Double bar breeding advice needed

White Rumped and Black Rumped.
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Shane Gowland
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I added a pair of Double bars in 2015 and within a month they had gone to nest and produced a clutch of five, followed by another clutch of five a month or so later. Then they just stopped.

Two years now without so much as an egg laid. I've doubled the size of their aviary, I've added a second pair of double-bars (who are also refusing to breed) to create a "small colony" situation, I've massively increased the amount of fresh green seed they get, got them to start eating daily mealworms. Still nothing. Meanwhile, the cordons, emblemas, plum-heads and Gouldians in that aviary are putting young on the perch like it's going out of style.

Is there something I'm missing?
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finchbreeder
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When they were breeding what types of birds were they sharing with? Maybe the dynamics are uncomfortable for them now? Have you lost or sold any birds since the start of this? I persume you rung the original pair so know that both are still present? And the perenial, are you posative you have both sexs?
Don;t know what the problem is, just tossing possiblilities in to think about.
LML
LML
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starman
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ShaneGowland wrote: Is there something I'm missing?
Shane, I have not bred Double Bars for a number of years now but I can recall having a few good years and quite a few more bad years with no results at all. I then put this down to bad husbandry practices and (relative) inexperience but I have since read from a number of sources that this is fairly typical of Double Bars in some localities...ie some years are moderately productive and others totally non-productive. Some very experienced aviculturists admit to being disappointed with their efforts with Double Bars. Even R. Kingston has written of his disappointing results with this species in 'The Finch.....a breeder's companion'. It seems to be a case of the birds doing what they want to do when they want to do it. Some people say that this an easy species to breed....but apparently not all the time. You are probably doing nothing wrong...just hang in there.

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Avid student of Estrildids in aviculture.
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Craig52
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Shane i found the exact same thing. I purchase two prs of DB's a few years ago knowing they were "out of the big aviary"and quite cheap price per pr.
These two pr literally bred like mice and produced probably 30 young in no time but this is where things started to go backwards with the parents who quickly just stopped breeding altogether after around two years.
I can tell you now, that not one of their young of each pr paired up would breed for me also.

My theory is, the original parents/prs were so over whelmed with the seed and livefood as well as seeding grasses that were all available virtually all year round set them in breeding mode non stop and the young that were bred were too well fed to even come into breeding condition and were too complacent to have a go so i sold the lot.
I proved this some years later with some OBA DB's with a similar scenario which did prove complacency of the young.
Hope that makes sense. :roll: Craig
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Shane Gowland
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Some minor success on the double-bar front. I bred two. Not two clutches, two birds.
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elferoz777
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ShaneGowland wrote: 06 May 2017, 15:10 Some minor success on the double-bar front. I bred two. Not two clutches, two birds.
At least it's a positive start.
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starman
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ShaneGowland wrote: 06 May 2017, 15:10 Some minor success on the double-bar front. I bred two. Not two clutches, two birds.
Shane, from my experience and all else that has been said here, I think you should consider this a triumph. :clap:
Sm.
Avid student of Estrildids in aviculture.
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gomer
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Well done Shane, You may get a consecutive batch from the pr if the conditions are still good in your area.
Keeper of Australian Grass Finches
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finchbreeder
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Good to hear it. I had mine breeding, 2 chicks, 1 chick, 1 chick. At roughtly 5 month intervals a while back. Then those parents died, and nothing since. Recently got some new blood to add to my last 2 chicks. They are making nests, but no young, so persume they are just roosting nests. Hope yours do the staggered production for you too.
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JasonM
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I've had two pairs for a year now, have produced a couple of clutches. Unfortunately the fledglings jump a little underdone and tend to not make it past a couple of days. I found their breeding increased when I markedly upped the green seeding grasses daily and they also love termites I find when nesting.
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