Blood finches behaviour

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Gshaw
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Joined: 03 Apr 2019, 20:28
Location: Thirlmere NSWouldia

Hi All

After people’s thoughts on the behaviour of male blood finches chasing the hen do you think it’s part of courtship or just aggression. I have a pair that don’t stop and have had many pairs in years past some cocks harassed the hens continually , others didn’t . In the past the more aggressive cocks seemed to be better breeders once the hen paired with him . Always have wondered any thoughts appreciated

Regards Greg
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Kdawg
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Joined: 31 Jan 2019, 19:28
Location: Clayton South Victoria

With my beeding pair the cock shows no aggression to the hen and they have had 2 nests of 4 in the last 3 months.
That's my personal experience.
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Craig52
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Joined: 11 Nov 2011, 19:26
Location: victoria

Bloods are better paired at half colour stage as they usually go on to breed in harmony. It is so hard to pr up adult birds and some just refuse to become compatible and need to be split up. Many breeders i know including myself used to place the hen on her own in the aviary two weeks before adding the cock bird which reversed the aggression for a while but usually evened out over a period of time and they settle to breed, but this was mostly done with the black crowned WA crimson.
The grey crowned East coast Qld crimson is a lot less aggressive but still needs to be watched when pairing up and the above mentioned pairing young half coloured birds works very well especially in a mixed collection where there are distractions for the cock bird.
The WB behavior is very similar to the grey crowned East coast birds but i have put the hen in a all wire budgie cage in the aviary for a few days with the cock bird flying free with good results for pairing adult birds that don't seem compatible when first paired. Craig
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Gshaw
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Joined: 03 Apr 2019, 20:28
Location: Thirlmere NSWouldia

Thanks for the answers
I agree half coloured birds work better as it was how I got my first birds many years ago . The pair I have just got are fully coloured and wa race despite all the chasing the male has been displaying with a piece of grass and the hen comes for a look which seems promising so I will persist and see how they go . One strange thing is the hen will grab some grass while the cock is displaying something I don’t recollect although it’s been such a long time since I had them

Regards Greg
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Tiaris
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Joined: 23 Apr 2011, 08:48
Location: Coffs Harbour

I haven't kept them for quite a few years, but can certainly attest to the Qld ones being far more placid than WA ones after a few stints with both races.
A friend who recently stopped breeding Bloods after many years of consistent success with them regularly had breeding aviaries with up to 3 clutches of independent young still sharing the aviary with the older young birds almost fully coloured and not even the slightest sign of aggression in those aviaries. They were Qld race.
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Gshaw
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Joined: 03 Apr 2019, 20:28
Location: Thirlmere NSWouldia

I agree the wa birds are more aggressive but I eventually want to keep the 3 types I also had no trouble with wb bloods a ran them together with no problems. Still looking for grey race and have seen some but they didn’t look pure . Wb I actually had in with white eared masks and both breed happy together
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