Aussie Finch Forum

Was lucky enough to see Red Eared Firetails on a friends property in the Sth West they would come in everyday and forage around his vege garden, I was suprised how tame they were for wild birds they would basically hop around your feet and didn't seem to show much fear, definately some birds I would want to have.

Back in the 'good old days' the few people who kept RE's advocated HUGE aviaries and that these were not birds for the 'average' aviculturists

My experience has been 3 or 4m Square aviaries by normal height are not only adequate but also preferable, and with a single pair as sole occupants

Plenty of greens bok choi, okra, in fact any greens . . and given in smaller amounts several times a day . . mix up a few and give them a short pulse in a blender

They are very timid and if you want to watch them in 'action' you need some kind of hidey-hole

They are easy to breed (probably easier than Redbrows) and as more people take them on and the price drops a bit they will become more common

The amazing thing about the young is that they can fly as well as adults on leaving the nest

Got my jealous eyes on :/ theyre on my wish list too and some spare land like that !

Arthur: do they prefer a dry hot climate inland Australia or more of a wet coastal climate. Is the aviary height as important as length and depth.

I knew a guy who had them in Vic, late 1990's, and he said that his 3m high aviaries were better suited to the Red Ears. He had them in large, 4m x 6m x3m, well planted 1 pr sole occupants per aviary. These large aviaries were a converted cockatoo complex. He said breeding them was achievable but keeping the juveniles alive was the hardest part. Unfortunately he sold up the property and his knowledge is now lost. If only forums like this were available then.

Wagga . .

I'm on sub-tropical coastal with pretty definite 'wet' and 'dry' periods and get the occasional 35C in summer

I wouldn't regard height as essential,might give a bit more privacy to these shy birds . .( mine were 2m/2.5m), but I think the one pair sole occupants rule should be adhered to

Somebody from their home territories may be able to add more but SW West Aus can be very hot and dry in summer more than 35C

I would be surprised if they didn't do well in your new 'habitat'

PS I no longer keep them, nor many other finches for that matter

And without a doubt forums such as this are invaluable . . when I started out only a very few books were available . . and most of them were of limited value

Arthur thanks for the info. I agree forums such as AFF are a valuable tool in collecting information on finches. I am considering a number of new species, after I rebuild my aviary, choosing is the hardest part.

Was that MB in Vic?

He had a pretty good handle on R E's

Arthur: he lived between Benalla and Shep on acreages, his full name slips from my memory at this moment . It is Not AW, now he use to have a great collection of birds.

arthur wrote:Wagga . .

I'm on sub-tropical coastal with pretty definite 'wet' and 'dry' periods and get the occasional 35C in summer

I wouldn't regard height as essential,might give a bit more privacy to these shy birds . .( mine were 2m/2.5m), but I think the one pair sole occupants rule should be adhered to

Somebody from their home territories may be able to add more but SW West Aus can be very hot and dry in summer more than 35C

yes i can shed a bit more on to there weatehr having seen them in 2 different locations with out even going looking for them. and with a good 400kms between the 2 places, one place ive seen them is a 15 min drive from me were it ranges from bout highs of upto 45c in summer nd daily averages of say bout 16-17 in winter nd average rainfall . nite time temps get very rarely down belows 0 average for winter would be 7-9 id say,i do know of a few breeders with them succesfully keeping them also one of the firsts to keep them back in the late 80s and bred a few but the trouble was keeping the fledglings alive did keep a couple alive but not many. have seen them kept in a varied of aviaries ranging from 6mx 2m 2.1h wit a few shrubs to heavy planted aviarys 6x6m all both varying in success.hope this all helps

thanks chris

Fincher, Thanks for the local info.
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This post is another example or benefit of AFF members supplying personalised data that would be near unobtainable to find outside of the local breeder network.