Aussie Finch Forum

Just wondering if anyone has some tips for a pair of siskens that dont appear to be showing any signs of breeding activitiy:

The are housed in a 3.5 x 1m x 2m high avairy by themselves.
Cock was bred by me, 18 mths old, hen purchased last year and I was told she is the about the same age (say 2 years).
Cock is signing madly, has been for months
Plenty of cover for them in the form of hanging baskets and plenty of fine grasses etc , plus grasses in pots growing.
Fed niger and crushed sunflower plus milk thistle, seeding grasses as much as possible. Leb cucumber, cuttle fish and grit.
have tried them on mealworms but not interested

I have another pair in mixed collection who have already had two unsuccessful clutches, husbandry is the same, The pairs can hear but not see each other.

So this has got me wondering if anybody has any suggestions to get this pair in the mood?

Was thinking of perhaps adding antoher hen or feeding him oysters??

Are you sure its not the heat thats preventing breeding ?

Hi,Have you tried splitting them apart from each other.And then Repairing again.

brooksy wrote:You could try getting them in an avairy by themselves dim the lights, little soft music, red cordial (not wine) don't want them falling off the perch, and the rest should take care of it self

You could try getting them in an avairy by themselves dim the lights, little soft music, red cordial (not wine) don't want them falling off the perch, and the rest should take care of it self

Is it possible to put them in adjoining aviaries, side by side for a couple of weeks?

thanks guys, I can put them in adjoining aviaires for a period of time, I will try that, cheers,

Or if neither pair is being sucessful, or has been in the past. Swap mates. But obviously not if those laying are the parents of your last years young.
LML

Might be just the environment. What do you have in the aviary, how many nests and is there any cover (like pine tree branches, artificial greenery, shade-cloth drapes etc) around the nests? The diet is OK! Often helps if the two pairs can see each other.

Red Siskin breeding usually is down to the keenness of the cockbird more than anything else. He needs to be jumping out of his skin and whistling regularly to show that he is keen to breed. As netsurfer said being in sight of another male may spark some enthusiasm as they tend to be competitive/territorial during the breeding season. That's why I suggested putting the pair side-by-side - to spark up his eagerness.