chris
03-27-2005, 10:28 AM
hi, just thought i'd let everyone know what birds are breeding and how they're doing.
firstly, the greensinger x canary hybrid:
the hen is now sitting 5 more eggs, which i believe to be duffers as i have been unable to trim her vent.. mainly because i don't have a clue what i'm doing :lol: i can see the guide feathers, but the other feathers are quite short and don't seem to get in the way. i think the problem may be that they aren't truely paired up, they get on fine and the hen seems to think she's paired to him, but the greensinger doesn't really seem interested. i'll see how it goes, but i won't give up! i will be getting some hen greensingers soon enough and when i do i'll pair up those to some cock canaries which i think will provide better results.
now my CPQ:
i have 3 pairs of these, the pair i brought last year, 3 of their young (2 cocks and a hen) and an unrelated hen that i reared in a brooder with others for a friend.
the original pair are doing quite well, they started off about a month ago laying eggs behind the tube grass, they then moved into one of the ornamental grasses they nested in last year and laid 8 eggs, she sat on these for about 3 days but i think i may have put her off as the grass is directly behind the door to the aviary. now she's moved back to the tube grass and the cock seems to be constructing some sort of flimsy roof out of coconut fibres? this morning there were 5 eggs in there so i reckon she may start sitting next week, assuming she doesn't want to move again!
the parent reared birds i have paired together inside are in a 4 foot x 18inches x 18inches double breeder, they've had about 5 different nest sites now but finally seem to have settled up the back corner after i've placed a seed tray with a few grass plants in in the cage, of course they've now pretty much destroyed the grasses :lol: but the artificial grass plant i've made up with some coconut fibre seems to be providing them with enough cover. i think there's 4 eggs in there now but i didn't look when ifed them this morning so i don't know. the substrate i am using in the cage is sand in the feeding area, and sand with lots of hay ontop in the area where they are breeding.
the final pair which are a paent reared cock and normal hen are unlikely to nest, but i'll try and see if i can tap into there instincts anyway! when the cage was purely sand on the bottom she was laying everywhere and smashing eggs as she went, now i've placed half a bag of hay in the one side of the cage she seems to be laying in the same place (2 eggs so far, so it could be coincidence). the odd thing i have noticed tho is that the cock bird is actively taking a part in looking after the eggs, he checks them, guards them, and has even attempted to build up a nest around them on several occassions. i have noticed this in the other cock birds also, so where the hell the idea that cock birds don't help out and should be kept to 3 hens to reduce aggression comes from i will never know!
now, the canaries:
i had a trio of these outside which are now in with a pair of CPQ inside and seem to be getting on great. there was a nest outside with 5 eggs and all was looking great untill friday when they were due to hatch, i noticed 2 smashed eggs on the floor of the aviary, one was fertile with a nearly developed chick, one egg was left in the nest (turned out to be infertile also) one is still missing! but the worrying one i found was over the other end of the aviary on a perch, slightly eaten. my guess is one of the weavers may have done it as i have seen them fly up to the nest before, but never done anything so i didn't worry. since the weavers have recently taken to live foods i think they might have gone in search of there own, and saw the eggs as a snack. the canaries are now inside with the quail to hopefully aviod this problem happening again, for all i know it could just have easily been that the canaries have thrown them out and that the weavers simply found them after.
the other pair i have are in a double breeder inside and now have 4 chicks :D i have seen them being fed by the hen several times now so i aren't too worried about any problems with her or the cock bird. all my canaries seem to have taken a liking to my cooking :lol: as before where they would never touch eggfood they absolutely love it! the stuff i give them is simply 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 slices of bread, 8 digestive biscuits, all blended togeter in a food processer and then a small amount of soaked seed added to the mix.
finally, the weavers:
although as of yet i have no hens for either of the weavers, the cock golden palm weaver has been making attempts at weaving nests for the past few weeks now, he has now built something that looks more like a nest on the aviary mesh, unlike the random weaving i've seen on the floor of the aviary in the grasses :lol:
i also feel like a complete fool for not realising that weavers like livefoods until last week! i placed a few mealworms and waxworm on a branch to see if the canaries would take it, and the weavers flew over and took the lot of em! the weavers are now fed some mealworm every day along with their seed.
well, thats the lot! i don't have many birds at the moment as i've only been in the hobby for the past 2 years now, but i definately have a lot more than the canary i started off with! i'll use this thread to keep you posted on the bird's progress.
chris :wink:
firstly, the greensinger x canary hybrid:
the hen is now sitting 5 more eggs, which i believe to be duffers as i have been unable to trim her vent.. mainly because i don't have a clue what i'm doing :lol: i can see the guide feathers, but the other feathers are quite short and don't seem to get in the way. i think the problem may be that they aren't truely paired up, they get on fine and the hen seems to think she's paired to him, but the greensinger doesn't really seem interested. i'll see how it goes, but i won't give up! i will be getting some hen greensingers soon enough and when i do i'll pair up those to some cock canaries which i think will provide better results.
now my CPQ:
i have 3 pairs of these, the pair i brought last year, 3 of their young (2 cocks and a hen) and an unrelated hen that i reared in a brooder with others for a friend.
the original pair are doing quite well, they started off about a month ago laying eggs behind the tube grass, they then moved into one of the ornamental grasses they nested in last year and laid 8 eggs, she sat on these for about 3 days but i think i may have put her off as the grass is directly behind the door to the aviary. now she's moved back to the tube grass and the cock seems to be constructing some sort of flimsy roof out of coconut fibres? this morning there were 5 eggs in there so i reckon she may start sitting next week, assuming she doesn't want to move again!
the parent reared birds i have paired together inside are in a 4 foot x 18inches x 18inches double breeder, they've had about 5 different nest sites now but finally seem to have settled up the back corner after i've placed a seed tray with a few grass plants in in the cage, of course they've now pretty much destroyed the grasses :lol: but the artificial grass plant i've made up with some coconut fibre seems to be providing them with enough cover. i think there's 4 eggs in there now but i didn't look when ifed them this morning so i don't know. the substrate i am using in the cage is sand in the feeding area, and sand with lots of hay ontop in the area where they are breeding.
the final pair which are a paent reared cock and normal hen are unlikely to nest, but i'll try and see if i can tap into there instincts anyway! when the cage was purely sand on the bottom she was laying everywhere and smashing eggs as she went, now i've placed half a bag of hay in the one side of the cage she seems to be laying in the same place (2 eggs so far, so it could be coincidence). the odd thing i have noticed tho is that the cock bird is actively taking a part in looking after the eggs, he checks them, guards them, and has even attempted to build up a nest around them on several occassions. i have noticed this in the other cock birds also, so where the hell the idea that cock birds don't help out and should be kept to 3 hens to reduce aggression comes from i will never know!
now, the canaries:
i had a trio of these outside which are now in with a pair of CPQ inside and seem to be getting on great. there was a nest outside with 5 eggs and all was looking great untill friday when they were due to hatch, i noticed 2 smashed eggs on the floor of the aviary, one was fertile with a nearly developed chick, one egg was left in the nest (turned out to be infertile also) one is still missing! but the worrying one i found was over the other end of the aviary on a perch, slightly eaten. my guess is one of the weavers may have done it as i have seen them fly up to the nest before, but never done anything so i didn't worry. since the weavers have recently taken to live foods i think they might have gone in search of there own, and saw the eggs as a snack. the canaries are now inside with the quail to hopefully aviod this problem happening again, for all i know it could just have easily been that the canaries have thrown them out and that the weavers simply found them after.
the other pair i have are in a double breeder inside and now have 4 chicks :D i have seen them being fed by the hen several times now so i aren't too worried about any problems with her or the cock bird. all my canaries seem to have taken a liking to my cooking :lol: as before where they would never touch eggfood they absolutely love it! the stuff i give them is simply 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 slices of bread, 8 digestive biscuits, all blended togeter in a food processer and then a small amount of soaked seed added to the mix.
finally, the weavers:
although as of yet i have no hens for either of the weavers, the cock golden palm weaver has been making attempts at weaving nests for the past few weeks now, he has now built something that looks more like a nest on the aviary mesh, unlike the random weaving i've seen on the floor of the aviary in the grasses :lol:
i also feel like a complete fool for not realising that weavers like livefoods until last week! i placed a few mealworms and waxworm on a branch to see if the canaries would take it, and the weavers flew over and took the lot of em! the weavers are now fed some mealworm every day along with their seed.
well, thats the lot! i don't have many birds at the moment as i've only been in the hobby for the past 2 years now, but i definately have a lot more than the canary i started off with! i'll use this thread to keep you posted on the bird's progress.
chris :wink: