Preparing for Pairing Three

Looks like we are going to get a break in the cold weather and the long range forecast for next week is relatively warmer temperatures. That means tomorrow is “P” day (Jan. 27), that’s pairing day. The birds act like they are ready. The cocks have been on the longer day length since the beginning of the month and when I enter the loft they are cooing and turning in their boxes. They are beginning to act like springs here. The hens have been on extended day length just over a week and from past experience I know they will be ready. The hens have also had the quality of their ration increased a bit as described in “Preparing for Pairing Two.

Despite all the preparation, planning and hoping, I know that not everything will go smoothly. At least one of the yearling cocks will be overly rambunctious and get too aggressive with his hen. At least one of the cocks will try to take an extra box and cause havoc with another pair. At least one of the hens will refuse to pair and turn a cold shoulder to the mate I chose for her. This means that for me the holidays are over and I will be spending more than a few hours a day in the loft keeping an eye on the birds. If a young cock gets to aggressive I usually lock the hen in the back of the box for a day and allow him to get used to her. If his attitude still needs some adjusting I lock all the other pairs up and let him and his hen the run of the loft. Now the hen has the room to get away from him and he has to court her to get her to enter his box. Surprising how quickly he changes his attitude towards the opposite sex when the hen plays hard to get. Most of the time in a day or so they are sitting on the edge of their box billing and an aggressive young cock has turned into a regular Romeo.

Often locking up the cock that is trying for an extra box for a day or two and allowing the other pair to start setting up house will solve the problem. When fully paired the hen will fight harder for her box than a cock and often it is the hen that drives of the intruder. Getting his butt kicked by a female a time or two will quickly discourage the intruder, after all how many males want their egos destroyed by a girl in front of the other men in the loft. He’ll never live it down. Better to admit defeat and act like nothing happened. A really stubborn male can have his feet tied together with some string so he can only spread his legs a few inches, be careful not to tie them too short he still has to be able to walk. With his feet tied he can’t get plant them firmly enough to get leverage when fighting and the other pair will have an easier time pushing him out of their box. He’ll soon get the message. It is surprising though how stubborn some of them can be and that’s not only the cocks, hens can be just as obstinate.

I wrap my nest bowls in newspaper, four full size sheets of the “Toronto Star” and then put a nest pad in the bottom. I cut the pads myself out of used carpet I scrounge up. The newspaper wrapping helps insulate the bowl and sure makes it easier to clean after weaning the youngsters. I also place the bowl on a plastic grill; this raises the bowl up an inch or so allowing the air to circulate and keeps the nest dry and warm while the squeakers are growing. Tomorrow I’ll take some pictures of the bowls and add them to this post.