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Let see if I can explain this wierd act.
I have had this breeding pair since April 08. Breeding pair is about 3 years old. My female has been working her nestbox and everything seems normal. I have been paying close attention to their courting behavior and this is what I have observed. The female will lay low and close to the male in her normal courting position. The male will sit at the edge of the nestbox next to her (top of the nestbox) and begins to perform but on the edge of the box and not on top of her. Has anyone seen this before? Is this breeding pair a lost cause? This might explain the infertile eggs from last year. If anyone has any ideas on how to correct this issue, please help.

thank you

I've seen a male like that at a friend's aviary. For three years he's given nothing but infertile eggs so he was retired as a breeder.

was he by any chance tame and then put with a mate?

My breeding pair are not tamed. Everytime I step into the aviary they fly around. I have read in an old post on this website that they eventually figure it out. I just want to confirm this with the experts first hand. If I have to wait another two years than I will wait. Female is currently laying on the eggs and base on my calculations, the eggs should be hatching by next week (if fertile).

noeo wrote:My breeding pair are not tamed. Everytime I step into the aviary they fly around. I have read in an old post on this website that they eventually figure it out. I just want to confirm this with the experts first hand. If I have to wait another two years than I will wait. Female is currently laying on the eggs and base on my calculations, the eggs should be hatching by next week (if fertile).

Try shining a flashlight behind the egg. If an egg is fertile, you should see the embryo develop from 3 days onwards.

I removed all of the eggs ( 6 eggs) yesterday and none were fertile
I have placed new nesting material and will observe them again. I will keep trying for the next 2 years and see if the male gets it right. I am wondering if everyone is experiencing this same problem when they say that they have infertile eggs. this could be more common than people realize.

noeo wrote:I removed all of the eggs ( 6 eggs) yesterday and none were fertile
I have placed new nesting material and will observe them again. I will keep trying for the next 2 years and see if the male gets it right. I am wondering if everyone is experiencing this same problem when they say that they have infertile eggs. this could be more common than people realize.

Most infertile eggs that I get is due to the hen laying when the male is not quite ready yet. I try to mitigate this by hanging the nestboxes only when I see the male mounting and mating with the hen.

To save on time, leave the nesting material there and not replace it. The hen has arranged the nesting material the way she would want it to be. If you put new material, she will spend several days rearranging it and chewing down the bigger pieces.

You may want to consider another male for nest season.

noeo wrote: The female will lay low and close to the male in her normal courting position. The male will sit at the edge of the nestbox next to her (top of the nestbox) and begins to perform but on the edge of the box and not on top of her. Has anyone seen this before? Is this breeding pair a lost cause? This might explain the infertile eggs from last year. If anyone has any ideas on how to correct this issue, please help.

thank you

Hi Noeo

If the female stays on the top of the nestbox, it will be difficult for the male to perform on her top (just an anatomical question). May be if you put the top of the nestbox close to the top of the aviary (that is what I do), the birds will go down to branchs, and will properly perform.

Otherwise, if your birds are housed on a natural photoperiod I thinck it is better to let the nestboxes all around the year, like in Nature. Probably in this way males will be full in ready condition 4-6 weeks before females, and you will not face infertile males because of retarded gonadal development.

Good luck

Thank you both Jay and Recio

I will take your advice and apply it towards my birds. This just might work. Will keep everyone posted.