Aussie Finch Forum

Hi guys, i have some Melba's which have sat on about 3 nests so far all turning out to be infertile, i have done some research on the internet that states they are generally a highly fertile finch with approximately 75% fertility rates, well this pair says otherwise.

In my personal experience i have had such problems before, so far all these clutches have been laid and incubated during the winter. Not really the ideal time of year for breeding Melba's as they tend to like warmer climatic conditions, I'm assuming this could be a factor contributing to their fertility rates, however i am open to any suggestions on what may be going wrong.

They get heaps of live food -mainly white ants and are in a large planted aviary.
I have recently administered some breeding aid to their soft-food mix, so i will see whether or not i get any luck.
Thanks- Brayden

Hi Brayden,

How old are the birds ?

Have you seen any other birds that could be possibly interfering during courtship ?

The Melba's are in their 2nd year, i havn't seen any other birds interfere with courtship or nesting, however often the cock and hen are trying to occupy 2 different nests at once, both containing 5 eggs or more.

Is it possible they are being scared off the nest at night by pests or the like ?
Or is the cock bird maybe a little portly ?
Its best not to over do it with the soft foods if they receive copious amonts of live food ...
My Melbas have been really successful over winter and we have had a real mixed bag over here in the west in terms of wildly variable temps and humidity and storms .
All they get besides vinegar fly termites and mealies is a good quality saoked/sprouted seed that I make up and add a little bit of insectivorous mix , probotic and D3 and green seeding grasses
If its a recurring theme then it might be time to break up the party unfortunately .
Best of luck though ...
Brad