BREEDING CAGE/AVIARY HELP

[ringy76]

Hello everyone, i´ve got a spare room that is 4.5L x 4W x 2.5H meters (14.5L x 13W x 8H feet) and i want to built some breeding cages for my IRNs (at the moment i´ve got 2 pairs but planning to add 2 more pairs in the future) and an aviary for no-breeding season (all 4 pairs together)... what is the best size for a breeding cage? i´ve seen some that are really long but not really high (like 9.5 ft long and 3 ft wide and high) and some really high but not long (4.5 ft wide and 8ft high) so i am really confused and a bit lost of what to built... could anyone please help me with some ideas? (best for the room i´ve got) or with some pics of breeding cages... thanks a lot

[Recio]

Hola Ringy;

When speaking of breeding cages we can say that bigger is better, bur IRN can breed in almost any cage. Anyway for the wellbeing of the birds it is better to keep them in cages with 3 or more meters long so they can fly. Anyway if planing to breed with them be careful at the time chicks leave the nest: they do not control flying and long cages allow them to increse flying speed and sometimes they can hit the wire and dead. To avoid this you can reduce the available volume for flying during the first month after chicks leave the nestbox. If you are planing to breed IRN in a close room without acces to natural sunlight you shoulg give your birds vitamine D supplements and you should keep an eye on the lighting schedule (they are photoperid dependent breeders) if they are not under natural lighting conditions.
Out of the breeding season you can keep all the birds together in the same aviary without any problem. Do not hang nestboxes, put many points of feeding and you will avoid most of agressions.

Espero haberte ayudado
Suerte

Recio

[ringy76]

hi Recio, thanks for answering,.. i´ve got another question now, hope u dont mind ... the room´s got plenty of natural light (one wall is actually a glass wall) but not direct sun light come into the room.. is it necessary to have the sunlight coming into the room directly (meaning i remove part of the roof)? ... i thought parrots didnt like diret sunlight thats the reason i covered all the roof...
About breeding cages.. well i havent decided yet what to built... have to check some pics, hope i´ll find some
thanks again
Felix

[Recio]

Hi Felix,

Natural light will allow your birds to be synchronized with the annual reproductive cycle. You live in Lima (Peru), which is located very near the equator, so changes in lighting conditions during the year are minimal. It is also near the Andes mountains and by the seaside (Humboldt stream), all together producing a very high relatif humidity. In these conditions it is probably that your pairs could breed twice a year.

Direct sunlight is necessary for the production of vitamin D, which is necessary to stock calcium for skeletal developement and eggs production (shells). Continous direct sunlight on your birds in a tropical environement should be avoided. Cages should have a protected area where birds can take refuge and an exposed area so they can enjoy raining and direct sunlight.

Hasta la proxima

Recio

[ringy76]

wow recio i´m impressed, u really did ur geography.. Lima is exactly as u say.. high humidity, no notorious changes in light during the year, etc...
i´ll have to do something with sunlight then cos i covered all the roof and the future cages wont received direct sunlight... u mentioned i could give then some vitamin D instead.. would be enough for the breeding season and when it ends move the birds to an outdoor aviary? hope it would.
if they could breed twice a year, the second time they breed would be just after the first clutch is weaned or some months later? how long should i wait so it wont harm the birds?
Thanks again for the info
Felix.

[Recio]

Hi Felix,

Vitamine D is stored in large quantities in the liver and fatty tissues of the body (vitamines A, D, E et K are liposolubles), so if birds are kept with acces to direct sunlight during the not breeding season they will store vit D and they should not have any problem in reproducing in indoor conditions, even without vit D supplements. Otherwise you can give them vit D but be very carefull because an excess of vit D can lead to toxicity, thick shells and not hatching chicks.

Whenever there is a second clutch it usually happens 1-4 weeks after the chicks of the first clutch leave the nestbox. Second clutch is more likely to happen in countries near the equator (little changes in lighting conditions) but it also depends on the genetic background of the parents, and probably on other environemental conditions as temperature and humidity, which could determine in wild conditions the avalability of food. I think it is better to avoid second clutches if you decide to keep them in indoor conditions during breeding period, since they will not have enough time to recover.

Keep us posted

Recio

[ringy76]

thanks recio, i think u r right and not to have a second clutch in the indoor aviary... defo i´ll keep it post
thanks a lot

[Recio]

Hi Felix;

Just reading about vit D. A wonderful free article:

http://bendmedical.com/Documents/Articl ... erican.pdf


Hope you appreciate.

Recio

[ringy76]

hi there, thanks for the info.. i`ll check it out now
thanks again
Felix