BH>i know you've been successful breeding cherryheads. Can you give me any
BH>tips?
Well, I may not be a whole lot of help. Mine breed pretty well when THEY
feel like it. From what I've observed, they prefer hot, humid weather--
they have never bred unless it's been hot and sticky here for at least
4-6 weeks. All their babies have hatched between mid-August and early
October (I'm in SE Michigan, and we have nasty humid summers due to
being so close to the big lakes). I tried to duplicate the heat/humidity
in winter with a space heater and humidifier. I got it pretty close
(it's hard to get the household humidity to stay at 98% in January!!)
and kept it that way for a month, but the birds didn't fall for it. All
I ended up with was a huge electric bill...
My cherries are the only non-cockatiels in their room, but they have
also bred while a pair of noisy African ringnecks (no longer here) were
living in the same room. They are in a 4'w x 2'd x 2'h flight with
several tree branches, and a cube nestbox that is about 16" on all
sides. 5" of pine shavings in the bottom of the box--they tear the
shavings into sawdust, and add all sorts of feathers and scrounged junk
whenever they can.
They eat anything--pellets, seeds, sprouts occasionally (I have no
patience for sprouting seeds on a regular basis) rice/beans, bird bread,
fruits. They're not crazy about veggies, so I have to hide those in the
bird bread, or shred them and mix them into the beans/rice. They get
wheatgrass powder on their soft foods, and a huge dish of water that
they swim in daily.
They NEVER double-clutch, no matter what I try. I don't know if it's
*them*, or if the environment is just not quite right.
BH>The cherrys: the female is mature and was formerly a bossy pet. She has
BH>lost the pet pesonality. She has finally apparently bonded to her mate.
BH>I got the male from Howard Voren. Both are sexed. The hen stays in the
BH>grandfather clock box most the time, but no eggs.
My pair HATE me, and spend all the time I'm in their room hiding in the
box. They're both wildcaughts, both are over 10 years old (who can tell
for sure--I only know they were both previously owned for a few years
before I got them from separate sources). They seem to really like
privacy. I've NEVER seen them mate--I've *heard* it a couple times
(obscene groaning sounds coming from the box ). But they obviously
have, since I've raised 5 clutches of babies from them since 1989.
All I can really suggest for your pair is perhaps a little more privacy
from the other birds, and raising the heat/humidity if you can. Try
putting a live plant screen or a bamboo shade around the nestbox end of
their cage to make them feel more isolated from the other birds.
Good luck!
--Kathy
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