Aussie Finch Forum

I bought a pair of ruddies about 3 weeks ago and in that time they have built a nest (seems like half a chook's worth of feathers - don't know where they stuffed them all) and appear to be sitting. Is this possible?

I was thinking that they would be too disoriented in a new aviary this season to do this.

Also would they be pushy enough to keep a pair of canarys away from the nest if they do hatch something?

Going to nest straight away if they're ready is absolutely possible as you have seen.

If their nest is thoroughly enclosed as it should be (& sounds like a good job from the amount of feathers used) it should hopefully be too tight & dark to interest or fit in the canaries anyway.

Something to bear in mind with canaries & ruddies in together is the possibility of ruddies contracting air sac mite from the canaries. Ruddies are one of very few exotic estrildid species to be especially susceptible to asm & canaries are very common carriers.

Thanks Tiaris - it is one of those small cane nests you buy at petshops so hopefully it will be OK.
Wasn't expecting youngsters! - guess I'll have to start the live food planning.

I quarantined the canaries before they were put together and treated them with moxidectin - the 3 zeb boys got a dose as well.

The male Ruddie does have a very slightly messy vent, i wormed them with praziquantel when i first got them. So i'm not sure why that is so. They sound OK - no rasping, etc

I got a new pair of Ruddies once and put them into a my quarantine cage which is 1m sq by 2m high. This cage is completely sterile with no nesting receptacles or brush. They were in there with other species. During the quarantine I was feeding fresh grass seed. After about 2 weeks the Ruddies had used the grass seed stems and had build a nest on the floor, in the corner and the hen was sitting on 5 eggs!!! I removed the nest and the eggs until the quarantine (40 days) was finished.

Anyway, no problems because as soon as they went into the main breeding aviary they had a nest in 2 days, sitting and chicks 3 weeks later! And they haven't really let up...in 2 years this 1 pair have produced 36 young, but another pair from the same breeder, same age haven't even done half that in the same period!