Black Headed Nun chicks have fledged!!

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello all,

I'm pleased to say that my two Black Headed Nun chicks have fledged today,:grin: the only problem is that I can't find them yet.:???:
But I'm sure they will make an appearance over the weekend, I will let you know if they do come out of the bare twiggy undergrowth tomorrow.

Paul.:)

[laurab]

Great news Paul:wink:

[Waxbillman]

thats brilliant Paul

well done there.

matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Thank you both,:wink:

I'm a bit concerned though that my breeding of these two chicks wont go far in establishing the Species in UK Aviculture:-|, but luckily I have another two nests with eggs being incubated.:grin:

Matthew,

My Strawberries are incubating again, although there are only two eggs this time the nest isn't being destroyed by the other Birds.:grin:

Paul.

[dave85]

Congrats paul!

If i could get a pair - they could go in my planted flight im constructing! to help with your breedings?

Thanks
Dave H

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Dave,

If I have any Black Headed Nun's to sell at a later date I will let you know, possibly the Spring Stafford Show/Sale.
What other Bird Species do you aim to include in your planted flight/aviary?

Paul.:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Paul

well any breeding success with mannikins, helps toward establishing them as there seems to be very few about, and very few people specialising in them, i only know onw man who specialises in mannikins, what you want to do Paul is contact as many people as possible who have these birds so you can make up un-releted pairs and if possible keep them yourself or only sell to someone you know, or someone who will really make a good go of them.

well done with the avadavats, they better hurry up now as the colder night are drawing in (nearly went down to freezing in Yorkshire) i am seriously considering taking the eggs off my avadavats and put them under the bengo's, as they take so long to rear, around 14 days for incubation and 21 days for fledging and then a few weeks until the chicks are independant, all this adds up well into october which is i'm sure you'll know is very risky.

matthew

[kenny]

hi matt

it was batten down the hatches time last night it was freezing here mate as you say

ken

[chris]

Hi Paul,

Great news mate, let us know when you finally spot them:-)

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello all,

Good news, I found the two fledged Black Headed Nun chicks today perched quite high in the planted aviary, they are active in finding their Parent's in begging to be fed, exploring the aviary and nibbling the few Plants that still exist.:grin:

Matthew,

I do intend on setting up a breeding programme for all of the Asian Mannikin Species, but so far in my own aviaries breeding results are very poor, I just hope that other breeders have had more possitive results.
If the Strawberry Finches fail to breed in the mixed aviary, I have high hopes they will breed on their own under more controlled conditions next year.

Paul.:grin:

[kenny]

hi paul

nice one there mate,pics please a.s.a.p

ken

[dave85]

hey paul,

Well birds ive already ear marked to go in it are -

- 1 pr greensingers
- 1 pr star finches
- poss 2 prs of diamond sparrows
- 1 or 2 pair of parsons
& a pair of ringneck doves

Oh and some cpq on the floor of course.

Im just going to keep a mixture of pairs for interest in a nice environment in the hope some will breed.

Thanks
Dave H

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave and Ken,

Dave,

The Green Singing Finches and the Diamond Firetails may prove to be a problem regarding aggression, this shouldn't be a huge problem if the aviary is a large size, if you definately intend to include Firetails, I would keep just one pair per aviary just in case they end up giving each other grief all season and don't manage to breed at all themselves.:wink:

Ken,

I hope to take a few pics during the week, but I will probably forget, remember I was supposed to post pics of the young Madagascan Mannikins I bred and the Indian Silverbills I bought?:roll:

I will see what I can do at some point in taking and posting photos of all of my Birds.

Paul.:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Paul

i'm glad to hear they are ok.

looking forward to seeing the photos, especially of the Madagascan Mannikins now theres a bird that is very rarely seen.

good luck with the breeding programme Paul, there is one in the WFS the co-ordinater is Phil hargreaves, now he specialises in mannikins, i don't know whether he knows of many contacts, would be worth getting in contact though, if only to swop bloodlines.

matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Matthew,

Thanks mate, I'm over the moon that they are OK too.

The Madagascans are great mate, I'm hoping that in good time there will be so many of these being bred that they will fall in price, giving everyone a chance to keep them, although they aren't for the faint hearted.
I've wanted to keep these Birds ever since I saw them in Bird books as a kid (just last week:lol: ), seriously, I never thought I would ever see them in my own aviaries, the first time I ever saw them in the flesh was at the last National Exhibition, then a year later a mate told me he could get me six of them, at a very low price (no I'm not telling you how low), I didn't believe him until he actually brought them to me.
Anyway over a period of time I found out to my cost just how aggressive they are, I lost two of the six Birds:(, the remaining four were paired up in seperate cages and continued to lay and incubate clutch after clutch of clear eggs.

I then put all four into my main mixed aviary, where one pair have fledged the two and are now rearing another round of three and one White Headed Nun (that's another story;) ), the other pair are incubating what I hope to be fertile eggs this time.

Onto the breeding programme, I have been in contact with Phil Hargreaves on other matters, but I will chase him up and ask whether he can help me with exchanging some of the Mannikins I have with other breeders.
I especially need some unrelated Madagacans to get a higher fertility level, because all of my Birds are related.

Thanks Paul.:D

[Waxbillman]

sounds like you were lucky then, glad you've been in contact with Phil, about a year ago i know a member of the WFS who sold a pair to another member, i should of though they were bought from the continent.

either good luck there.

matthew

[kenny]

hi paul

how do you manage with the nuns claws mate as i remember they used to grow really long,rather like sickles

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Kenny,

My advice with any Bird is to provide perches from one extreme to another, in this way you can help to reduce overgrown claws, but this isn't always a cure.

Claw trimming may be needed in certain Species despite a variation of perch thickness.

Paul.:wink: