weavers

[djb78]

Ok read abit about weavers and posts, what I'm wondering due to my first adventure into weavers are will they breed in pairs only or do they need to be a trio, aviery space available is a flight of 3metres by 2metres by 2.6metre high and will be only resident if this flight. E orix has said that a square aviery is better and my future aviery space is a 3x3x3 but unfortunately time and $$$$ won't be available for at least the next few years will selling off some stock to make room for a pair can be accomplished for next years season. The reasons for asking is that a guy my brother sells live food to has multiple pairs of weavers (of which type I'm not sure yet) which he will be selling young this year for a price of $300pp buy catch is I won't veto see/talk to him until sale takes place I i don't want to waste time on birds in which I can't accommodate for breeding.

[E Orix]

Danny
That price would/should be for Grenadier Weavers,it is the bird I have used on my current avitar.
If they are birds bred this season 2011/2012 they will not be fully adult and the males won't colour until season 2013/2014
Given the right set up they are the easiest to breed these days.
Young birds are the best to buy if you are a patient person.

[Tintola]

First step would be to find out what species of weaver they are. As EOrix said they are probably are Grenadier (hens are usually $250 to $300 and they throw in cock as they are polygamous and a cock can be run with up to five or six hens.The price for Madagascar would be about $100 to $150 a pair and any other species of weaver in Australia would be much more. I have two breeding aviaries for them next to each other to stimulate the males into competing with each other. In one aviary I have an older cock and a two year old cock with three hens and in the other I have a three year old cock with two hens. They are very hardy but my biggest problem is supplying the cocks with the correct nesting material at the beginning of the season. The only time of year that I have success is now, when the carpet grass is seeding and they use the seed head stalks, which are long, strong and flexible, to weave their nests. At the beginning of the season in October when these are not available the nests are flimsy, weak and fall to bits within days of being built. On other breeders advise I have given them long pieces of teased out hessian and grasses, stripped palm leaves,and stripped reads all to no avail, as they won't use the hessian and the other materials they either won't use or the nests fall apart. It is very disheartening to find several eggs laid on the ground beneath a faulty nest or smashed as the nest disintegrates. Once I have the carpet grass for them to use (mid January) everything goes well. At the moment they have at least four strong nests, each with three eggs due to hatch soon but only one chick independent so far. For next year I'm collecting the grass that they like now and drying and storing it so that the season is more productive earlier.
If starting out with just a pair, some breeders suggest that the cock be taken out once the hen is sitting. This is because without other hens to drive to nest or other cocks to compete with he will disrupt her from incubating to the point of clinging on to the bottom of the nest and ripping the base out of it, more smashed eggs. She does not need him to help with the rearing of the young and is sometimes better off without the constant harassment. She need a good supply of live food to rear three or four young.

[Trilobite]

Hi all, interesting thread wrt the weavers habits early in the season, I too was fed the "give them stripped palm leaves, hessian etc etc etc" to no avail - waste of time. They would make a very flimsy neast early in the season and like you said often the bottoms woud fall out etc etc etc. I got to the pont of destroying the bottom half of the nest and the male woudl reinstate it the next day often a bit tighter and more longer lasting. I even found weaver eggs in other birds nest because of this so guess the hens we desperate to lay somewhwere. I perservered and also found that giant papyrus worked a treat for the male to make his nest with but after a while they settled down and actually became competent weavers of nests with plain old Nov grass supported with some shredded panic leaves and occasional bits of tea tree growing within the aviary. I therefore got to wondering if the early nests were the males just testing the water so to speak ie not wasting too much effort until he secured a mate, the reason being once the male set up a territory and started to build these early nests he would often start 2, 3, 4 other in close proximity then bam a mate and a complete and very tight well formed nest within the day. This last nest was then lined very quickly by the female and the males just sat back and become colourful tree ornaments. And yes live food a must for good condition and breeding success, flies, termites, mealworms and moths all taken with gusto. Weavers rock!!!

[Tintola]

Thanks Trilobite, It's good to hear that other's experiences with the Grenadiers is as equally complex as mine. I love them for the colour of the males and because their courtship is fascinating and their beautiful nests are a real work of avian architecture. (when they finally get it together)

[E Orix]

Over the years we have had numerous nests collapsing,females completely covering eggs with cotton wool,males pulling nests apart with eggs or chicks hitting the ground, birds not weaving nests but tying grass knots all over the wire. Eventually we tended to solve all those hassles.
Why isn't normal grass blades satisfactory.This can be easily seen. Pull a blade of grass(phalaris) and pull a leaf of a reed stem. Just put them in the sun
and leave them. Within a very short period of time the grass blade will start to shrivel and change shape,the reed leaf will NOT change shape just colour.
What this means is the nest circle which is the actual foundation will retain its strength using strips of reed blades but as the grass changes shape the circle loosens and the nest can collapse.I have nests used in the breeding season still in the nesting site through the next winter.
These days we grow the reeds in half drums sunk into the ground and another grass that is very fibrous. No cotton wool is available just coconut fibre and fine swamp grass for nest lining.Vertical vegitation stems help limit weaving on the wire.
If you have only one hen,let the hen lay her second egg then you can pull the male out. Not all males will pull nests apart but it maybe better not to tempt fate.
Grenadiers or any of the Bishops,Napoleons are stunning aviary inhabitants especially when in full breeding mode.

[Trilobite]

Eorix, what are your grasses, we use normal green panic here as well as a giant panic approx 2-3m which they also strip . Would like to know what grass and reeds your growing please so as to try these in our aviary. We can easily source reeds/grasses as have many contacts in the nursery industry and reveg mobs.

[E Orix]

The reeds are the ones we get in the creeks here and most places.
It is the one that looks like a version of fine bamboo.
The grass we are using I have no idea but all I can do is pull out a piece and send it.
I grow them in circles about 800mm+ in diam sunk into the ground 200mm and out of the gound at least 200mm
This creates a big domed plant and after 2 years I replace it as it is getting rather battered from stripping and birds nesting in it.
It also has a fine seeding head and is frost resistant.
Maybe Jayburd has a photo of the plants and can post one.

[Trilobite]

Eorix, any pictures I might try and have a stab at identifying it, else I might hit you up for a piece or two in the mail.

[djb78]

Thanks peoples, and E orix I have alot of patience due to having a terrible two running wild, and waiting for them to breed is half the fun. Waiting for a couple years will allow me to watch and learn their behaviour as well as giving them time to settle.
Now for a new question, is there any extra seed required for their diet other than Canary, French and jap millet and red panicum, plus the extra oil seed during colder months. Do they take egg and egg food. The live food won't be much of a problem if they can raise young on maggots, mealies and crickets. I have my brother waiting for the bloke to ring again and he will ask him what type of weaver they are but what I was told is they are expensive and he is selling them for roughly what they cost him in food. I at this point I don't have access to his number and he doesn't like selling from his home to strangers which I can relate to.