Aussie Finch Forum

Hi Jack, I supply my Weavers natural Sisal for their nest building, cut to about 20cm pieces, What are you supplying?

That brings back memories, way back the news papers were delivered to the News Agents tied up with the white Sisal rope.
We would collect it and cut it up in 50/75mm lengths and pour boiling water over it which made it unravel.
These days we use natural fibrous plants to be stripped by the birds and Coconut Fibre is also available.
Grenadiers also like Cotton Wool(pure natural). The best way I found was to get a small piece of bird wire about 200mm x 150mm
make a fold down the middle. Then put the cotton wool on the wire and fold over the wire over tightly. This will jamb the cotton wool
and the birds can only pull smaller bits through. If you just make big pieces available there is the distinct possibility of the female
burying her eggs.

Spitfire wrote:Hi Jack, I supply my Weavers natural Sisal for their nest building, cut to about 20cm pieces, What are you supplying?

Hi Guy,there is Johnson grass and Palm grass for them to work with but I will try Sisal and what David suggested I also use for my wool and coconut fibre.
Jack

Uraeginthus wrote:Sergio, Beattie, Edwardes Street, Byfield, Rom, Hughesdale, Nunawading and later Derek Appleby and Jimmy Hill

A few 'colourful' characters there

Eorix, Hi , the male Grenadier Weaver I talked about in an earlier post has spent all week jumping up and down chasing 1 of 2 hens in the aviary, it had the hen in the nest a few
times checking it out, bouncing up and down in the nest like a child testing a trampoline, saw them mating 3 or 4 times, but low and behold she lays an egg off the perch.
Put the egg under a canary, { i have nothing else] will keep you posted what happens.
On an other matter a friend who breeds Napoleons told me today that he more than doubled his breeding success when he started providing Sisal, as previously he only supplied
Johnson and Palm Grass. He said his birds always had problems weaving the grass.

I have a male Napoleon that builds his nests totally out of Coconut Fibre, brilliant and strong as well.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to Weavers. Last season the Napoleons built virtually 100% of their nests
in the Rose Bushes this season so far in the long grass clumps.
The O/Bishops last season also used the Rose bushes for about 75% of the time, this season the first round have all been in the Prunus trees.
The Madagascars (I have very few) seem to not bother where as long as they get a bit of cotton wool to use.
The Grenadiers can be so fussy mainly due to their preference to start the nest circle on 2 or 3 upright stems. This season in between
upright Reed stems or they will use a Royal Bamboo plant. Should your Grenadiers be weaving on the wire it may mean it needs some
upright stems to build.
These are only my observations they often do the unusual so there is no absolute step to take I guess. Just frustration at times.