White rumped bichenos

[dave85]

hi all,

got my new pair of bichenos today :D

lovely little birds - shall post a picture of them when i get chance plus updates once they've settled and i try to breed these little birds.

Would these be ok being added to my mixed collection of stars, greensingers, bengies, silverbills?

Thanks
Dave

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Dave,

Congratulations on buying your new Bichenos,:D they should mix and breed in the company of Star Finches, Bengalese Finches and Silverbills, my only concern is with the Green Singing Finches, but this all depends on the size of the aviary and the amount of cover available.

Paul.;-)

[chris]

Hi Dave,

i'll echo what paul said re the greensingers. personally i wouldn't mix them with your other birds. my pair are going inside as soon as they've finished rearing their chicks (all going well) as the cock bird at least is a nightmare. there is plenty of cover available but that doesn't seem to stop him chasing the weavers all around the aviary and pinning the bishops down when he catches em....:shock:

infact he chases everything off except the quail so most birds are hiding in the conifer and hops out of the way during the day, and not breeding.

best bet for the greensingers would be a large cage (4' x 18" x18") with wicker basket type nests and bits of conifer branch. anything less and they seem to just build nests and abandon/destroy

Chris;-)

[dave85]

hi all,

Thanks for comments paul and chris, seems my pair of greensingers differ from yours as they will sit with all next to all of the other birds in the flight and show no aggression at all.

ive got a star hen on 3 eggs :), bengies on the mystery which ill post soon, and silverbills busying about looking at nesting again.

Can i ask what it means when a silverbill hen holds her tail up all the time? she occasionally puts it down but usually sits with it sticking in air. Its not because shes wanting to be mated as no other birds are near her half the time?

Thanks
Dave
p.s the birds are nice looking but didnt realise they had so delicate legs - summers here so i hope i can get them to nest.

[dave85]

Also forgot to ask -

What is best way of sexing bichenos? as ill split ring them and note which is which.

Thanks
Dave

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Dave,

Here's a clip from an atricle on bichenos...I pasted the part about sexing, but I've included link to the whole article too.

Although the male and female are similar in appearance, subtle differences do make it possible to accurately sex this species. The male stands taller than the female. The female breast has a somewhat dirty appearance where the males breast is a cleaner white. This is an unreliable indicator however as breast color can vary based on age and condition. When looking down at the top of the head, the males head is somewhat wider and the black feather at the top of the beak go back further on the male than on the female. This method of sexing is most reliable on young birds who have just finished their first molt at around 4 months of age. On older birds, the most reliable way to sex owls is to place them in a cage by themselves, out of sight of the other birds, but within ear shot. In this environment, the male will sing in short order. The female will make a one note contact call but will not sing.

http://www.birds2grow.com/cs-owl.html

Hope this helps. I'll see what else I can find, as sometimes getting them to sit still long enough to compare them is a task in and of iteself.

[Strawblady2000]

Here's a couple more links...

http://www.efinch.com/species/owl.htm

http://mygouldianaviary.tripod.com/theowlfinch/id3.html


BTW...thanks! I've learned some things about bichenos that I didnt know...such as they can hybridize w/ zebbies and produce infertile offspring.

[kenny]

hi nikki
i have read that aswell but i have never seen any pictures of them.also if you have a true pair i know the male does a little dance that you cannot mistake.......obviously as most men cant dance anyway:)

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Kenny,

Ya know, with alot of the "monomorphic" species, behavior is really the only dependable indicator (aside from egg laying, of course). There's always exceptions to any rule (well, EXCEPT the egg laying :lol: ), but generally speaking, coloration, shades of breast, etc. can only really be indicators. Now, some people who've had them for years can sex them at a glance (like javas...the novice would really have to try hard, while the pro can tell you from across the room, lol).

Even with my bengies...I rely on behavior as opposed to beak width, etc., as I'm not quite trusting of my observations on visually comparing them. When one sings...boom...he's banded w/ a blue band and moved out of the flight, as sometimes, a singing male MAY prevent another male in the same flight from doing so.

Anyhow, I guess I was getting at the notion that (shy from DNA sexing) behavior and observation is really the only method I can rely on...but it takes time, lol.

I like when people show pics in their sexing articles. Okay, that sounded bad, but you know what I mean!!! You know...here's a pic of the variations in color, beak, etc. in the female and here's one for the male. That kind of thing.

Sure would make the guesswork a bit easier.

[kenny]

nikki
i would defy anyone to be able to sex a bengalese finch just by looking at it ,there are so many different colours and variations of those colours that it is impossible to do
..............apart from when they sing


ken

[Strawblady2000]

Agreed. Singing is the only way I can tell. I'm not always the most observant person though, LOL!

[kenny]

hi nikki
all you need to get a bird if you here it singing and you havent a ring handy spray it with water and then just pick out the wet one

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Very good, ken.

I'd not have thought of that. Not, if I dont have the time to ring it, I force myself to remember which one it is by the markings. Of course, most times I still forget!

It's not bad though cause I have only have 8 at the moment (4 more than I usually keep, lol). Will be selling some this week and I think the place I sell them to appreciates the courtesy of the sexing. I dont really make much from selling the bengies, but it keep a good connection as well as keeping me from being overrun if they start laying. I cant bring myself to throw eggs out unless I know they are duds.

[kenny]

hi nikki
you could always ask for seed insraed of money for your birds ,then your others will not cost anything to keep and you can usually get more seed than usual as they get it cheap anyway and all they have to do is passs it on to you for net cost

ken

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Ken,

Yes, I do this too. $20 in birds buys half a year's supply of seed, as they give me wholesale pricing on seed, etc. in addition to paying me for birds. Nice to have good contacts!

So far, running a 50% profit margin after all is said and done...including all supplements, supplies, etc. As long as I can cover their cost, I'm happy and there's no financial effect on the household. Just saving my pennies now for my big bird, lol!

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nikki and Ken,

The alternative to sexing Bengalese without the need for spraying them with water, or remembering their markings would of course be different coloured leg rings.:lol:

Nikki,

You are making a profit from your birdkeeping,:shock: I would love to come near to breaking even every other year.:lol:

Good luck on deciding which species you decide on for your pet bird.

Paul.;)

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I have my Giant Greensingers in the large mixed aviary, but from what you have mentioned about your cock bird pinning down Bishop Weavers,:shock: maybe I should put the pair in with my Mums Jay.:lol:

Paul.;-)

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Paul,
Amazingly enough, yes. Of course, if I told you the actual dollar amount, it would be laughable!!! But hey, it certainly helps keep the household funds where they belong. Makes it easier to save for the bird marts too! :twisted:

Would like to join Dave and raise bichenos soon. But...I try to keepo a 30 bird limit...which sounds freakishly high to non-bird owners...but is just a handful to people like us!!

One day...I'll have my dream operation!

As for the bengies, I've watched them all week. Juvies are just starting to sing...and I keep forgetting which are singing, lol. I've been to dang lazy to break out the stuff to ring them. Simple split rings, but, I haven't gotten round to it. Im So bad, huh?

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Nikki,

A profit is a profit, my Old's often remind me of the days that we were ignorant newcomers to the hobby and managed to breed nearly every species we kept back then with the minimal effort.:roll:

30 birds would sound like a huge number to outsiders to the hobby, but I can remember the days of housing more than double that number of just breeding stock and single birds, without the youngsters produced during a single season.:D

Luckily Bicheno Finches can be well suited to cage breeding and certain pairs are prolific breeders, I hope that someday soon you enjoy breeding them.;-)

No worries with the Bengalese Finches, I'm sure you will sort them soon.

Paul.:D

[dave85]

hi all,

Well ive finally got round to uploading some pictures of my new acquistions hope you like - also if anyone can help sexe them that'd be brilliant?

On seperate perches
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/dave_h1985/bichenopairpic2.jpg

And heres them both together!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/dave_h1985/bichenopair1.jpg

Thanks
Dave

[Strawblady2000]

Hi Dave,

Just a guess here, but I believe the hen is on the right (of the top picture)and the front (of the second picture)...the breast is not as pure and the black bar under the breast is wider.

At least, that's what I gather from the photos. When you look at the back of the head, does the one I call the hen have the darker color extend further down?

[kenny]

hi dave
dont take this as gospel but this is what i have heard mate,its like when you sex javas.catch the birds up one by one if you can but its better if you can get one in each hand.look down on to the top of its head and there is a black cap that comes from its beak the further the black cap goes back is a cock bird and the closer to the beak is a hen.

thats the best i can do

ken

this is how i sex my javas



http://www.feathered-friends.co.uk/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=416&stc=1&d=1149688751

[kenny]

hi nikki
didnt mean to pinch your idea but i got waylayed while i was writing my reply and then yours appeared and i didn`t realize that great minds think alike

sorry

ken8)

[Strawblady2000]

Kenny,

Nothing wrong with a pinch here and there! ;)~

Just razzin ya. No worries...I do it all the time. :grin: