First chick(s)

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Grautier

I have a pair of plumheaded finches, she is 'bruna' (cinnamom) and he is normal dark brown. I bought them right away, as where I live there is little to chose from.
They are a true pair, doing all things together. Since now. They have tried three times to nest, there are eggs almost the whole year, even with 'austerity diet'.
Now they got a wooden nest base, a Tillandsia streptocarpa as roof (all my birds love this plant, hiding and roosting in there) and I made some sort of roundish nest for them, as they never did one themselves. It worked.
On october 4th I saw three eggs.
On october 18th I still found three eggs. (Thats why I joined aff! 14 days is a long time.) In the evening there was one chick.
They breed very tightly. The nest is never without of one of the parents.

They get soaked seeds and sprouted seeds. The green seeding grasses have slready been eaten. I have some 15 pots planted, wsiting for the grasses to spike . As we have had the first rain last week, I hopefully will be able to collect seeding grasses soon.

I hope they will raise the chick(s) . Would be the first in the new aviary. Any advise? Besides not disturbing them?

The gouldian pair is breeding, too. But they are not bonded at all, and the nest is often left alone. Seems like they are just 'playing'.
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finchbreeder
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Posts: 11489
Joined: 27 Jun 2009, 20:00
Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

Societies seem to be too domesticated to have a true breeding season. They will lay whenever they fancy regardless. So it is important to give them cuttlefish, and if possible clean beach or river sand, all year round. To keep up the calcium in their bodies. Your Gouldians could be a young 1st time pair?
With the Societies, keep up the greens and all should be well. Congratulations.
LML
LML
Grautier

No Societies here ...

I'll place the vinegar fly trap inside the aviary soon, for if they want some insects.
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finchbreeder
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Posts: 11489
Joined: 27 Jun 2009, 20:00
Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

Sorry - mind must have been wandering. But the comments re keeping up calcium to breeding birds and greens to feeding birds still apply.
LML
Grautier

No chick and the left egg dead.
Have been reading a lot and don't know which the reasons might be.
They haven't been disturbed, no overly hot weather, no colds, sitting tight...

The parents are fit and very close bond.

What would be your guess? Which is the most common reason for this?

I took the nest from them today - nearly no protest - had a good look at it. It seems all well. Clean, no ants, no critters.
I put it back and both birds jumped in at once.

Next try.
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BrettB
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Posts: 470
Joined: 13 Jun 2012, 23:28
Location: Perth

Hello Grautier,
Sounds like you have a great set up.
You are doing lots of things right, fertile pair, incubating successfully, etc.
I can not be sure what happened to your chick. Did you find it on the floor?
A few things come to mind.

Inexperienced pair that did not feed it properly and it died so they removed it.
It got knocked out of the nest as the parents left.
Taken by rodent
Pulled from the nest by another finch (I have had Gouldian males do this)

Cheers
Brett
"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are ." Anais Nin
Grautier

Thanks, Brett.
The pair is indeed inexperienced. And I can confirm that my few birds learn from each other. No idea if the plum headed have been reared by their parents, or were forstered.
I didn't find any chick. If they tossed it, it would have been devored inmediately by the coturnix quails.

Cheers
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