Breeding tips?

Includes Species Profile.
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westie
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Posts: 43
Joined: 06 Jul 2012, 09:10
Location: West Australia

I find 1 pr to an avairy successful. 1pr nests in a gouldian nest box while the other always uses the brush as high up as possible.when they have young they hit the termites very hard .
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spanna
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Joined: 03 Jun 2010, 16:03
Location: Bullsbrook, Western Australia
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Thanks for that westie. I've got 3 pair in an aviary so they can choose their own partners, and as they pair off I'll separate them I think. A few have been looking at nesting now, and had one zoom off a hidden nest this morning, so hopefully this season brings some young! All are young birds and are settled now, and when I finally remove all the double bars the aviary will be a bit quieter for them too!
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tonytoast
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Joined: 05 May 2011, 18:51
Location: Gold Coast

Mine are sitting at the moment...took over an old nest that was built in long grass that has grown up through brush. One of the highest points in the aviary. It is exposed to the weather so I am hoping the weather stays good. Termites already being eaten although young not due until next week....still early days!
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Bgould
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Joined: 30 Dec 2010, 15:40
Location: Tamworth

Spanna I have two clutches out so far. The first clutch was 4 young and the second 5 young. I currently have two breeding pairs housed together and both have nest on the ground in thick grass. Both of these nest are in the open part of the aviary and exposed to the eliments. livefood provided includes ants, maggots, mealworms and crickets. My pairs seem to prefer the crickets of all livefood and i watched one hen take 7 of them (over 3/4 adult grown) in one feed before heading to the seed. They love shaved cuttlefish bone and this is given to them on a weekly basis. They also fly off with small pieces of cuttlefish, unsure if this is used in the nest or consumed in privacy. The best part of all both pair are down again
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desertbirds
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Joined: 21 Nov 2010, 09:13
Location: Alice Springs

Good comments to ponder. The pairs i had also nested in the open, with a few sheets of clear sheeting on the roof above the nesting sites, not in the sheltered section. They do like to hide a nest and i think a young pair may dessert if discovered (even by accident). Mine did, then tolerated a quik peek there after. I once observed the pairs and a few coloured young in the aviary looking,peering under every rock and investigating every corner of the aviary in group. :wtf: Took awhile to work it out and realised that they had no cuttlebone for a week or two. Took some in ,crushed it up and one bird landed a few feet away instantly. One of those observation lessons that stuck with me and yet some say "theres nothing in cuttlebone". Also noted that they were attracted to rank pooy mud on the ends of weed seeds pulled from drainage channels around here,like black smelly mud. They would dive into it and then spend 5 minutes trying to spit the stuff out ??
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tonytoast
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Joined: 05 May 2011, 18:51
Location: Gold Coast

Carried some crushed cuttlefish into the aviary this morning atop the bowl of soaked seed and the hen Pictorella started chirping with excitement...I kid you not! Interestingly, she then flew back to the nest and the cock bird flew down to where I palced the crushed cuttlefish, several times, carrying largish pieces back to the nest...amazing!!!
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spanna
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Joined: 03 Jun 2010, 16:03
Location: Bullsbrook, Western Australia
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I know they love their cuttlebone but haven't popped any large chunks out recently, I'll do that this morning :thumbup:
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vettepilot_6
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Just reopening this thread...visited a mate today who specializes in Diamonds and noticed he had an aviary of Pictorellas....apparently he started of with 3 pr and left them to it (no livefood?) And there is about 40 in there now. .pretty impressed with that I must say...🤔👍
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Shane Gowland
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How large was this aviary?
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vettepilot_6
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ShaneGowland wrote: 03 Apr 2019, 13:53 How large was this aviary?
Guessing about 4.5m wide and 7.5m long..only 1/3 not roofed and that section is planted out (which is the front) large leafed saltbush and native grasses...back section is cylinders made of dogwire filled with tea tree branches..cylinders are hung from roof and are about 400mm dia and 600mm in length....🤔
The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long after the Sweetness of Cut Price is Forgotten
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