Any tips for Double Bars

[west finch]

Yes its hard to breed wild caught finches and i don’t condone it .But in December 2011 i purchased a pair of red brows and a pair of chestnut breasted and both pair have produced one clutch of three young each . I don’t know if they were aviary bread ,I trust they were as i got them through a pet shop . My question is how do I prove I was able to breed them in my aviaries ? Ethically I will not trap wild birds I prefer to see them in the wild . Red brows and Double bars are a challenge to breed in aviaries and apart from that i like them around ,I think they are under valued . On another note it’s taken me five years ,but I have finally bred some wild caught gold finches now that was a challenge . The red brows and double bars prefer to use green grass for there nests and largish aviaries , the rest was just basic husbandry practice . Good luck.

[geasterbrook]

Thanks for the debate re wild caught and not wild caught.

At the end of the day I cant do anything about it.

My DB's do seem a bit stressed when I enter the aviary, but the aviary is 3M x 1.6 so not that big. I seem to recall some having sucess with much larger aviaries.

I will persist with my plan by getting an extra pair and see what happens.

[geasterbrook]

Could any comment on live food re DBs ?

At the risk of igniting the wild caught debate, my DB's dont seem interested in either mealworm or maggots. Dont seem that interested in sprouted seed either.

Love the green seed.


Geoff

[mattymeischke]

I've never seen mine take mealies or maggots, but they have a go at the termites.
They seem to prefer the fresh green seed, though....

[Rob]

I just think double bars are a naturally skittish, flighty finch full stop.

[vettepilot_6]

I just think double bars are a naturally skittish, flighty finch full stop.

Tend to disagree with that...I have wild DB that come regularly and land and feed while I'm throwing out used seed...only when I walk towards them do they fly a little further away and go back to what they were doing. ...

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

anyone is welcome to visit and observe my aviary-bred doublebars....I started with 6 and now have 30 or so.
once they get going it seems they power on.
I even left some in a holding flight a little too long and they have raised young in the grass(no nesting facilities).
mine love leb. cucumber and seeding grasses and I do not supply livefood other than a vinegar fly trap.
they are quick flyers and will find a hole to escape very quickly, mine are in a large flight and seem no more skittish than the others....
mine often call in wild ones for a visit but the lack of cover around means they move on.
they suffer in my opinion from being quite common, yet licensed. new keepers can afford them but may not have the desire to have a license. the more experienced among us that have a license have moved on from them....
I have a soft spot for them and enjoy having them around.

[finchbreeder]

Mine also have only a vinegar fly trap and the mealworms that breed on the floor. They are one of the first birds to the seeding grasses but.
LML

[Rob]

It would be good if I could observe someones confirmed aviary bred doublebars in a smaller aviary (Perth location ) to compare to mine. They're beautiful looking birds but their skittish behavior is pissing me off and I'm thinking about selling them. Every time I walk past the aviary they explode and disturb the other birds. They're just annoying. When i had some as a kid it was a struggle to breed them in our big aviary. They were flighty too but it was less noticeable because of the extra space. From my experience with them then and now, they lack character.

[David2406]

Hi Rob
Mine were exactly the same, bouncing off the walls everytime I went near them. I like them but I would prefer a larger aviary to keep them in. One day I'll get them again