Orange cheeked egss and baby gone.

[PT1334]

Well, I had a pair of orange cheeked build this bautifull nest on the ground. They laid 5 tiny eggs and one of them hatched yesterday. When I came from work ,I went to check on the eggs, I looked through the bedroom window using my binoculors (I don't want to get too close and disturb the nest)and the nest was empty. No sign or trace of the eggs or baby. I can still see the parents go in the nest and sit there. What happen to my eggs? Maybe a snake or lizzard ate them. I did see the java finch looking and playing with the nest a couple of days ago. Now, do you guys think the Java had anything to do with this?

[VM0572]

Yikes..a snake or a lizard...is there no way to protect your aviary? Maybe the parents kicked out the babies..no one will ever know for sure. But at least they bred for you! Maybe better luck next time.

[kenny]

having kept javas for quite some time now i would definately say it was the java..they are voracious nest builders and use anything to build thier nests..i have put milet sprays in the aviary and found them inside javas nests along with pebbles and yes dead chicks.....they dont have a nest to do this either they just get any strange nest and empty it ..you may find the body of the chick somewhere as they may not have eaten it but they will have taken it out of the nest and dropped it somewhere..they have a powerful beak on them as you will have seen..if you have a breeding pair then beware they are worse when they are breeding...javas are infact more friendly in a colony sticking together like glue with each other and raiding each others nests and leaving the others alone.....i cant discount a lizaed or a snake but i would bet my boots on the java..................this is a section from a mixed bird breeder who had javas in his aviary

Maybe the curses I threw at the Star finches when I found nest after nest of chicks thrown on the ground UNTIL I watched the female Java sparrow flicking them out one by one!!

here is a link to the full article it may give people thinking of mixing birds some idea which birds to put with what

http://www.finchsociety.org/cfa/mix/mix.htm

ken