keeping softbills?

[iluvaussiebirds]

I want to start keeping a few softbills, native wrens maybe, but cant find much literature about housing/feeding etc. any advice very welcome. I'll have a range of aviaries, mainly 2.2m x 1.8m x 1.6mh, 3m x 3m x 2.1mh, 4m x 3m x 2.4h & 10m x 3m x 2.4mh. Other birds sharing the aviaries will be native finches, button quail, & neophemas (maybe). Live food will be termites, mulch heaps, vineger flies & maybe a moth trap. What I need to know is what to provide for nesting, will they mix with the above birds, what size aviaries do they do best in, how often & how much to feed them, what else do they need? everything about them, really!

[Nrg800]

From the other birds you will be keeping in your aviary I would suggest maybe Silvereyes or Bulbuls, the Silvereyes are nectarivores and Frugivores but they could be happily kept in your aviary if you have flowering plants. They also love Grapes and other sugary fruits if you can spare any. The Bulbuls are more Frugivorous and do love berries. They can also be feed on boiled rice (apparently). I think the bulbuls will gobble up the live food, whereas the silveryes will be abit more passive (though they will eat it, but they will wait for the other birds to finish). With the Silveryes, they are much the same as Scarlet Honeyeaters, but more basic, so once you've got the hang of the Silvereyes you can probably move to Scarlet Honeayeaters pretty easily...

Another opion that I would quite like to try is Starlings, I am quite impartial to them, and would like to hear from anyone who has kept them!

Just a quick note, I haven't kept any of these birds, I don't even have a finished aviary right now, all of this info is from stuff I've read and heard from people!

~Nathan

[natamambo]

Danny has a bit of experience on the wrens and has written an excellent article http://www.geckodan.com/index.php?page= ... airy?wrens" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jayburd]

Interesting with the starlings there, Nathan. also I think you meant to say "partial" not "impartial"
At some point I would like superb wrens, orange chats, and I would LOVE to have a colony of white-winged choughs - the real comedians of the bird world! I sat this mroning for 2 hours watching the hilarious antics of a large family.
Oh and inland dotterels of course!

[VR1Ton]

With the Silveryes, they are much the same as Scarlet Honeyeaters, but more basic, so once you've got the hang of the Silvereyes you can probably move to Scarlet Honeayeaters pretty easily...

If only it were true.

Silvereyes are the biggest livefood pigs you could come across, & breeding them ain't easy, as for the Scarlets, about 10 times harder. Wolud suggest Superb or Splendid Wrens. Take just about any live food, will use the same nesting materials as the finches with the addition of plenty of cobwebs, Black House Spiders are the best, or Daddy Long-Legs, especially if there are young spiders in them. Plenty of fresh branches & regularly will also give them a bit more livefood & they'll spend hours searching every leaf to find something to chew on. A couple of strips of flakey bark such as Paperbark will also provide them with a bit of fun stripping it off to get the insects, & use it for nesting material as well.

[Danny]

Hi, I keep all of the available QLD legal species. In your aviary , with such a mix of birds, Silvereyes are probably your best best as a starter. Although you can "get away with it" for a while, any wren in that mix will ultimately lead to tears so I prefer to always keep them on their own. Lapwings would be fine on the floor if its uncluttered. Are you referring to European starlings as we can't keep metallics in QLD?? I keep Europeans (Pieds) and they are a neat species but not for a mixed collection. If you can get hold of a copy of the last convention notes then all my diet recipes and breeding info are in their. Maybe someone can scan it for you.

Danny

[Jayburd]

can photocopy and mail out convention notes

[Nrg800]

I was talking about the Introduced ones, So they're not easy to keep? Damn

[natamambo]

I know one man's trash is another man's treasure but starlings??????? These are a major pest. I have even been in Coonabarrabran when they were so bad every evening at dusk hundred of rounds were fired into the sky to scare them off roosting in the trees. WA lives in fear of them crossing the Nullabor. They are known for spreading a number of human and animal disease. So, why keep them? Aren't you scared of the risks to the rest of your collection?

[iluvaussiebirds]

Wow, thanks for all the info guys, lots to think about. only into australian natives, so the starlings are out. interested in wrens, i really love the little variegated wrens, and the splendids, also like the crimson chats. Hi danny, you recommend keeping them on their own, so maybe 1 pair per smaller aviary would be ok? would the wrens be ok with crimson chats? jaybird, yes please would love the convention notes.