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The Original All Roller Talk Discussion Board Archive >
what age can rollers breed
what age can rollers breed
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coach
4 posts
Dec 19, 2006
8:19 AM
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at what age can i pair up som young rollers
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belle
60 posts
Dec 19, 2006
8:41 AM
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6 months
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nicksiders
958 posts
Dec 19, 2006
9:46 AM
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I would not stock any young birds up until they have proven themselves in the air; stability and all other aspects. My experience has shown that is about two years.
Now, they are sexually mature in 5 to 6 months. But, I would be careful in what I stock because if it is an unworthy performer it might set your goals back and require you to do more culling than you need to be doing. Pair your best to the best; how are you going to know if they are worthy at 5 or 6 months?
My opinion.............of course I am the guy who didn't even know what a moisiac was(LOL).
Nick
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Snicker Rollers
Last Edited by on Dec 19, 2006 8:17 PM
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W@yne
81 posts
Dec 19, 2006
10:05 AM
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I think nicksiders has covered the question real good.
Also i am another guy who didnt know a mosaic if it was in front of me Lol
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Velo99
744 posts
Dec 19, 2006
10:12 AM
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Okay,
Everyone has different circumstances which might force them to breed young and unproven birds. If I lived in Socal and bought a pair of squeaks from a high octane family,they would neve see the air. Lemme rephrase this. If you breed unproven birds you have to cull more til you get the mating you want. Nothing wrong with it, done all of the time. Just a longer road.
mtc
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If they don`t kit,they don`t score.
Color don`t roll and peds don`t fly.
It`s a comp thing,understand?
V99
Last Edited by on Dec 19, 2006 10:13 AM
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
906 posts
Dec 19, 2006
10:33 AM
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Just like dogs, as soon as their nuts drop.
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Shaun
387 posts
Dec 19, 2006
11:02 AM
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I'll come at this from a different angle. I had no proven breeders and instead had twenty plus youngsters which I'd locked down to await their maturity. The question as to when they could breed was, therefore, pretty important.
So, back to the original question and here's some of my own recent observations. Cocks can be strutting their stuff from as early as 3 months. Hens tend to be identified by the fact they don't do much, so after a few months you tend to know which is which.
The point that you're seeing progress is when the hen squats and the cock treads. But, that's just the beginning. I saw lots of these antics from my birds at 4-5 months and, like a bunch of horny teenagers, there was little in the way of proper pairings - it was all very promiscuous!
Despite all this activity, at the 4-5 months stage - there were no eggs. That came a little later. So, finally, they're about 6 months old, eggs arrive and its time for some babies. Er, no... still not that simple. Our immature cock and hen still have to sit those eggs in the correct manner for the full duration - 18 days or so. I regularly saw both young birds abandon their eggs, then return whenever it suited them. No eggs hatched.
OK, so when did it finally all click into place for me? Well, one particular cock and hen were each 7 months old by the time they were able to raise a single youngster. Their other egg was infertile. No other pair from over 20 in the same loft had by that time managed to produce a single youngster.
My other birds finally got their act together and started producing proper eggs, upon which they correctly sat, at about 8-9 months. Unfortunately, it was in the depths of winter and, again, them being inexperienced, all too often something went wrong and squabs would be found dead in the morning.
However, once spring came along and all the pairs were about 10 months old, the production line stepped up considerably with great success.
So, there's a big difference between the age at which rollers are physically capable of breeding and what can be relied upon in the way of a regular supply of youngsters. It took me a long time to fill the first kit box. Even then, settling all the birds at their different ages, was a monumental pain.
Shaun
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luis
40 posts
Dec 19, 2006
9:23 PM
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I feel you Shaun.I'm starting out and between preds,cold weather and cocci i've lost quite a few.I'll get there though.
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Shaun
388 posts
Dec 20, 2006
12:36 AM
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The fact remains that most novices are unlikely to be able to obtain established breeders and must, therefore, tread the weary road of raising many youngsters - which are much easier to obtain from a decent flyer - then wait patiently for them to breed.
Some might advocate flying out these first youngsters and breeding only from the best in the air. However, that's a hell of a risk, given the young bird losses which many flyers sustain. By locking down the first youngsters obtained, we can always go back to them for more offspring to fly out.
But, it is a long, frustrating road. Imagine, though, paying the same money that was spent on all those youngsters for a couple of breeding pairs, but then these old birds snuff it or became infertile. Perhaps learning our apprenticeship with dispensible young birds is a better plan for the inexperienced.
Shaun
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nicksiders
971 posts
Dec 20, 2006
11:17 AM
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Good solid breeders have never been abundant. Once the breeder removes them from the breeding loft he usually incerts them into his kit boxes because they were outstanding there in the first place.
You can ask to barrow a pair or two to help propigate your numbers. Ask a breeder to work a couple of rounds for you, maybe? There are a lot of breeders that never sell thier birds or even give them away. They keep the best and cull the rest(LOL)
Nick
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Snicker Rollers
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