breeding strawberries and melanism
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 6:23 am
Hi...I don't get to this forum often. Not that I do not want to. Too may birds and their care get in my way. I also have a bunch of parrots and one in particular is requiring A LOT of attention.
Anyway - I have had a pair of strawberries for about a year. Definitely a male and female. They are supposed to be from Europe and cage bred. They are closed banded. I had read about the melanism but I was surprised how quickly the male appeared to be affected. He has a lot of dark feathers on his breast and not nearly as much red on his head as previous but I also think he is about to moult. That said I am not sure if he ever has returned to eclipse plummage - he has always been easily identified from the female. I do not think the female has changed colour at all. Their feather quality appears fine.
Do the people breeding their strawberries just ignore the melanism? Has anyone tried vit d3? If so, what concentration and where do you get it? What lights are people using and where are you placing them in relation to their cage/aviary? What is the best temperature to house them at? To anyone who has an outdoor aviary, I would be interested in the process you use to acclimate them from indoors to outdoors, as well as, what temperatures you wait for.
Currently they eat a finch seed mix and Lefeber's finch granules. Other than egg food and meal/blood worms what other foods should I feed to get them in breeding condition?
Can anyone tell me how long they live in captivity? And at what age you should wait to breed and when are they getting 'old' to breed?
These are the first pair I purchased. I had them six months and they appeared to be in great health and doing well so I bought two more pair from the same place. Unfortunately, the second and third pair seemed to consistently remain light. In the fall my furnace cut out on what of course was probably the coldest day of the year. I was not home at the time. When I did get home they were on the bottom of the cage and fluffed. I used a heat lamp etc but it was too late and they died. This has really unsettled me. Of course it has been a financial loss and like most of us I do not have money laying around to spent on birds. This was just a special treat for myself after going through some tough times.
I do have the opportunity to buy another 1 or 2 pairs from the same person. I am hesitant because the 2 & 3 pairs were light and I could not get them heavier. At the same time, I could not say that the birds were ill when they were sold to me. I am wondering about the housing/temperature etc about where I got them as all 6 were obtained by my supplier at the same time. ie) did he sell me the best pair the first time around? or were they all in the same condition but with poor care started to suffer health wise? Are strawberries just more 'sensitive?'
My other finches are zebras and societies. I have had finches about 3.5 years. I still have my fist finch - a fawn pied male - and he seems happy and healthy so I think I am doing ok with care. I have not bred any of these because they are so many around here. If I breed, I wanted to breed something that would benefit the bird gene pool and give back to the birds I guess you can say. I have read most of the strawberry info in this forum throughout the last year.
I think my biggest problem is being so rattled by having the four birds die like they did. Like may here, I really care for the little guys regardless their financial price. It was so devastating. That said, I do not want to invest in 4 more birds that may be ill and unfortunately there are no birds around here that I can go look at and inspect before purchase. I have to trust the person who ships them to me. Sorry, I realize I am just rambling away. Obviously a lot of you have the same dilemma.
Oops - I just realized I forgot to ask what other people have on hand in the unfortunate event the power/heat/furnace goes out when it is cold outside?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.
Anyway - I have had a pair of strawberries for about a year. Definitely a male and female. They are supposed to be from Europe and cage bred. They are closed banded. I had read about the melanism but I was surprised how quickly the male appeared to be affected. He has a lot of dark feathers on his breast and not nearly as much red on his head as previous but I also think he is about to moult. That said I am not sure if he ever has returned to eclipse plummage - he has always been easily identified from the female. I do not think the female has changed colour at all. Their feather quality appears fine.
Do the people breeding their strawberries just ignore the melanism? Has anyone tried vit d3? If so, what concentration and where do you get it? What lights are people using and where are you placing them in relation to their cage/aviary? What is the best temperature to house them at? To anyone who has an outdoor aviary, I would be interested in the process you use to acclimate them from indoors to outdoors, as well as, what temperatures you wait for.
Currently they eat a finch seed mix and Lefeber's finch granules. Other than egg food and meal/blood worms what other foods should I feed to get them in breeding condition?
Can anyone tell me how long they live in captivity? And at what age you should wait to breed and when are they getting 'old' to breed?
These are the first pair I purchased. I had them six months and they appeared to be in great health and doing well so I bought two more pair from the same place. Unfortunately, the second and third pair seemed to consistently remain light. In the fall my furnace cut out on what of course was probably the coldest day of the year. I was not home at the time. When I did get home they were on the bottom of the cage and fluffed. I used a heat lamp etc but it was too late and they died. This has really unsettled me. Of course it has been a financial loss and like most of us I do not have money laying around to spent on birds. This was just a special treat for myself after going through some tough times.
I do have the opportunity to buy another 1 or 2 pairs from the same person. I am hesitant because the 2 & 3 pairs were light and I could not get them heavier. At the same time, I could not say that the birds were ill when they were sold to me. I am wondering about the housing/temperature etc about where I got them as all 6 were obtained by my supplier at the same time. ie) did he sell me the best pair the first time around? or were they all in the same condition but with poor care started to suffer health wise? Are strawberries just more 'sensitive?'
My other finches are zebras and societies. I have had finches about 3.5 years. I still have my fist finch - a fawn pied male - and he seems happy and healthy so I think I am doing ok with care. I have not bred any of these because they are so many around here. If I breed, I wanted to breed something that would benefit the bird gene pool and give back to the birds I guess you can say. I have read most of the strawberry info in this forum throughout the last year.
I think my biggest problem is being so rattled by having the four birds die like they did. Like may here, I really care for the little guys regardless their financial price. It was so devastating. That said, I do not want to invest in 4 more birds that may be ill and unfortunately there are no birds around here that I can go look at and inspect before purchase. I have to trust the person who ships them to me. Sorry, I realize I am just rambling away. Obviously a lot of you have the same dilemma.
Oops - I just realized I forgot to ask what other people have on hand in the unfortunate event the power/heat/furnace goes out when it is cold outside?
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.