Cordon Bleu food

[paul1966]

so I got one pair of red checked cordons a few months ago. I was feeding mealies, but all the do is bite of the head of the mealworms. Yes I've heard mini mealies. But who stocks those in portkenndy wa ? Was trying to find maggots, wife doesn't want a fly box in the yard, and I only have one pair .. To my surprise there were two young, sadly they were on the floor. Dead. So is it a must to have maggots or mini mealies to breed cordons. Or can they do with sprouted seed and greens. The pair had just matured. Any advice

[Tiaris]

They really need some small livefood to have reasonable prospects of rearing healthy young. You could try a drosophila (vinegar fly) trap/culture. I use a lidded small bucket with a rectangle window cut on either side & covered with bird mesh. I put a thin stick through so it protrudes either side & acts as a perch. I hang the bucket from the aviary ceiling under cover. Place fruit & vege scraps in the bucket & hang it up & the birds soon learn that landing on the perches scares a group of vinegar flies which they can then catch. Keep regularly adding fruit scraps otherwise it looses its attraction to the vinegar flies. You can setup several of these in an aviary as vinegar flies are very small & it would take many of them to rear a full clutch of Cordons.
Maybe also a moth trap (can be bought from Bunnings for about $90. My Cordons catch some of the moths I supply for wrens. These are just a couple of alternatives to try. A regular dependable supply of termites or maggots would be ideal but these 2 alternatives would give far better results than no livefood. Good luck.

[Nova]

Because i breed my own meal worms i have a range of sizes. I have noticed that whilst my RCCB bite the heads of the larger meal worms they do squeeze the juicy bits out to eat. They also eat the smaller ones whole.
However, they are yet to breed though they may be on eggs atm as i only ever see one at a time. Fingers crossed

[Craig52]

Because i breed my own meal worms i have a range of sizes. I have noticed that whilst my RCCB bite the heads of the larger meal worms they do squeeze the juicy bits out to eat. They also eat the smaller ones whole.
However, they are yet to breed though they may be on eggs atm as i only ever see one at a time. Fingers crossed

A good sign that they are sitting is a bent tail. Craig

[paul1966]

Seems such a waste, just biting the head of the mealie. But if they suck the insides that would be great. Upon looking at the mealies there still got there size,so only the head gets eaten. I will phone the company to see if they do mini mealies.im still looking for maggots thou.

[BrettB]

I would have thought termites a better option, if you only have a small number of birds a single termites nest will last a long time.
Stored correctly they will live for months and you can just feed out what is required on a daily basis.
I use a galvanised rubbish bin, so doesn't take up much more space than fly box or mealworms.
No smell, put grease around the inside at the top and never had any escape so no risk unless you knock the bin over.
Keep in cool place with a damp hessian bag over the nest to keep the humidity up.

Cheers
Brett

[Nova]

Craig, A bent tail? Can you give me more info or even a picture?

[Tiaris]

A curved tail rather than a straight one. Sitting in the small confines of the nest chamber results in a bent tail in most estrildid finches when they have been incubating.

[E Orix]

Cordons are not the only specie that bites the heads off Meal Worms and flicks the rest.
Generally you find that the flicked bodies are eaten by other species.
You will find that breeding pairs will generally eat the contents and all.
Only feed a few a day and it wont matter with the waste but it will keep them going until they
are just about to feed chicks then up the quantity considerably.
A few a day is a far better method than waiting for them to nest.
There is no need to feed white ants these days Meal worms will do.
(Ants are better but not essential) We have some 50+ young this season and all on Fly maggots and
Meal Worms