not so much australian but...

[Jayburd]

They aren't so much Aussie FINCHES but still,

Does anyone have/know anyone that has Orange & Crimson chats, and dusky woodswallows?

Not looking at getting any (Yet! ) but looking for info.

Some questions of mine are:

can the two chats be housed together or are they too territorial in breeding season? I know that they make mixed feeding flocks in the wild but.

How much will the birds lighten the pocket? especially orange chats?

they are all mainly insectivorous, but what type? I can provide temites, mealworms, maggots and the occasional waxworm...

would it be possible to house them in aviaries ROUGHLY 4 x 1.5 - 2 x 2.1m? I haven't built them yet. For those that don't quite understand, i'm moving house, and am bidding at an auction on saturday. obviously therefore, I can't measure nor predict the available space ;)

would the chats attack birds of similar colour (i.e. crimson chats and auroras, orange chats and orange breast waxbills)?

and finally, where would I look at getting some from? I can't travel far, and so it has to be in/near canberra surrounds.

That should keep everyone busy for a while!

Jay

[garymc]

Hi there

I keep the orange, crimson and white fronted chats. Some pairs are housed together (i.e crimson/orange orange/white and crimson/white) and breed without any serious disputes. They do bicker but nothing too harmful. I keep them with some finches without any dramas, but I try and be selective with what finches are in they aviaries with them given that some finches will just sit there and chew the heads of mealworms and hence my livefood would be no longer live. Generally in smaller aviaries I house one pair of chats only (say 4m wide 2.4m wide). I would think 4 long x 1.5 to 2m wide would be good for one pair and something else


Personally I think that the crimsons are the best to start with. They are probably the best aviary bird being much more settled and comfortable around humans.

We can't keep woodswallows in WA but might be able to point you in the right direction - I know Adam in the ACT had some but don't think he keeps them any longer.

Crimson chats are going for around the $250/$300 mark, whilst orangies ????. I did part with $600pr for my orginals.

I feed mealworms, maggots and pupae and small crickets but if I had ready access to white ants they would be my first choice. I also feed some brown sugar dissolve in water and place in a "shot" glass. To this I add red-factor colour enhancer to really get the colour out in them - works quite well.

As mentioned above chat bicker more amongst themselves and to be honest I have never seen them argue with any other species. Cocks will chase the hens butits all part of the breeding ritual.

Freighting will probably be the way to go.

[Jayburd]

Hi Gary,

thanks for the info! wow, your really lucky to have all 3 species!
As for the housing, I may be able to have around 2 - 4 aviaries of varying size, depending what house we get. whenever I go to open houses, that's the first thing I look for!

Woodswallows, yes I've met Adam a few times, we're in the same finch club . He had white brows for a time, and I think sold them in september 2009, but not sure.

would red colour enhancer work? would it turn the orange chats red? also I hear carrot juice works?

Seems like a fair price for CC's but $600 seems a bit high for oranges, was expecting about $530 tops.

by the way, how do you feed crickets? wouldn't they all escape?
I don't like the idea of freighting, I think it's cruel to the birds. would much prefer either local or if someone's traveling this way.

Thanks!

Jay.

[finchbreeder]

Funny Jay, but I remember each time we have been house hunting I look at the size of the block and "he who prefers tools" looks at the size of the shed, then we look at the house.
Even when the house was for the kids not us.
Can't help some people can you.
LML

[Jayburd]

sounds just like me: yard, shed, house, spare room (as a birdroom) ;)

[garymc]

The picture shows one of my orange chats who is quite partial to the "nectar".

As for the crickets I feed them out in those typical 55l plastic boxes which can be readily bought nowdays. The birds do take a few days to get used to them but after that its no problem.

I guess the view on freighting is a personal one. Might be a whole new topic there.

[Jayburd]

lovely bird!

ok, sounds simple... might try it out soon. always looking for live food ideas!

I just noticed a back issue of Just Finches & Softbills that has an article on orange chats, so will be back - ordering it soon
Are oranges hard to breed? Apparently they build cup nests, so would I have to hang up some canary nestpans? would they nest in those? also, would they use normal poa - grass and coconut fibres (my usual materials) for nesting?

I believe there is a topic on freighting here, and most say that cucumber is 'the thing' to use as a water provider. Just as an example, if I were to buy say a pair of orange chats from you, and you provided cucumber, it's my experience with feeding it that it dries fairly quickly - and also that the birds eat it fast.
So what happens in the few days between them finishing off the dried - up cucumber and them arriving? surely it would take them at least 2 days from you to me?

and if a water container was used it would probably all splash out during the trip.

so anyway, that's my personal view on freighting.

back to the birds themselves, how do you tell the cock from hen in both the chats during the non breeding season when the cocks are not in colour?

Jay

[garymc]

Chats (particularly the orange and crimson) are generally birds of the harsh dry interior. Evolution, I guess, has seen that they can survive for weeks or even without a direct source of water (not ideal but they can and do), but get a lot of the moisture out of the food that they eat. Hence water in the freight box is probably more of a hinderance (should it splash out and the birds get wet) than an asset.

As for nesting I have never seen a chat use a canary cup rather they build their own in dry or live brush usually within a metre of the ground. I have found the Bluebush to be a favorite.


Typically, when I send birds they leave my end around 5pm, travel by plane to Perth and a ready to pickup at around 6am then next morning at the capital cities or around lunchtime if a rural airport. So the birds are doing the majority of travelling in the dark and come light the next morning have reached or almost reached their final destination.

[Pete Sara]

hi Jay , garymc is your man for the chats . Adam fitzgerald is your man for the wood swallows , he does write a fair bit for aviary life and i think just finches , he lives in canberra and had them a while ago but had to sell most of his birds so i am not to sure if he still has them but he would be able to point you in the right direction, when i find his email addy i will pm you with it.....pete

[Jayburd]

Thanks Poitta, I have his email and phone, and as I mentioned earlier, we know each other.

He has sold his softbills & finches, but he is getting back into them.

Ok Gary, might be something to consider then! I had no idea it would be so fast!

looks as though I may have to get building the aviaries and also buy some bluebushes!

Jay