brian430
24 posts
Jul 04, 2006
10:35 AM
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for those of you that have caged breeders, do you find it easier to ween your youngsters?, because they have the food right there in front of them from the start.. do they tend to find the food faster cause they see there parents eating?
if my idea is right caged breeding should be an advantage over open loft breeding because....
1.you have controlled mating.
2.easier to keep clean.
3.food is at youngsters disposal? therefore easier to ween?
Are there any more advantages, or maybe disadvantages? thanks, as always..
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Brian in Ludlow, MA
Last Edited by brian430 on Jul 04, 2006 11:10 AM
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Double D
252 posts
Jul 04, 2006
12:29 PM
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I breed from breeding cages because I never did fly my breeders out so I wanted to be sure who was producing what. Very easy to clean but more water and feed cups to fill and change but I don't mind doing it. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that the squeakers learn to eat watching the parents. I use covered feeders though with little holes for the birds heads to get into. I recommend some type of covered feeders or you lose lots of feed due to them just flipping it all over the place. Given that the feeders are covered, I don't think the squeakers realize what their parents are doing when they poke their heads in the hole to eat because the seed is not visible.
When I do wean my young ones, I put them all together in an unoccupied breeder cage - maybe 5 or 6 to a cage. I then use open feed containers so the seed is visible and usually there is always at least one squeak who catches on real fast and the rest follow. I've never lost one to not being willing to eat once weaned. I pull them from the parents right at 21 days so they are young and I've still never had any problem.
I really prefer the cages to an open breeding loft but it's simply personal preference. I don't know that one is any better than the other unless you want to be absolutely sure of who the sire and dam is.
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Darin Olson
Checkerboard Lofts
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3757
57 posts
Jul 04, 2006
2:57 PM
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Individual breeding pens, in my 40 years of experience, is best for me. I have very little dust flying around and it is easy to clean. Also, the lineage of my breeding is 100 percent accurate.
Last Edited by on Feb 23, 2008 5:43 AM
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GREED FOR SPEED LOFT
95 posts
Jul 04, 2006
3:33 PM
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I love open breeding lofts. I have had my family since 1980 , knowing the type and color helps me to a degree in distinguishig, just in case there is a fence jump, not 100% acccurate, but since my family is close knit , i dont mind. In an open breeding loft the breeders always get excersice and stay healthy and fit, in a well ventilated ,dry loft....
R-LUNA
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thong
11 posts
Jul 04, 2006
3:51 PM
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I used to breed from an open loft system too. That gave me a chance to watch my birds' behavior. Much enjoyment this way too, but now with little space I am breeding from cage compartments too. I feel sorry for the birds, but at least they are doing their job. I think babies do immitate/learn to eat faster if they see their parents doing it.
thong
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bman
2 posts
Jul 05, 2006
4:42 PM
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Brian
I also use individual cages,if you wait till your pairs are sitting on eggs you can then give them open loft and still insure their parentage.I have both feed and water in the cages and one on the loft floor.I find by the time the squeakers are starting to feather out under their wings they are already eating and drinking on their own.One tip is to only open one or two compartments at a time so everybody gets used to wich one is theirs,cuts down on disputes.When the cocks start driving the hens for a second round i'll lock them up till the second set of eggs ia laid.Kinda the best of both worlds.
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Ron
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brian430
26 posts
Jul 05, 2006
7:17 PM
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I'm starting to like the sounds of this...
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Brian in Ludlow, MA
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fhtfire
518 posts
Jul 05, 2006
8:01 PM
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I run an open loft... but most of my nest boxes sare able to be closed up. I close up the nest boxes for new pairings or pairings that I want to be 100% sure of the parents. After they lay...I open the box. I too am like Luna....I can usually tell if a bird has had an affair..LOL! By what color comes out...but to be honest..I do not have very many affairs going on..LOL! For example I have a Blue bar cock and a Black hen..all the young are either Blue Bar or Black..every once in a long while They will throw a Blue Check. Once you have your birds long enough..you will know what they produce. I really do not think that hanky panky goes on as much as you think it does. The long established pairs are pretty much stuck on there mate...I only notice the very new pairings are not as solid ...until they have there first round. My birds are all Emami Roe and Ruby Rollers....I really like to see the birds in the open loft set up...they act healthier and happier. It also makes feeding a lot easier...cleaning is about the same in an open loft as individual cleaning. I just slide out one big tray and use a shovel and put the poop in my yard waste bin and my compost pile. I think if I had individual cages...my wife would freak out...LOL!!! I run an open loft after my new pairs lay there first round.
rock and ROLL
Paul
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
690 posts
Jul 06, 2006
6:13 AM
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Hey Brian, I think most of the issues have been covered. I just want to say that for me, it ultimately comes down to how important is it to know that the parentage of your youngsters is 100% accurate? That is the only reason I use individual breeding pens.
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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viper
21 posts
Jul 06, 2006
6:52 PM
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I do both kinds of housing but I put the babys on the floor when there tails are about 1 inch long.Just provide a box or board leaned aginst the wall for them to get under.They learn to eat and wean with no problm the hens will lay quicker when the babys are moved to the floor.
Blake
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parlorfancier916
99 posts
Jul 09, 2006
1:22 AM
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yea cage breeding is the best, like rabit hutches, I use 24x24x16 cages this works for parlors and my breeders. also I can create a 4-5 young bird kit.
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katyroller
38 posts
Jul 09, 2006
8:00 PM
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I like to breed open loft and have found that putting my youngsters down on the floor they learn to eat by copying the adults. More importantly I use milk jugs for water in all my cages so the young birds already know where the water is when they go to the kit box. Dehydration will cause more problems and or kill faster than starvation.
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RB&R
21 posts
Jul 09, 2006
8:59 PM
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It's better if we see how that cage look like. maybe we can share some pic in here.
Andrew
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