# individual breeding pens



## gd71 (Sep 22, 2006)

Hi folks I have a question about individual breeding pens for racing homers. What is the smallest that I can build for each pair. I don't have alot of room to build the bigger ones I would like to build and I have a few pair I would like to put together and make sure of the babies. I will only be raising probably 1 or 2 rounds for each pair and then put them back in the big loft and then put a different pair in there. Thanks for your help.


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

gd71 said:


> Hi folks I have a question about individual breeding pens for racing homers. What is the smallest that I can build for each pair. I don't have alot of room to build the bigger ones I would like to build and I have a few pair I would like to put together and make sure of the babies. I will only be raising probably 1 or 2 rounds for each pair and then put them back in the big loft and then put a different pair in there. Thanks for your help.


Probably, the easiest way to answer your question is for you to tell us what the absolute largest pen you have room for and then give those dimensions and see if it's suitable.


----------



## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

smallest breeding box, I would say 16 h x 16d x 24 l


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

DEEJAY7950 said:


> smallest breeding box, I would say 16 h x 16d x 24 l


That's WAY to small. He's talking about locking the birds in the box and not letting them out, or at least, that's the way I understood the question. If that's the case, you're talking about locking the birds up for about 60 days.


----------



## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

From the question he states for breeding and then putting them back in the loft that is how i read it?


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

gd71 said:


> Hi folks I have a question about individual breeding pens for racing homers. What is the smallest that I can build for each pair. I don't have alot of room to build the bigger ones I would like to build and I have a few pair I would like to put together and make sure of the babies.* I will only be raising probably 1 or 2 rounds for each pair and then put them back in the big loft* and then put a different pair in there. Thanks for your help.


I guess he needs to come back a clarify.........LOL
I read it, that he wants to put a pair of birds in a pen, let them raise one or two rounds and THEN take them out and put other pairs in there. I don't know?????

PS: Besides, if he wants to be SURE, 100% of the parents, he would have to wait until the eggs are actually laid, which means that he would have to move the pair of birds PLUS their eggs into the loft and we all know that won't work.


----------



## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

Renee, you do not have to wait for eggs to be laid to be 100% sure!
I mean, after you place the pair in the breeding box and see them billing and mating a couple of times you can then put them in a bigger loft and still be sure they are mated! I believe that is all he is asking,? so a box that is 2 foot long is plenty for that purpose heck most of the breeding boxes in the main loft will be no bigger and will have two nests so when the first round youngsters are about ten days old the hen will lay a second round of eggs in the other nest!


----------



## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

I have seen mated hens go down for a cock that was NOT their mate.There is only one way to be sure that the eggs were sired by the bird's true mate is to keep them lock in a individual nestbox until the eggs have been laid. GEORGE


----------



## gd71 (Sep 22, 2006)

Yes I do plan on putting them in there to lay 2 rounds. If it works out that I have another pair lay in the main loft I would use them for pumpers and that would not leave them in there for too long. But if I didn't have any to pump the eggs I would leave them in there for long enough to wean each round. I seem to have a little problem of my hens getting hooked up with other cocks and I can tell by the color of the babies coming out grizzle or red out of pair that have no such colors in there background and also raising many rounds out of these pairs with no such colors. I have 2 different breeding pens now and one is 2' x 2' x 2' and the other is 3' tall x 2' x 2' with 2 12" x 12" nest boxes 12" down from the top and have had good success with both but the birds can't fly in them and I wondered if I could make them 24" wide x 18" x 18" and have one nest bowl on the floor and one on a shelf about 6" high. The only problem I seen with the other ones were the parents kind of beat there wing feathers up clapping there wings to climb and fly up to the nest boxes. Thanks for all your input.


----------



## jack1747 (Sep 16, 2007)

Lovebirds said:


> I guess he needs to come back a clarify.........LOL
> which means that he would have to move the pair of birds PLUS their eggs into the loft and we all know that won't work.


 Uh Oh.. I didn't know that.


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

jack1747 said:


> Uh Oh.. I didn't know that.


What do you mean??  Did you move some birds/eggs?


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

DEEJAY7950 said:


> Renee, you do not have to wait for eggs to be laid to be 100% sure!
> I mean, after you place the pair in the breeding box and see them billing and mating a couple of times you can then put them in a bigger loft and still be sure they are mated! I believe that is all he is asking,? so a box that is 2 foot long is plenty for that purpose heck most of the breeding boxes in the main loft will be no bigger and will have two nests so when the first round youngsters are about ten days old the hen will lay a second round of eggs in the other nest!


DEEJAY.........a cock has to mate with a hen within 24 hours of her laying the egg in order to fertilize the egg. I too have seen a hen squat for a cock that just happen to be walking by. Happens more than you think.  BUT...I don't think it happens AS MUCH as some people say.  
The main problem with moving these birds into the loft is that the birds that are already in there would give a new pair of birds a lot of heartache. It's hard enough moving JUST a cock into a new loft and getting him to pick a new box, but when you start moving PAIRS of birds into a loft where established pairs are already nesting........well, you're just asking for trouble in my opinion.


----------



## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

I think were on the same page, same book, but words get in the way lol ! While the egg must be fertilized in the twenty-fours hours before laying, it doesn't mean that the birds must mate in that time period,(24 hours) because the sperm stays fertile for at least 8 days and may be even longer? The book I am referring to also states that a hen isolated for at least two weeks should purify her of any previous matings! Wow! so i stand corrected in my belief that once mated she could be let in the loft to lay her eggs, even though it is thought that a mate stays true to her last mating! Isn't it great we can learn so much from each other lol thanks Renee for your comments i appreciate it very much sweetheart! Oh btw the book I get most of my info from is the one by Wendell m Levi---The Pigeon, sort of the bible of pigeons! Sometimes i make mistakes so if I do please correct me other wise i can't learn from them! so to sum things up yes to be 100% sure you must isolate the hen to breed for 2 weeks to rid her of any sperm hanging around inside her and then wait for her to lay those eggs from the new mating, so now i have egg on my face LOL! Thanks RENEE!


----------



## jack1747 (Sep 16, 2007)

Lovebirds said:


> What do you mean??  Did you move some birds/eggs?


I havn't moved them but I was planning to.  I have two pair in two cages. Each cage is 14x24x48. They have not laid eggs yet but I guess I will keep them in the cages.


----------



## gd71 (Sep 22, 2006)

Anybody think 24" x 18" x 18" is to small for a couple of months at longest?


----------



## learning (May 19, 2006)

gd71 said:


> Anybody think 24" x 18" x 18" is to small for a couple of months at longest?



Something you have to remember here is that it doesn't have to be for two birds it has to be for four. When that first round gets about 10 days old the parents are going to be wanting to go down on another set of eggs. So for at least two weeks or so, you will have four adult size birds and a nest of eggs in that sized compartment. Sounds like a recipe for broken eggs.

That seems to be a long time in a small confined space to me. That, however is just my opinion.

Good luck!

Dan


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

gd71 said:


> Anybody think 24" x 18" x 18" is to small for a couple of months at longest?


Personally, yes I do. That's sort of like you being locked in a jail cell for a couple of months at longest..........sorry, but you DID ask.......


----------



## gd71 (Sep 22, 2006)

That is the what I was thinking but I am kind of new at this so I wasn't sure. Thank you for your honesty and reply's.


----------

