My new Orange bishop weavers

[dave85]

hi all,

especially laura

i have now placed my new weavers 1 cock and 3 hens into my flight and they seem to have settled in well but ill monitor them over the next couple of days.

many thanks to laura for sending them up with paul and many thanks to paul for bringing them for me.

pictures will follow shortly of them in their new home :)

will keep you posted on them via this thread.

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the feedback - you nearly didn't get them, I have changed my mind so many times about whether or not to sell them, it really was a tough choice to make.:roll:

[kenny]

hi laura
i am sure they have gone to a good home,atleast you can keep in touch as to thier welfare

ken

[Rogerb]

I realy do hope they do you proud dave they did laura proud big time the cock is stunning in mating mode mate realy somthing to see all the best on your new venture MR B

[dave85]

hi all,

Well here are some pictures of the weavers in there new home,

hope you all like - btw laura the male hasnt lost any colour yet neither has he messed about building any nests?? any ideas?

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/dave_h1985/weavers1.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/dave_h1985/weavers2.jpg


Many thanks
Dave

[laurab]

Hi Dave

give him a chance to settle in mate:) . Are you giving them mealworms?

[dave85]

hey laura,

i put mealworms and waxworms out for them and the waxbills but they hardly got touched i think i gave them 30 mealworms and 5/6 waxworms and only couple waxworms and a few mealworms were eaten.

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

It will just take them a while to settle in ;)

[kenny]

hi dave
they look really nice in the photos mate well done,if you are interested i have anice link on the keeping of these birds

here it is anyway
ken http://www.petngarden.com/birds/voucher/voucherb10.php

[dave85]

hi all,

so here is the nest the weavers are using -
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/dave_h1985/weavernest1.jpg

Now the eggs that its holding - 2 green ones -
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/dave_h1985/weavereggs06.jpg

The pictures were taken yesterday 02.11.06

Hope you like
Thanks
Dave

p.s - laura appears its 1 of the biggest hens with a ring on her right leg i believe.

[kenny]

hi dave

well done mate ,keep us informed about the progress

ken

[Waxbillman]

fingers crossed they raise a brood, you are at the advantage in knowing they have done it all before

Matthew

[laurab]

....she was a favorite of mine. One of them will take waxworms from your fingers....I just can't remember which one!

[kenny]

hi laura
hope you have an exchanged programme going for when dave gets a brood,with the import ban we need to be spreading( where possible) all the birds countrywide


ken

[dave85]

hi all,

appears she is sitting but comes out when im feeding the flight as the eggs were slightly warm to the touch.

it seems she must have been waiting for the cock to add to the nest as it all is lined with hay inside and doubled up on sides so looks a nice little nest now.

gave them all mealworms today and they seem to be eating them now
Thanks
Dave

[kenny]

hi dave
nice one mate,my javas have also started having a crack at breeding now even though it is late in the year i have a few chicks and quite a few eggs on the go....well done though with your weavers mate


ken

[dave85]

hi all,

well the cock bird must be rearing to go as hes building a nest in my buddleia bush and its 3/4 complete so far and the hen on 2 eggs is definately incubating as they are alot warmer plus i seen her go into them.

all weavers are taking the mini mealworms im offering with relish, i give the flight appox 60 i think a day at min as theres silverbills, waxbills, weavers and greensingers who all take them. in 2 seperate locations

laura dont see any coming to me they all seem rather nervous

any tips on getting the cock looking pristene?

ive found someone with a pair :) and hes willing to give them me for free to breed them as he has no intention too

so should be getting these next year early on fingers crossed so i should be able to setup 2 groups :)

Good luck kenny with your javas

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

Hi Dave

I am pleased all is going well for you - What does the cock bird look like - feather wise?

[dave85]

hi laura,

hes still in full colour and seems very fit but his feathers abit ruffled looking specially when hes just sat they untidy

do weavers bathe?

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

That is unusual. Weavers DO bathe, and he did so, several times a day.

[kenny]

hi dave
looks like you will have to get dressed up as a woman to get your weavers to take the meal worms off you.......if they are reluctant to bathe in your place give them a spray of tepid water so at least they will tidy themselves up

ken:lol:

[laurab]

Hi Dave, they never took mealworms from me, just the special treat of waxworms that I gave them occasionally.

[dave85]

hi kenny/laura,

i see now laura they are eating a load of mealworms themselves, so not worried bout them taking it from me.

i have given them a bath and they did bathe - the cock bird is fine, he has built his own nest and it looks top!

also can i ask did you ever notice the different hens layed slightly different eggs? as ive found today in another nest build on a nest pan like the first 1.
with 2 eggs in that are green but have spots on them this time and not plain green like the other hens.

im assuming they are weavers as are same size.

have got a picture of the eggs and the nest the cock bird has built, so will post when i get chance.

just hope all 4 of these eggs are full now :D fingers crossed

Thanks
Dave

[kenny]

hi dave
i will keep my fingers crossed for you also we could do with some baby weavers mate

ken

[laurab]

I never noticed the colour of the eggs Dave as I could never access the nests!

They always produced weavers though :roll: I have often wondered if they were all Orange Bishops though due to slight difference in size. They were all advertised as Orange Bishops when I bought them; maybe they differ in size depending on the region they come from:confused: Trouble is there are so many different Weavers with only slight differences between the species.

[chris]

hi laura,

there is a noticable size difference between my hen black headed weaver and the 2 cocks, but they could easily be different species. as for the bishops the chances are that there may be one or two similar species in there if there was a size differnce between some of the birds. the problem is if it's the hens it will be near impossible to tell apart the species, other than a DNA test

[dave85]

Laura,

i have some good news today :P

and im over the moon as i have my first WEAVER CHICK

from 1 of the eggs i posted near the beginning of the thread :) shows the cock bird still has it and he was chasing the 3 rd hen today with his neck all ruffed

will keep you posted and will leave the nest alone now but it is empty everytime i enter, so is freely inspectable.

i have a picture of the little thing not the best picture but good enough

its a reddish pink colour with dark eyes :D:D:D

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

I am SO pleased for you Dave - I really do miss them, but they are obviously very happy where they are - Well done!:-P

[Waxbillman]

well done Dave

Matthew

[chris]

well done dave,

my lot need a kick up the backside, sod all in 2 years. except confusion and hybrids....

[kenny]

hi dave
well done mate

ken


few pics please

[dave85]

Thanks all for your congrats

but i have more good news!!

has a sneaky peak today while giving them there daily mealworms!

And i now have 2 chicks out of 2 eggs in the nest :D :D :D

Well chuffed and the 1st chick compared to the new 1 is almost double its size already after 1 day.

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

Now you're just showing off!! :lol: :lol:

[Waxbillman]

thats brilliant Dave!

Matthew

[kenny]

hi dave
fantastic news mate


ken

[dave85]

hi all,

yeah is all going well with them thus far,

only problem the 2nd nest of eggs isnt being sat but luckily enough a pair of bengies are sitting in it and the eggs are being kept warm so fingers crossed :)

Thanks
Dave

[dave85]

Some bad news unfortunately :(

found both the chicks dead and squashed in there nest today :(

but on a better note - the 2 eggs that were abandoned are definately being incubated by the bengies :)

also the 3rd hen has finally took up a nest and it is the one the cock has built and so far she has 1 egg in there and she seems the steadiest, since she went in it with extra piece of material while i was there :D

So will keep you posted on how these other eggs go

Thanks
Dave

[kenny]

hi dave
if you have them outside like i have they get sqaushed by the parents trying to keep them warm,its happened to me on more than one occasion

never mind theres always a next time

ken

[Waxbillman]

shame about that Dave

i hope the bengies will rear them

Matthew

[cooltom28]

wheres the pictures like we usually see of your chicks dave?;-)

[laurab]

Hey, your not a doubting Tom are you? :lol:

[cooltom28]

laura with good quality birds which they were i have no doubts:grin:

[chris]

Hi Dave,

any more news on the weavers? have they nested since? what about the second lot of eggs?

Chris

[dave85]

hi chris,

well the 2 eggs under bengies have been abandoned so nothing there

the cock is busy singing and displaying plus building a new nest

but the best ive got is! the first nest the cock built with 1 egg in it, i wasnt 100% sure if the hen was sitting properly but clearly was as today ive spyed a chick :D :D i havent disturb her and have upped the mealworms given so fingers crossed better success with this one :D

thanks
Dave

[Waxbillman]

sounds promising Dave

[chris]

yep, good news,

plenty of livefood, soaked seed and eggfood then and minimal disturbance, and a bit of luck you'll have a fledgling

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

I'm pleased to hear you have a Weaver chick mate,:wink: but I hope you take the advice from Chris seriously matey in avoiding any more spying!

All the best regarding rearing the chick, Paul.;-)

[dave85]

well the chick is still with us :)

looking healthy and pink when i go into flight hen comes out of nest and i have to walk past the nest so dont touch it but can see the chick inside the nest entrance

giving them plenty of livefood - mini and regular mealworms - twice a day now to make sure she has some as other birds are eating them so arent lasting long.

fingers crossed it makes it hen seems to be doing a good job so far
Thanks
Dave

[Waxbillman]

great news, i hope it makes it all the way

Matthew

[kenny]

hi dave
how old is it now mate.has it got any pin feathers!


ken

[dave85]

kenny,

looks like there is the start of pins but i can only see from a distance

the hen with the chick is so steady and while im in there is eating ands she sits there eating killing the mealworms by chewing the head then swallowing them whole in front of me

Thanks
Dave
p.s - must be about 4 days i would have thought

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

The best of luck chappie, I hope that you will be posting soon regarding the news of this chick fledging.

All the best, Paul.:-D

[dave85]

Bad news im afraid :(

the chick today was freezing cold and dead when i went in to check/feed them,

unknown reason why the hen would have allowed it to chill as she had been doing a wonderful job previously and it was about a 7/8 days old now and nice wing feathers in.
a constant challenge! i will succeed to get one on the perch i hope!

cock is still building a new nest, so hopefully once complete ill get more

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

That is a shame Dave. When I had them they never bred this time of year so the weather will be a challenge for them.

[Waxbillman]

such a shame

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

I'm sorry to hear you have lost the chick mate!:(

But despite the cock building a new nest and considering the time of year and the low temperatures, I would suggest that you drastically cut down the Livefood supply, and if need be remove the cock from the breeding quarters to rest the hens for next years breeding season!!
You will gain nothing if you allow the birds to continue breeding at this time of year, rest them now and look forward to youngsters next year.

Paul.:wink:

[kenny]

sorry dave mate what a way to celebrate being 21,there is always next year mate

ken:-(

[laurab]

You'd do well to take Paul's advice Dave ;-)

[dave85]

hi all,

have already stopped giving them mealworms today but may need to give a few soon as indian silverbills have a nice big nest of eggs :D

fingers crossed they should do better next year for me at least i know they are very fertile

will keep you posted

Thanks
Dave

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

I'm pleased that you have taken my advice on board, even though it needed to backed by Laura (who used to own the Weavers you have there) for you to take some notice.:roll:
I'm pleased that your Indian Silverbills have eggs mate, but I must ask one question, do you like the rest of us have a non breeding season, or has everyone else read it wrong when we chose to rest our birds from breeding?:???:

Paul.

[Waxbillman]

hello Paul i cannot possibly criticise Dave, like you as i have birds breeding still as you know, but everything is 100% inside in well heated and lit areas, and it was them who decided to breed, rather than me given them the chance, most are resting, and these birds will be allowed to rest

Matthew

[kenny]

hi matt
all of my birds are resting apart from one nest of javas that slipped through the net but now they have fledged all the nests will go!

ken

[dave85]

paul,

95% of my birds have stopped breeding - only have the indian silverbills nesting now

i had a late start to the season being from july onwards as wasnt around enough to do much with them before.

will be taking nests down once indians have finished but until they have i cant as i dont them being disturbed/harrassed over there nest by other birds

Thanks
Dave

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave, Matthew and Ken,

I'm pleased to hear that once your late rounds are finished that this will be game over for 2006!

But the point I was trying to make was that despite the Bishops ending up in Daves hands so late in the year was that they had already made a number of attempts of breeding before this and that they are all overdue for a rest this year.

For the birds sake the Bishop colony will be far better off if they are rested now and any future attempts should be made during 2007.

Paul.;-)

[kenny]

hi paul
well now mine have fledged ,i cleaned the bottom of the aviary and the indoor quarters and bubble wrapped the inside.because i took all of the nests away and put all of the hens on a winter diet and the pill!i dont want any eggbound females..but i think the warm weather set them off in the first place but i am not taking any chances i will now sit and watch and pick my breeders for next year....i am at the moment trying to cure the condensation that is dripping of the roof it must be airtight in there otherwise i dont think it would be like it but i dont want it to get fusty

ken