SETTING UP PAIRS

Ideally five to eight pairs should be introduced to your property at one time. All birds are flocked together in a 4X4X8 (minimum size) flight, with a lot of perches. Being in a new place, no one bird has established dominance. Birds are vetted about two weeks after flocking. They remain together for approximately another two weeks, no less. (When all the birds are flocked in one flight, you must not be fooled by the hen. Hen greys are ladies of the night.A hen will solicit any and all males. I believe she may be checking to see who has the biggest....er....crop, capable of feeding her and their chicks. Males being what they are, are more than obliging, in feeding her. At this point, I remove all the males and place them in a flight right next to the hens. I leave them separated for no less than two weeks.

Once the separation is over, I remove one hen at a time and “paint” her with artist permanent ink. I literally pour the ink in my hand and rub it all over her head, chest, back, and wings. Do not use washable. It makes a horrible mess, especially if it rains and do not use red. Red looks too much like blood and you’ll end up scaring yourself when you see her later. Each hen is painted a different color and replaced into their flight. I next proceed to take one male and put him in the flight with all the hens. Usually, before I even retreat to my spy area a pair is feeding each other. I net the pair up and place them in their breeding flight. I again catch another male and repeat the procedure. When you get down to the last two to four birds, they may not be as compatible as all the others, but you and they have no choice. I have not been able to determine who does the choosing, perhaps the male just picks his favorite color. I currently have six or seven pair that I am going to re-flock, these were the last birds to pair from the different groups I have flocked. My breeding season starts in October and runs through about May. I want my pairs paired up in late August or early September, and I usually plan it this way.