Breeding season is near.

[E Orix]

I would like to hear what the members do to prepare for the oncomming breeding season.
With so many new members out there it would be great to hear what steps are taken.

[rip64]

I only just today finalized and seperated main pairs and reintroduced mealworms and maggots. I cannot wait to see what the upcoming season brings.

[jusdeb]

Fresh nesting material , new nests if needed , up the greens / corn / apple / soft food / soaked seed / millets ,once eggs are laid then boiled egg with or without arrowroot biscuits .

Sit back and try not to interfere too much ...wait .

[djb78]

First step is to furnish aviery with new brush and tree as just introducing mine to the new aviery doing this now, pairing up all my birds and putting excess in holding aviery to work out what I'm doing with them at the moment just have 16 canaries and 26 manikins in them. Start to plant seeds for greens and seeds. At the moment starting to fish around for long grass for nesting material, stripping apart hesion bags and now I add more regular feed of live food. Nest will be washed and added to aviery in about 2 weeks. Trying to finalize purchases of any spare breeding stock but finding it hard so they may go in hold aviery till next year when i can get some Saints. Final worm before breeding season will happen in the next two weeks and them a vitamin solution will be added a week later.

[Jayburd]

going out to collect some more brush to make into "Bunts" the like of which I learnt to make from an article by Marcus Pollard in an old birdkeeper... I beleive the late John Alers used them.
Have set up the parrot finches to go, a nice big cage with some grass and a nestbox - not sure if they'll go for it, but the male has been trilling and checking out the box so one can hope
At the moment trying to get my birds to at least TRY some orange, pear etc. Also giving them some leafy greens and a few mealies per day until I can build my termite tumbler

[jusdeb]

ooops forgot my obsession with calcium .... fresh grit mix topped up as needed or weekly ,new cuttlebone added and old ones baked and crushed , egg shells in soft food and liquid calcium / D3 for those who I feel need it.

[jusdeb]

Jay if they wont take oranges then squeeze some juice over their soft food ...the citric acid keeps the food fresher a bit longer and they get the vitamins at the same time .
They dont need much and I think that too much orange is not all that good anyway .

[Jayburd]

Thanks Deb I am looking at getting some of that passwell's stuff soon - never really used softfood before, figured it's time I had a go

[Nathan Morleyy]

E Orix,
For the breeding season I'm selling all of my old birds and buying completely new young stock. I give them a wide range of nesting material Swamp grass, White feathers, Emu feathers and hay. I feed them grass, Lebanese cucumber and spinach every 3 or 3 days and they are in a planted aviary and I recently bought new plants that I planted in there. I am planning on buying new nesting boxes for all of my finches because the ones I already have are really old and I just need to buy some new ones.

Thanks Nathan

[tonytoast]

For the breeding season I'm selling all of my old birds and buying completely new young stock.

Some may be opposed to this so my advice would be to make sure you let the buyers know they are old stock....Toast