, and a very angry Soentjie would send me running for the hills lol.

Spot bickers with her bewildered mate Bam_Bam, a fun loving easy going bloke who is sharing a small nestbox with a hellish demon bird. I watch him closely for signs of stress.

If YOU have a hormonal female in a home environment (mine are in an aviary) then you have my sympathies. My advice, leave the cage closed, do not approach after dusk, provide distractions, do not force any attention on the bird.

Remember this is 1 of 4 of my mature females. Clearly not all caiques beheave like this.

 

[Irishj9]

OK so Spot has been in her flight 24/7 for a week now, ( with nestbox and partner) and has calmed dramatically.

At dusk she will come to the bars for treats, no aggression, no wild red eyes. So she is happy.

I let the WBC's out for a fly around the aviary last evening, and noted there is still some agression being shown, but nothing dangerous.

Soentjie looks MAGNIFICENT!. What a gal! She truly is a poster gal for Caiques. I'll try to get some pix this weekend when the light is good.

 

[Irishj9]

Well I had birdies all over the show today, mostly in the garden enjoying the sun, so I took pity on Soentjie when she begged to get out of her flight. Spot was also acting very calm so WTH I let them all out to play in the aviary.

And as Cha_Cha sat on a branch above my head I noticed a distinctly enlarged lower abdomen. Possibly an egg on the way?.

Then when I went to Spot's flight to open the door she was in the nestbox with her mate. At Midday??

 

[Irishj9]

As we head into August, and springtime in the southern hemisphere I've started adding a protein supplement to their evening meal.

A high quality low salt breakfast cereal with added Vegan protein powder ( human grade). I serve it in a nice warm mush, and yesterday it was wolfed down.

Plus I have sourced some hemp seed, ( very high quality amino acid content) some of which I may eat myself, it sounds so good!

Of course the trick is not to overwhelm their little kidneys with protein, a subject on which I am QUITE an expert, unfortunately from personal experience

 

[Irishj9]

They say a lady has the right to change her mind, but Soentjie is REALLY taking the biscuit.

Last week she decided she didn't like her own nestbox anymore, and went to Cha_Cha's instead. Papa wasn't too happy about this, but I'm taking no risks with that can opener on Soentjie's face. Since Cha_Cha loves me, she reluctantly agreed to sleep in Soentjies old nestbox, ( and flight of course) after nervously inspecting it first. ( What were the last tenants like?. Look at the STATE of that bathroom! etc).

Soentjie stayed constant to her decision, till last night, when she decided maybe her former nestbox was better after all.

Cha_Cha looked at me, and I knew what was on her mind. Is this silly bird EVER going to make her mind up?.

But again Cha_Cha allowed the changeback to happen

What will Soentjie decide tonight?. She's pushing her luck.............

And through all this, both males just calmly follow their girlfriends to bed. "New nestbox?, new flight? ...whatever!. Dont Ask!. Just give me the quiet life".

 

[InTheAir]

That's funny. How's the pair romances going? If your male are anything like our Nila you will have a goldmine of comedy at your feet!

 

[Irishj9]

The romances? Well apparently very well

Soentjie has walked two paces behind Jack-Jack everywhere he goes, since the first day they met. A strong pair bond.

Fingers and Cha_Cha are a more liberated modern couple. They can take it or leave it, lol. But what do I know. The only fertile egg supplied so far was Cha_Cha's