Baby Birds

Includes Species Profile
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djb78
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Joined: 26 Apr 2011, 08:11
Location: melton vic

I know that over seas they use ant pupae and works great for them but as Sam said during a breeding season you would need millions of ant eggs/pupae which would be hard to come by and I dint know if different speices would be harmful or not. If you were to give it a go try a little amount and if successful ( which I do believe they would be) give them small amounts with the rest of your live food like a treat. I have tried with my painted and Cubans but they never seemed to fussed.
Danny
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cookey
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Joined: 06 Oct 2011, 17:22
Location: Canberra ACT

Thanks for the offer. I'll set=up something to hopefully breed them quickly. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to breed maggots rapidly?
"If your surrounded by yes men, one of you has to go".
Colin Powell
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spanna
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Joined: 03 Jun 2010, 16:03
Location: Bullsbrook, Western Australia
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Do you have any friends with horses? Ask them to leave a pile of poo in a warm spot in a bucket for you. Tip out the top layer, abra kadabra and alakazam, maggots galore underneath. At least that's what happens here in warm weather... Could be a quick way, bit left field though :lol: :purplex:
I would collect the maggots, then put them in clean, dry bran for a few hours before feeding though. Just to clean out all the poop from their digestive tract.
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cookey
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Joined: 06 Oct 2011, 17:22
Location: Canberra ACT

Nest abandoned. All chicks dead. :( Not an ideal start to my finch keeping. :thumbdown:

I'll start the maggot breeding process in case they decide to have another crack but being Canberra with winter approaching, probably wont be until next season now.
"If your surrounded by yes men, one of you has to go".
Colin Powell
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Jayburd
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Joined: 08 Dec 2009, 12:08
Location: Canberra

That's awful Cookey, so sorry to hear that :(
Julian

Birdwatcher and finch-keeper.

Feel free to check out my photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lewinsrail/
And my birding antics here: http://worthtwointhebushbirding.blogspot.com.au/
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SamDavis
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Joined: 03 Jan 2011, 14:01
Location: Douglas Park NSW

Still pretty warm for a while yet. I'd bet they'll have another go pretty much straight away. Would be worth getting a supply of livefood going immediately so they get used to the idea before chicks hatch.

And don't feel bad. Many people take ages to get cordons to nest and also many first time pairs are unsuccessful. I have a diamond pair that are frustrating me - two failed nests and have just fledged a single chick but I'm confident they'll now get on with it properly.
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Tiaris
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Joined: 23 Apr 2011, 08:48
Location: Coffs Harbour

Not a nice feeling but best to learn from it & move on with a determination to be better prepared next round. Get some termites or maggots ready for them & don't poke around their nest otherwise you can't expect any better outcome next time. They'll do their bit & have a go for you but you've got to meet them half way & give them what they need to finish the job. I could say good luck but your results will depend more on your actions than luck.
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Trilobite
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Joined: 03 May 2011, 17:28
Location: Brisbane

Sounds horrible but this is a good result. You have a pair, they have bonded, mated, laid fertile eggs, hatched them and by raising your concerns here have got a raft of info to better manage the next lot. Now it is just finding out what part ofthe formula is missing and plug it in. Yeah, I wouldnt give up - clean the nest of dead chicks, they may go back rather then build another and will do so within a weekish, 2 weeks to hatch and 3 or so to fledge, so mid april ish,not too late and worth bumping up the live food straight away. Dont get frustrated as said earlier it may take 2-3 goes to get that formula right if they are young birds.
Cheers
Trilobite
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djb78
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Joined: 26 Apr 2011, 08:11
Location: melton vic

That's sad news, but as everyone has said there's still a chance for one more clutch. Its probably due to not enough live food not that's there something wrong with the young, so more live food will hopefully end up with young on the perch. Well if this season is at an end for them that gives you a good six months to get prepared for next season so maggot box to build and mealies to prepare nesting material to collect so this will keep you busy till next season and don't stress about the loss as this is a learning curve and I bet you over half the people here have made mistakes and learnt from them only to have better success in the future and I for one are one of them.
Danny
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cookey
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Joined: 06 Oct 2011, 17:22
Location: Canberra ACT

Thanks all. I think the advice about my actions rather than luck are spot on. Clearly, the diet was not where it needed to be.

A pair of Gouldian's have been sitting on eggs for 16 days as of today so hoping to get a better result there.
"If your surrounded by yes men, one of you has to go".
Colin Powell
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