Aussie Finch Forum

few photo i took today while watch them feeding on what i call winter grass. these are either pied hens-normal cocks/fawn pied and fawn/pied hens and the fawn pied herself. very hard to beat green seeding grasses.
if i had the guts to get in there and split them up - all 25 of them i'd hate to think how many i'd breed but every time i go in and check the nests - young in them. you think they will dessert but NO -they were still squarking away as i took the photos.
as the saying goes - if you wanted to breed them - they wouldn't b----y breed.

the fawn breeding colony in the other side have probably knocked out 70 young in the past 15 months and that is indeed a big colony....40 odd birds. until you get them in your hands their size/weight will surprise you..........way better than the normal bird and for a mutation......lost one in 2 years and not many can say that!

Great Diamonds Thanks for sharing

Nice mate,You have had a really good year with them.

Funny but it seems all finches have the good sence to know that fresh greens of the natural variety are good for them.
LML

Wrong!

Some Finch keepers and breeders seem to have the good sence to know that fresh greens of the natural variety are good for them.

(That's better)

Cheers, Case

yes wildbill, winter grass or poa annua is a favourite food for diamonds and most finches.
it needs to be well watered though and its dry as chips around here unfortunately and hard to find.
also weird but it doesnt show up until september/october but still its "winter grass".
thanks for the pics of your stunning birds.

That is a stunning sight! all those diamonds

You have the magic touch this year, good stuff

thanks all. i had to catch a pair of painted for a guy today. i'd been putting it off for two weeks. these birds hide behind a complex of 5 partitions.....even i don't know whats going on inside.it's rough in there but they never stop breeding.
so in i go to catch the birds in question and suddenly young birds were flying in all direction.
i'd say at least 12 to 15 young fawn diamonds crashing about. really had the sh--ts when i left the aviary as i know two lots of parents are feeding young in other nests.
to get out of this mess i usually throw in about a good hundred white feathers. it seems to settle them down pretty quick and they soon forget about the stir up and start carting the feathers to the nest. might be good info for some-one there.

sometimes you can get away with a lot. over in the fawn pied aviary i'd decided i might move some pairs to new quarters. so i went through the nest. pulled 2 young out of one - 3 from the other and the other nest had young that had just hatched.
thought after that.........they will be dead tomorrow for sure. 3 days later.... today while taking a few of these photos through the wire - heard two lots of young being fed. whats harder to believe the loudest lot of young squarking today - their mother a fawn/pied - i'd caught her in the entrance tunnel pulled her out -turned her back around and she went back in then flew straight out to the flight - so another bunch of feathers went on the floor.









as for the red rumps - started off with a pair dropping in -now at 5

jealous, jealous, jealous! lovely birds!

Great Blue Cap