Crimson Chats

[Jayburd]

Can anyone tell me anything about the general habits, housing,feeding and ease-of-eeping about these? also anything on availability and price would be welcome.

[desertbirds]

Probably Garymc or Eorix would be the guys to ask.They are not hard to keep mate but you have to remember they require live food daily and they eat quite a bit of it.I fed mealworms,termites,small crickets and those little mealies that Eorix suggested to steer clear of.I think a lot of people feed maggots and they take a large range of small insects,i fed mine saltbush berries when in season and they would have ago at cucumber and sweetcorn but only consume small amounts..I also set up a vinegar fly culture in there and they ate quite a few of those.A moth or insect trap would benefit the chats but the traps and night lights can be unrelaible when its windy or in winter when there arent many bugs around.The chats are generally peaceful but i would house them with only one or two pairs of finches depending on the size of your aviary.They spend a fair bit of time on the ground and love grasses and shrubs to investigate for insects.They are really active and spend a lot of time on the hunt.I really liked them but didnt want too many birds competing for live food and had to make a choice at the time.There a really interesting bird and well worth a go.I think they around $350 a pair but ive heard prices from $250 to $500,that was awhile ago.They are great to watch if a moth or flying ant gets into the aviary,they`re pretty quick and they will also hang upside down off the wire and pick insects off the top of the cage.I would consider keeping them similar to keeping a pair of insecivourous finches,remembering though its not just when they have young that they require live food.If you send a PM with your email adress i can email you a few photos but they arent great ones.

[Jayburd]

thanks Desert very imformative.
I think I should be able to collect termites year round and also moths crickets etc. should be possible.