Apples n Carrots - hold the banana

I'm entering week 2 of giving the breeding pairs Nekton-e. Not much seemed to be happening until yesterday. I went in the room to do my regular feeding/cleaning of the birds. They get a Tropican mix blend of pellets and seeds. I always offer them fresh fruits and veggies. It seems only one of the pair, the green cheeks like banana. The yellow sides can't stand it. Both pairs love Apple, and some raw carrot. There is never much left by the time they are done feasting on it. But thats besides the point. I have noticed that the female yellow side has been spending a lot more time alone in their nest box, and less time out in her cage with her mate. I'm no expert by any means, so I wrote my mentor and asked a very simple question. "My female yellow side is spending more time in the nestbox, does that mean she will be laying an egg or two?" Not that I was getting very excited about this ( sense the sarcasm?), but I was anticipating an answer. Unfortunately, I had to head to work, and wait a whole 9 hours for the answer. I kept watching the clock, counting down the minutes till I got home from work.

I raced home, and ran upstairs to my laptop in hopes that I get the answer I have been waiting for. With a very short answer my faced gleamed with excitement. "That's very good news! I'd say she's getting ready to lay eggs. :D Keep me posted! " That was enough for me to be excited and with that thought in mind, and my fingers crossed, I hope that my mentor is right.

So for now, its apples n carrots hold the banana.

Only a few short minutes a day

I am an internet junkie. I spend countless hours everyday, looking, reading and searching. I'm not sure if it is just the quick fix for information, or that it is just brain candy. All I know is that I am hooked. I read countless articles on breeding birds, what you should do and what you shouldn't do. Right now, not that I have put a great deal of time and resources into this new venture, but I am anxious for some kinda results, a.k.a. eggs.

From all my research I have come up with a few almost but not quite definite things I have to do to have successful breeders.

1) Find a bonded pair that like each other: - I have 2 pair of green cheeked conures. They both seem to like their intended mate, with the older pair having successful clutches. So item one : Check!

2) Proper space: Each pair has a big enough cage that they can flit around in, undisturbed, and curtained in, with most importantly a nest box with pine wood shavings, and pine blocks of wood to chew to give them a place sleep and breed in a safe environment. So item two: Check!

3) Proper lighting: I have two 40 watt full spectrum lighting, for 14 hours. So item three: Check!

4) Well balanced diet: The two pairs each receive pellets, a nut mixture that includes raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, corn, various other nuts and legumes, and of course fresh food and water replaced daily. So item four: Check!

5) Entertainment: Each cage is equipped with a few toys to shred, peck and tug at, all to the tunes of the 70's , 80's and 90's adult contemporary music. So item five: Check!

6) A very quick pit stop: Trying to limit my time of disturbing the breeders, I whistle when I come into the room so they know that I am coming. I change the water, add the food, add the fresh produce that have been sprinkled with the Nekton E powder that is supposed to stimulate breeding, and in no time flat I am in and out of the room, unless of course I have to get the cages cleaned, and that takes about another 5 minutes. So item 6, only a few short minutes a day. Check!

So it seems that I am doing everything right, but the trick is to figure out what I am doing wrong in those few short minutes a day.

Their Little Secret

There is a breeder where I purchased our green cheek from, that is just a wealth of information. They are also hobby bird breeders, and have been very successful with their birds. Their green cheek conures have, and are limited to 2 clutches of eggs a year. Their clutches are always healthy,playful, well socialized birds. When I picked up my breeding pair from them, I began drilling them for information, what do the birds eat, how much light do they need, how much space do they need, do they need toys? They are very patient and are willing to answer all my questions, and are more than willing to mentor me. One of the very first things she told me about the breeder birds ( to be named later by my fiances school age program class) was to ensure that they are getting a multivitamin . She recommended Nekton-E. NEKTON-E is absolutely essential for helping build up and preserve the supporting tissues.Vitamin E has a far-reaching effect on the whole metabolism and acts as a stabilizer on other vitamins. A lack of vitamin E causes muscular dystrophy, which can befall the whole muscular framework, heart muscle and stomach muscle. Birds fed on foodstuffs poor in vitamin E are also susceptible to all kinds of infectious diseases. NEKTON-E is particularly interesting for bird breeders because it encourages the breeding instinct. Its effect on the reproductive organs and sex hormones is highly important. Lack of vitamin E results in animals disinterested in breeding and in some cases sterile. In addition the vitamin reserves of female birds are very often not enough for the care of embryos or babies at the same time. By ensuring a rich supply of vitamin E for his birds before the laying period a breeder can look forward to larger clutches, fewer infertile eggs, better hatchability and a reduced number of deaths among embryos and young.

That's their little secret. Now, I sprinkle a little bit on the birds food everyday, in hopes that the birds will learn the secret too.

One word of warning though...NEKTON-E should be given to animals regularly at least three
weeks before the breeding period begins. Please observe the following rules when breeding birds. When the female has laid the first egg and is brooding, cease doses of NEKTON-E as the
brooding process may be disturbed by a too strong mating instinct in the male. This could cause damage to the freshly laid eggs.