FINCHforum

Hi everyone, I need some advice on my Peter's, I have read a couple of great posts here but would like some input from you guys. I can't seem to find a lot of info on breeding Peter's Twinspot online. Awhile back, i set up a nest box lower to the ground (as recommended by members here) and has observed my Peter's Twinspot going in/out, building a beautiful, deep nest inside of box. Today, i noticed an egg inside the nest with my flashlight and i'm feeling very excited. I have heard that Twinspot are difficult to breed. Will they abandon their eggs, toss chick, will i need fostering, i have provided everything except insects at this point. Any suggestion from you guys would be appreciated to better my changes.

Hi Bigfoot,

First word of advice is do not touch the nest! They spook very easily and will abandon the nest if we fiddle too much (a lesson I had to learn the hard way first time round). Secondly, they need lots of live food to raise chicks, preferably termites but I have gotten them to raise a chick on mealworms and fruit flies (phoenix worms and tiny crickets are also taken). If they have started laying, now is the time to start offering live food. You then need to increase the live food the closer you get to hatching time and once hatched, they pretty much need an endless supply of live food for the first week to raise their chicks.

I would give your pair a chance to raise chicks on their own for the first 2 rounds. Birds don't always get it right first time. If by the third attempt they still don't brood properly or toss/abandon chicks, it means that they aren't happy with the food they have available and/or their is too much disturbance around their cage. I would then suggest trying to foster the eggs under societies and trying different live food options for the twinspots.

While they are not easy to get going, I have been told that once you have the right combination of food and the pair are happy, they are fairly reliable breeders and will raise their own clutches.

Bigfoot3345

Wishing you goodluck.

Rox, lovezeb... Thank you

After 17 days sitting on 5 eggs, it's not fertile , disappointed

Bigfoot3345
Sorry to hear about this clutch, but don't give up. They are hard to breed but yours made a nest, eggs and made a terrific go at it! Give them another chance and maybe they will get it right this next time.
Best of luck!

I agree with Jen, you did make some progress with them, which is not easy in itself. The fact that there were 5 eggs tells me the hen is still in breeding age, as they usually start to lay clutches of only 1-2 eggs when old, if at all. The male may not have done his job, but he could be off a bit on his breeding cycle, not quite in synch with her. Keep trying with them.

I don't have Peter's Twinspots but I do have a pair of Dybowski Twinspots that are kept in a large outdoor mixed aviary. Ive had mine for about three months or so now and they successfully raised 5 babies. I don't think I did anything special to mine. They chose to nest in a bamboo nest that was about 3.5 feet off the ground covered with some artificial plants for privacy. I provide all my birds a few mealworms daily, some eat them some don't. When the eggs hatched I started feeding them baby mealworms and very small crickets. They ate them up and liked searching for the crickets.

Its hard not to peek when your starting out, I did. Im sure the success rate increases when you don't. Maybe it was beginners luck for me or just two outstanding parents. Best of luck to you.