Aussie Finch Forum

Danny wrote:

Aussie_Bengo wrote:And if you think it's all a bit of BS then that's OK too!

Cheers!

I can only assume BS=Bengalese story

Right you are.

Are these the finches that make great foster parents? Say if finches abandon their nest, would these be likely to finish rearing the young? If so a must have in the Aviary for difficult breeders hey

They do have a reputation for being great parents and very willing foster parents, but they can carry a disease which can be passed on to other species, especially species that are naturally found in dry environments, for example gouldians. Also Bengalese don't feed their young for as long as gouldians, leaving any fostered young with a longer parent fed time (again the gouldian) at a disadvantage.

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_fostering.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

bluebutterfly213 wrote:They do have a reputation for being great parents and very willing foster parents, but they can carry a disease which can be passed on to other species, especially species that are naturally found in dry environments, for example gouldians. Also Bengalese don't feed their young for as long as gouldians, leaving any fostered young with a longer parent fed time (again the gouldian) at a disadvantage.

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_fostering.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wasn't it the Japanese who used Bengalese as foster parents for breeding Gouldians? And had very good success at it? I myself wouldn't do it though as I believe in the above statement of not getting long enough feed time for young.....but in an emergency who knows?

You are right, the Chinese and the Japanese did have a lot of success breeding and raising Bengalese for many hundreds of years, as far as using them for fostering other species I don't know.
Im sure lots of people have had great success using them as fosters. I know in the USA lots of people use them to the point, or so it seems to me, that anyone getting into Gouldians for the first time could get the impression that Gouldians don't know how to raise their own babies. I admit they do stress the need for "clean" strains of Bengalese when using them to foster Gouldians.
If I had Bengalese and had an orphan/tossed chick I certainly would give it a try, far better than losing the youngster.

To update this thread from another one, I have added these references to the pure origins of the Bengalese finch.

Restall, Robin F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.(1975) Finches and Other Seed-eating Birds Faber and Faber p 196
Restall, Robin F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.(1996) Munia and Mannikins Pica Press p 83
Buchan, James (1976) The Bengalese Finch Isles d'Avon Ltd p 6
Panjer, Fred and Wigmore, Jan (2002) The Bengalese Finch NBFA p 3
Kearvell, Paul (2012) The Australian Bengalese Finch Australian Birdkeeper Magazine p 277
Barnicoat, Fred (1999) On the Early History of the Bengalese Australian Aviculture

Please can we call this thread "Bengalese Finch" ???

They are a uniqueand pure population and deserve the care and respect as such.

Uraeginthus wrote:Please can we call this thread "Bengalese Finch" ???


.

Didn't want to be picky . . but now that somebody has 'moved' the motion, I will second it

'Society Finch' . . . very much Good Ol' US of A for mine

. . Along with 'Owls Finches' & 'Cherry Finches'

Perhaps I AM being picky

Maybe we should go the other way and use shaft-tail, ruficauda, Lady Gould, common waxbill or my favourite yellow-eyed canaries!