Unseasonal nesting

[Tiaris]

Received them on 5/3, started nesting 19/3, hatched 13/4 & fledged 24/4. Had a few anxious moments with them though - By 10/4 I thought they must have clear eggs so checked & they were fertile. On 16/4 a dead fledgling was thrown out presumably due to a big gap between oldest & youngest.

[desertbirds]

What was the main source of livefood, im guessing termites but cant recall if you breed maggots as well. How did the livefood intake compare with Blue Caps and melbas?

[Tiaris]

They had constant access to termites, drosophila & mealworms. When young hatched they got a mothtrap load of moths each morning plus extra very small mealworms & white freshly moulted mealies & pupae twice a day. Before they had young they would eat no more livefood than say a pair of Cordons with young, but after hatching they ate the equivalent of an aviary full of Melbas. Excellent learning experience & made much easier with regular advice from garymc. I know they had a good supply of protein but I still can't believe the rapid rate of development, fledging at 11 days old & today at 12 days flying quite well for fledglings if not a bit uncoordinated. Fantastic devoted parents - I'm hooked.

[Pete Sara]

the growth rate is a shocker , how quick they fledge is a amazing compared to most of finches, I never fed termites but I did go through a lot of small crickets. Well done...pete

[Tintola]

Now how hard was that? And you were reluctant to keep softbills.

[Myzomela]

Well done Tiaris, and thanks for sharing your experiences re growth rates & amounts of livefood eaten.
We wait for the next instalment....

[Tiaris]

2 young wrens 006__1335389904_124.179.80.218.jpg

Better shot of young one:

[Myzomela]

That was a great "next instalment"- thanks. Nice looking youngster!

[finchbreeder]

Beautiful result. Congratulations.
LML