Aussie Finch Forum

I am being asked rather frequently by Forum members what Weaver should be concidered to start off with, the Madagascar or Grenadier Weaver.
Both have advantages and it is up to the individual.
The Madagascar Weaver is less than half the price of the Grenadier.
Being vivid red(scarlet) with the black eye patch makes it stand out in any collection.
It is a free breeder and it doesn't require any specialised nesting sites.It will build in a growing bush or is just as happy to build
in a shelter amongst the dry brush. The nest is a rather rough looking domed nest but well finished inside.
The male Weavers will colour up the following year it was bred and both sexes will breed at 12months of age.
Like most Weavers they are tough and should live longer than the smaller Waxbills
On the other hand the Grenadier Weaver is quite different.In its home land it is called the Orange Bishop(not in Australia)
When in colour the male bird is quite spectacular being orange/red and black.
The male has a far more interesting display to the hen bird during the breeding season.
Possibly a down side is it needs you to lay out an aviary to suit its requirements,the upside is that it builds a beautifully woven nest.
The male Grenadiers will not colour fully until their second year but like most birds that are slow to mature it is quite long lived
with males still breeding after 10 years.
Both Weavers need a reasonable sized aviary and in my own opinion do better in square type aviaries in particularly the Grenadier,
long narrow aviaries tend to limit the males ability to display properly
There are numerous articles written about these birds so try and read some to get a better idea.
Back to the original question, my choice without hesitation would be the Grenadier Weaver.
Apart from the above reasons is that I trust Grenadiers in a mixed collection,providing the aviary is a reasonable size.
I can't say the same for the Madagascar, sure some are very docile and do not cause any problems yet others can create absolute carnage
especially with other birds having some red feathers,If you have Madagascar Weavers in a mixed collection just watch them closely.

very helpful info there, thank you for sharing it with us

Eorix this may be a silly question but can or do you house your various weavers in seperate aviaries or do you have them together in one large flight. I suppose the question is do the various weavers crossbreed or fight with each other if kept together. Also what size breeding colony do you recommend for each of the weaver species.

What would be the minimum recommended sized aviary for a pr in a mixed collection in your opinion?
As most of mine are 2.4w x 2.1 h and the smaller ones 5 m deep.Would this size be ok for a pr and a few other birds still.I may put a pr on the wish list.

still want my pair or trio of grenadiers
thanks E orix, very imformative

I know trio's are all the rage with weavers but you often get a male that doesn't feel under any "stress" to breed in the absence of other males - guess its the flock mentality - you're best to get 2 pair and have the spare male on hand 'just in case'.
You dont even have to keep him in the same aviary as just his presence will stir your breeding male to great heights!! Anyway, males are cheap these days!!
Seen and purchased many a so called "dud" pair where the addition of another male for stimulas has reaped great results.

Just a tip!!

Great advice Fincho162,

It seems that ther is no one perfect formula for weavers, but the extra stimulus is important.
One experienced weaver breeder once told me- the male you want is the one chasing all the others around ie the one with the most vigour!

yes I have heard that too... I just don't want him getting hurt, as I have no where to remove him too

I will try and answer some of the questions based on the Grenadier Weaver
Aviary size, I think 2.4m x 2.4m would be about minimum especially if you really want to put other birds with them.
I prefer square aviaries if they are not really large as this assists the male to hunt the hen and display.
They do far far better if there is a growing bush or plant with rigid vertical stalks/stems!!
At the start of the season the males are so aggressive to his females,this is referred to hunting the hen or just chasing her around and around the aviary.
My personal view is that it is getting her slim and fit to breed,before the eggs are laid the male is dominant by the time the chicks have hatched she will take no nonsense from him. I have never had one male hurt a female even though at times I thought they might.
The vertical stems are essential for the male to weave his nest. The circle is woven between the verticals and then the nest chamber is attached.
When the first egg is laid you can generally see it through the nest wall, if the correct nesting material is available the nest will be very very
strongly built even if it looks frail.
For years most breeders ran 1 male to 3 or 4 hens but today if the aviary is large enough 2 males or even more seems to be better.
At one stage I ran 9 males in one very large flight and it was a great site and the many hens produced well.
If your aviaries are not large try putting your spare male in an adjoining aviary.Great emphasis has been made on buying females but if your male won't build it doesn't matter how many hens you have your results will be zero. If you can only afford a pair watch the birds if the male is annoying the sitting hen pull him out as he has nothing to do with the rearing of chicks.
Around 2/3rds through their season I generally pull one or both of the male birds out and put a fresh ones in to stir the hens up.
All my Weavers are kept seperated from other Weaver species,the late Ray Murray ran Madagascar,Grenadier Weavers and Red Shouldered Whydahs in the one large flight.
I hope this assists

Hallo E Orix. Interesting reading. Unfortunately I never had weaver. After having seen them in the wild I wished I had. I have a few questions after reading your follow up. For the benefit of other forum readers who do have access to weavers, could you maybe give some names of bush or plants with rigid vertical stalks/stems? I take it that weavers have a preference for certain tree/scrub species as is the case with some of the birds that I have bred.
You state that for years most breeders ran 1 male to 3 or 4 hens but today if the aviary is large enough 2 males or even more seems to be better. Is it the case with weavers as it is with most finch species, that a person is better to run the species in uneven numbers i.e. rather 1,3,5 cock bird weavers than even numbers? the hen numbers would than have to be multiplied by 3/4 depending on the number of cock birds? Regards, Case