Plants for Orange Bishop weavers!

[dave85]

hey all,

I maybe getting a proven pair of these from a good mate!

He said when he breed them they nested in a nestbox & weaved around the box and have raised 3 lots of 2-3 chicks each time,

Where he has his birds is unplanted, but if i get them would it better to add some grasses for them to nest in? as my flight is empty at the moment.

What do people advise? as im thinking of adding grasses in my flight for finches anyway.

Thanks
Dave H

[laurab]

Grassess and bamboo a must.

[dave85]

hey laura,

What types do you recommend? and how much is there cost?

Thanks
Dave H

[laurab]

Hi Dave


considering the way the birds treat the plants I would say the cheaper the better! I managed to get two very large bamboo plants last year and they are now looking very sorry for themselves, any new shoots just don't stand a chance with my birds.

I also put Pampass in there, from what Chris has said Zebra grass sounds good too:razz:

[dave85]

hey laura & chris(if hes reading this),

How much would i expect to pay for those plants?

Thanks
Dave H

[laurab]

Hi Dave

the size of the bamboos' I managed to get would cost between £60 - £70. My husband did hard labour for someone and took them in payment.

From memory I think Chris said the Zebra grass was £4 or £6 from B&Q (sorry Matthew)

[dave85]

hey laura,

So if i was able to get quite a few grasses in my flight? would you say i should give the weavers ago?

Thanks
Dave H

[laurab]

I would say so! ;-)

[chris]

Hi dave,


zebra grasses from B&Q are £6-7 as laura has said, they come in a 5 inch pot to give you an idea of how large they are, and are about 3 foot tall when bought, although they will reach 4'. i would buy as many of them as you can fit in, as they will spread but don't stand much of a chance if you only have a few cos the weaver's won't give em a chance lol. bamboo is a good one to get, but the one's i've seen up B&Q weren't up to much so it's probably better to go to a decent garden centre for those.

Chris

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi all,

I've come to the conclusion that Weavers and Bamboo are a very bad combination, my Weavers have mutilated my gorgeous Bamboo Plants:mad:, whether they are only a couple of feet tall and consist of only a few stems or established and huge six feet high clumps they are looking very sad.

Laura do you want to buy some more Weavers? Only joking.;)

The sooner someone creates cheap plastic non chewable Bamboo the better, or even better still can anyone tell me where I can source some Elephant Grass?:D

Seriously though Dave, I think you should buy the Weavers especially as they are reported to be a proven pair, at the end of the day any Grasses and Bamboos you buy will take a huge battering from the Weavers, but they will survive and grow back to their former glory by next Spring (ready for another battering).
I would also take note of the Pampas Grass Laura mentioned, if you live near any Rivers, Ponds etc you could always take advantage of one or two free Sedge or Reed Plants.
But don't limit the planting of your aviary to these types of Plants, you can also include other Plants as nesting cover such as Privet, Conifer, Clematis, Honeysuckle, Russian Vine, Fuchsia, Forsythia etc.

The oppurtunity to buy a proven breeding pair of Red Bishops is far too good to pass up, they are relatively late nesters in comparison with other African Finches and Waxbills etc, so if you buy them soon you still have a good chance of breeding from them this year.

Paul.;)

[dave85]

hey paul,

Im defiantly getting them already - im swapping a pair of goldbreasts & some zebs for the weavers and a red headed finch hen :) so dont worry about missing out on them.

And the guy im getting them from is a mate and hes also mentioned sorting me out a red head finch cock for free :)

Would buddlia work for the weavers?

Thanks
Dave H

p.s - they are the same type weavers you and laura have aint they? plus hes said hes going to keep the pair in condition for me and they are weaving nests now in a planted avairy with his waxbills in but he aint letting them nest and allowing his waxbills to use their nests.

[chris]

Hi paul, i may also be able to get a pair of orange bishops from MFB along with the yellow crowned bishops. what you reckon? could help out with the breeding program and i could maybe put a bit of the midlands into that dorset population of orange bishops you were on about:grin:

Chris

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Dave and Chris,

Dave,

I'm pleased for you that you are swapping some of your Birds for the pair of Weavers and a Red Headed Finch cock, Buddleia does grow well although it tends to be a very loose growing Plant, but if trimmed, trained and tied into a tighter Plant it could prove usefull as an aviary Plant for your Weavers.:)
If I'm honest though I have failed in doing this myself and my Buddleia are either vertical with very few branches or a complete flop of branches offering nothing to Birds to build nests in.:-|
If I were you I would try something else like Conifer, Privet, Bamboo or some of the Climbers etc.

Chris,

As you know I'm in no position to tell you what Birds you should keep and breed, but if you are looking for encouragement well all I can say is go for it mate you seem to have the magic touch with Birds this year.:grin:
I've come to the conclusion that the Weavers Laura managed to breed last are Grenadier Weavers, having said that we now both have Grenadier Weavers and Red Bishops (the Orange Bishops I believe are Red Bishops that have moulted in inside quarters without access to Livefood and Greenfood, the colour should improve after a moult with these foods available in outside aviaries).

To Chris and Dave,

If you both intend on trying to breed Weavers of any Species, I think you should go for it, after all the Australians have bred certain Weaver and Whydah Species for around four decades, I just think Laura has given us in the U.K. a huge wake up call that if you put in the effort it will pay off.

Paul.:grin: