NUNS!!!!!!!

[JCD93]

i was just wondering if anyone could tell me anything and everything on alll three nuns pleaze
thanks.

[Jayburd]

Black head, white head a tri colour?

well, I've only kept tri colours, but here goes.

Nuns are of the genus Lonchura, relating them too birds like the spice finch, and the mannikins, and the Bengalese Finch. It is imperative that you don't keep any two different species of nun/mannikin/munia/spice/bengalese.
tri colours are often considered the hardiest and the easiest bred of the nun species, and though the others rank similarly, I believe this to be true. They are very pretty birds, and are peaceful in the aviary, able to be either in a mixed collection, housed as single pairs, or housed in a colony.

It's very difficult to sex all three species, and lots of breeders have formulated their own ways. I personally find that male tri colours sit up tall, while the hen sits almost horizontally on the branch. the best (and sometimes the only) way to sex them is by their song. The males will sing at almost any time of year, but especially in spring and autumn. The song is a loud "whee, whe whe whe whe wheeeew, (now ascending) wheeee, whe! whe! whe! whe!"

That's not a very good description.
But it's unmistakable once heard. DNA sexing is also effective, and nowadays is not very expensive.

tri colours can be fed on plain seed, supplemented with iger, and seeding grasses, soft foods, and greens. They adore live food, and will attack mealworms svagely, decapitating them before... ok, too graphical. but you get the idea

They will nest in boxes, baskets, or brush, generally preferring brush. Mine attempted to breed a few times, but the eggs were always infertile.

They both incubate, and the eggs hatch after around the 15 day marker. Young fledge at about 3 weeks, and are varying shades of brown. a lot of nun species are almost indistinguishable from each other during this brown stage.

The tri colour can be housed in large cages, but it's best o keep them in planted outdoor aviaries for good results, and show. They can look quite ratty if they don't have access to a regular bath.

The other 2 species I can't really comment on, but there are a few people who will.

Hope I helped.

[Matt]

I keep both Tri-Nuns and Black Headed Nuns. All three species have the same general requirements.

As Jayburd said, they are difficult to sex. I find the best methods to be head size/shape and also the colour and lustre on the rump.

Some will take live food, some don't. I personally don't feed mine live food and still have good clutches. The most important thing with the nuns is green seeding grasses. If you can provide plenty of seeding grasses, you are well on your way.

One thing to be wary of is their nails. They are very prone to overgrown nails if housed in cages or small aviaries.

All three species are scarce in these parts at the moment, but if you can find them they are well worth the effort.

[VR1Ton]

Seems to be a re-occuring problem with the nuns, as well as many other 'çommon' finches, is they go through fads, they go from so mant people breeding them you can't give them away, to extreemly hard to find and paying thrugh the nose for them. When i breed them about 15 years ago, you'd be lucky to get $30 a pair for them, when I saw them recently, one breeder was wanting upto $100 a pair. Some of the Munias went through this, but by the time they were back in fashion, there were too few around to cater for the demand, but have never been able to recover to sufficent numbers for the average breeder to consider. Heres to hoping that the nuns don't suffer the same fate.

[Jayburd]

Like spice finches - one minute they're common, next, they are nowhere to be found... and everyone still thinks they are a 'nothing' bird! no one has them anymore!

[VR1Ton]

The good thing about the Spicies, is theres enough of them flying around to be able to ensure they stay available.

[Jayburd]

but there AREN'T!!!! the wild population has been slowly dying out for years now!

[Matt]

Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw a flock of spice finches with around 25 birds. Their status in the wild is pretty secure and they have displaced some natives. I've always liked spice finches because they were the first finch I had good success with other than zebs. Unfortunately, they will always be a cheap 'nothing' finch because of their colouration and they are from the lonchura family.

[finchbreeder]

Well I like all the Nuns/Manikens/Munias The only ones I have kept are Tri Coloured, eggs no chicks, and Bengos, going well.
If I had more avairys I would happily keep more, and strongly encourage anyone who has the space and can locate some to give them a go.
LML

[GregH]

Don't rely on getting wild munias to breed. I've had Spice finches, White bellied Munias and chestnust munia (L. atriplicata) for nearly 3 years and they've done nothing so far. They are considered a nothing bird because they are worth ~AUD$2 so no one tries to breed them but if the DENR really clamped down, aviculturists would be left with nothing. I agree the 3 munia species are not as attractive as other grass finches in terms of colour but each species has intrinsic value that is not reflected by colour and I'd dearly love to breed from mine. Three more aviaries is the only solution but my wife wouldn't tolerate that!