Aussie Finch Forum

Following on from my canary story I have had another near miss with regards to eggs and nests...


While a go I posted about a nest being built in my aviary and was not sure who it belonged to.

I later though it was the zebs.

There were no eggs last Friday so on Sunday I caught the zebs as I am planning on getting rid of them.

SO I caged the male bird but could not catch the hen.

I was about the dismantle the nest then something came up.

On monday I though I would inspect the nest and there was a few eggs inside...?

I went to investigate a little later and to my surprise the zeb hen darted out of an adjacent nest! meaning the eggs were not hers....

The only suspects left are my tri colours or gouldians but I can never get a clear look into the nest and dont want to spook them..

I was thinking have a spy with a torch when dark but the risk is birds will smash into the wire so for me thats a no no.

Any ideas apart from camo gear as to how I can safely determine whos nest it is?

The odd thing is none of the gouldians or tri colours sit near the nest and can be seen in the brush!

Hoping its the tri colours

this morning I saw a green rump fly out but that wont help me determine who owns the nest.

Be patient and be surprised

Other than a video camera facing the nest entrance and recording all day I think you will have to wait and hope for the best.

I had the luck today of seeing my pair of Tri colours flying out when I went to feed the birds...

I am going to have to be very careful as these birds are quite edgey and I dont want to stress them out.

as soon as i enter the aviary they fly out of the nest and into a nest box where they hide with the spare female until i go

elferoz777 wrote:I had the luck today of seeing my pair of Tri colours flying out when I went to feed the birds...

I am going to have to be very careful as these birds are quite edgey and I dont want to stress them out.

as soon as i enter the aviary they fly out of the nest and into a nest box where they hide with the spare female until i go

They are not easy birds to breed, it all depends on the weather and the pair of birds you own. If you're lucky to have very tame and reliable birds then there's no problem. They often stop brooding the young overnight at 3 - 4 days of age. If the temp falls bellow 18 deg C you are probably going to lose the young unless you have other Parrot Finch specie ready to foster to. Or you can do like some breeders do, put a heating pad over a thermostat inside the nest and hope for the best. I'd like to know how many people have good reliable breeding pairs. Three-coloreds are not Red-faced nor are they Blue-faced Parrot Finches, but you'll learn if you persevere, your success may blossom.