Ask Lafeber

Question:

March 26, 2020

Cocktail breeding


I have male and female cocktail they give egg but not in the box they lay egg outside the box and they break them what should I do?


Answer:

Hi Saira,

These birds may be too young to breed yet. Often in captivity they are sexually mature but still not emotionally mature enough to settle down and breed. Make sure the hen is at least 2 years old and the male at least 18 months. If this has been going on for a while, then right now you might want to remove the nest box and possibly separate the pair to let them rest. Later you can try again – a truly bonded pair that is ready to breed will investigate the box and spend a lot of time going in and out of it. The mating occurs followed by eggs. When young birds get in bad habits like breaking or eating eggs, or not using the nest box, sometimes this can’t be fixed and the birds will never be good for breeding. So try resting them and then set it all up again and see what happens.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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