Red Strawberries

[superfinch]

Hi All,

I've got a new interest in Strawberry finches and I just wanted to know of your experiences with them?

Cheers,
Sophie

[toothlessjaws]

attractive, great singers, and docile - i have two cocks and a hen with no problems. i love mine. i don't think i could ever be without a few strawberries.

[arthur]

Dont house them with Orange Breasts . . they WILL definitely hybridise . . seem to find O/B's more attractive than their own for some reason . . or maybe its the other way round

Be aware that cock strawbs take on an "eclipse" plumage in the non-breeding season . . they lose much of their colour but usually are still distinguishable from their hens

No real special requirements . . will take some livefood but plenty of green seeding grass heads will see them fledge clutches of 3-4 young

Will tolerate reasonable nest inspection . . but avoid this as fledging time draws near as young are prone to leave the nest early any way . . the nestlings have a very quiet "whispering" type begging sound which becomes a little louder as they grow but never becomes as strong as most other finches

A sign of a maturing finch breeder is the ability to to avoid nest inspection . . it took me a long to grow out of it!!

Strawbs in the good old days would begin their nesting activities about now (Easter time) but nowadays like a lot of finches seem to breed at any time of the year

Best of luck . . I dont think you will regret going into Red Strawbs ;)

[benjjs08]

i too want to get some strawbs when i finally get around to building my aviary. i was going to get orange breasts aswell, but may have to rethink. thanks Arthur

[toothlessjaws]

i have a cock strawberry that i have had for over a year and who has never moulted out of his breeding colours. he was bald and scruffy when i got him and he's even worse now. the red has dulled to a maroon but he is still heavily spotted. i have no idea whats wrong with him and have never read about non-moulting birds. if anyone has any advice on the subject i'd love to know why this has happened.

hes a good singer though.

[finchbreeder]

Have not heard of stuck in moult problems in finches, but it happens in budgies a bit. There is a moulting aid available which budgie breeders use with success (think it might be one of Marshall's)
LML

[E Orix]

I have a lone cock Strawberry in my aviary he to never goes out of colour and also tends to be scruffy. The reason he is in that state is he is simply so old.
There are a number of different species that get retired to my large aviary as they have been bred out and deserve to be retired and not just sold off.
Birds that a very old tend to go into limbo,old hen Weavers often show male feather patterns or become melanistic.
My guess is you could have a very old bird

[toothlessjaws]

yes i suspect he's a very old fella. i bought him a year ago at the melb bird sale and the guy said "yeah, he's been on his own for... well quite a while now". i have a healthy young cock, so i'm happy to let him be my first retiree finch.

i might try some of that moult aid though. i dunno how he'll go in winter. he's got even less feathers than he had when i bought him.

[superfinch]

Thanx for your tips on the strawbs, I read about how the male changes colour which I thought was quite interesting, I've never come across that before in any other finches I've had.

I don't have any OB's so I won't have any problems with them hybridizing unless they fancy red siskins or cordons as that's what I was eventually going to house together. Do you think they will have a problem with either of those?

I never nest inspect other then what I can see from the distance, I prefer to let them be and usually I can tell what's happening by listening and watching their behaviours. Although the anticipation of how many will eventually fledge if the clutch was successful keeps me in suspense

Also speaking of moulting I have a canary who was the best little singer he would never stop unless he was eating and even then would stick his head up for a little whistle. He would belt his little lungs out all day I wondered if he ever took a breath. But since he started moulting there is not a single peep out of him, I even check to see if he's still alive as sometimes I can't see him in the cage but he's usually down the bottom pecking stuff. Will he ever sing again? I haven't changed anything i.e his location, food etc.. so I don't think it's something I have changed the only thing was that he started to lose all his feathers and has grown them back now.

Any tips on what I can do for him?

Cheers,
Sophie