Blue caps

[SCARLET]

I have seen pics of these on the net. Are they common or uncommon? (expensive or not expensive)?
They look really pretty.

[AMCA26]

Expensive and i believe hard to breed. Would like some myself but yeah. I think they need non stop mealworms?

[Jayburd]

they are expensive. $300. per pair . They aren't hard to breed, but you need to have termites. LOTS of termites.

I probably wouldn't try these until you have consistently bred their less expensive cousins, the red cheeks.

Hope you get a chance at them sometime, top of my wishlist, hoping for some in september!

[dRAG_jUNKIE]

I'm pretty sure i saw them for $200 a pair, up here in QLD

[SCARLET]

Haha, I do have termites in the fence posts! Maybe they are the answer to that problem...

Seriously, expensive and hard to breed does not sound so good.

[dano_68]

...I probably wouldn't try these until you have consistently bred their less expensive cousins, the red cheeks.

Hi Jay, I often hear people say this, however I think it is a fable. Contrary to popular belief, breeding Red-cheeked Cordons and Blue Caps are 2 very different species. They may look similar but their husbandry is completely different. I actually think a closer analogy would be Pytillias.

Anyways, just my 2 cents....

[Jayburd]

really? that's interesting... though I suppose it makes sense. The same sort of live food and nesting requirements I suppose. I assume it would still be something like red cheeks-auroras/red faced pytilias/blue caps?

[desertbirds]

...I probably wouldn't try these until you have consistently bred their less expensive cousins, the red cheeks.

Hi Jay, I often hear people say this, however I think it is a fable. Contrary to popular belief, breeding Red-cheeked Cordons and Blue Caps are 2 very different species. They may look similar but their husbandry is completely different. I actually think a closer analogy would be Pytillias.

Anyways,
just my 2 cents....[/quote


I think thats spot on Dano.

[Zipman]

Lots of live food during breeding season preferably termites although breeders do breed succesfully using other live food and an austerity diet during the non breeding season as cock birds get too fat and are unable fertilize hens not too many fatty seeds and try and get unrelated pairs, the hens are very suscesptible to egg binding in particular during their first season, I stuck to all of the above and still never bred them, they did nest and lay eggs and would sit but eggs always were infertile I suspect the pair I had were too closely related, very beautiful finches and the pair I had lived for years only recently lost the cock that would have been approaching 7-8 years old, want some more.