I am preparing for the breeding season to begin soon- sometime around Valentine's Day. At 11.5 hours of day length, the birds are really beginning to look like they are ready. I plan on having my lights up to 12 hours in the next week.

My birds come into condition at a much lower number of hours than the birds of many breeders due to the excellent nutrition the birds receive year-round. It takes very, very lttle to nudge them into full breeding mode. Within a week of reaching 12 hours of light, 85% or better of my hens and 100% of my males will be in full breeding condition. I quit increasing the day length when 100% of my birds are in peak breeding condition and have never gone above 13.5 hours of light. The only exception (and a rare one at that) to this is birds I have purchased recently- sometimes they require a year in my breeding room before they "get with the program".

Many breeders would pair their birds at this point, but I want the birds to be at the peak of breeding condition when I pair them. Waiting until this point eliminates a great deal of hassle and botheration for the breeder and improves overall fertility. One will get more chicks in a shorter period of time with fewer headaches by waiting until later to begin breeding.

I am scrubbing and sterilizing the 30" x 18" flights I breed in at the moment. I will place the cages in a bank along one wall of my bird room and provide privacy between each cage with white posterboard cut to fit. There are more impressive breeding room set ups, but this is economical and has proven to be very efficient for me. Among the benefits to breeding in these large cages: males seem to bother hens less as they have more room and are able to get more exercise; babies become strong flyers straight out of the nest; I do not have to allow weanling chicks 6 weeks in a weaning cage- they are kept for only 3 days or so in a seperate flight cage to make sure they are eating well on their own then they are placed in the walk-in flight where it is easier to care for the 65+ chicks I raise; there is more room to provide the varied foods I offer in the breeding cage; and there is also plenty of room if one chooses to colony breed two or three sisters to one male.

I am quite busy at the moment working on DRAGON club related things. DRAGON is most likely the largest American Singer chapter in the US or Canada and is certainly the most active. If you have not already done so, check out the club's website at www.dragon.americansingercanary.com. It is one of the most informative on the internet and grows larger all the time as we add new articles just about monthly.

Yours in the American Singer fancy,

~Marie