New java babies

[TarponConch]

Hi all. Just finished separating my newest clutch of java babies from their patents. I thought I'd provide this time line of the clutch for any new java owners who want to breed and may be interested. There is so much conflicting info out there, and I thought some real world experience might give someone a better idea what to expect. I know it would have helped me. Anyway, here goes. The pair were both normals, about a year old. Actual age unknown. This was their second clutch. Their first clutch was 7 eggs. 5 were infertile, and two hatched. One died the first day, the second died on the 5th day. Reasons unknown. This clutch consisted of 6 eggs. By careful observation, and day calculating, the first 2 eggs did not hatch. 3,4,5, and 6 hatched exactly 16 days after she started incubating the day of egg 3 being layed. Exactly 28 days after egg 3 hatched, the first baby made an appearance outside the box. Between days 28 and 37, an amazing amount of transformation took place. All the babies rapidly came out to be fed by the patents and to start eating on their own. Their food of choice was spray millet, but they rapidly started eating dry egg food, oat groats, and lots of romaine lettuce. Vitamins were provided in their drinking water. By day 38, they were extremely independent, eating and drinking on their own. They were removed to their own cage. The 4 babies that came from these 2 normals were as follows. Baby 1 was a black eyed white. Baby 2 was a normal. Baby 3 was a red eyed fawn. ( very beautiful ) Baby 4 was a normal. All sexes at this time of course are unknown. Anyway, there you have it, some real world info. Hope someone can use it.

[cindy]

I too raise lots of javas, different mutations too (a few topics on them as well)... great birds. Very hardy. The parents and babies all retreat back to the boxes at night to sleep as a family. Hand raise several... very smart birds.

Will caution though on the use of vitamins in the water even indoors the vitamins can foul easily combined with food bits, saliva bacteria counts can grow 100 fold within 24 hours, outdoors in heat the bacteria counts can be higher (some species drink more or less than others and they can either get too much or too little of a benefit).... try a powdered complete vitamin, mineral, amino acid supplement (AviVita Gold by AvitTech is very good... sprinkled on soft foods or add a pellet to their seed mix.... all my javas eat a combination of Roudybush (organic, contains alfalfa and herbs also) and a good parakeet seed mix. The javas are all fed the same diet as my grasskeets. They readily eat the pellets often over seed.

They do enjoy oat groats but feed sparingly. They like kale and shredded finely chopped carrot (peel and wash well). oat groats if you soak them then plant them in fresh clean soil away from where wild birds, animals can get to it will grow oat grass....you can do the same with wheat grass also... clip the grass off and feed. mine love chitted/sprouted seed....very nutritional, 3 x's the amount of nutrition than plain seed...best given when the very end of the tail root starts to show.

[cindy]

Since you are in Tarpon there is a seed store down in the Lutz area that sells plain seed....white proso sprouts really well and fast. I buy it in 50 pound bags but think they may do smaller quantities... call Seed World and ask. If not Higgins plain keet seed sprouts... you can try it with any plain seed mix, if it sprouts it is fresh seed.

this is a guide to sprouting... http://www.gouldiansgalore.com/sprouting.html I use virkon when sprouting.

I also sprout brown top millet... you can also sprout millet strands the same way... they love them!!!!!

[TarponConch]

Thank you for all of your input. I have been sprouting seeds and providing them for food. You are right, they really do love them. Also thanks for the input on vitamins. Fortunately right now my birds are housed in a spare bedroom which has been turned into a birdroom only. ( I have a very easy going wife, thankfully, who really loves them as well), so our Florida heat doesn't affect things healthwise too much. The idea of finding white proso only, would thrill me, seeing as they seem to waste most everything else in the standard budgie mix. 50 lbs. is a bit much, but I'll check out Lutz. Thanx for that tip as well. Got a question for you. Is the Southeast bird show in Tallahassee this weekend worth going to?

[cindy]

even at room temperature the vitamins in the water can go rancid... add bacteria, food particles, saliva to the mix and it becomes a bacteria haven in 24 hours. Best to add a powdered to the soft foods. Water should be clean and fresh.

Seed world sells oat groats but they are in the hull and is tough for the birds to eat so avoid that... there is another place called Shells down off 41 that sells hulled oat groats...I usually get a 50lb bag (lots of birds) and mix it in with proso.... they too sell proso but call first to see what they have in. avoid buying from open bags/bins to prevent contamination.

[cindy]

Never been to the one in Tallahassee... some say it is good, depends on the vendors and what is available... I use to be a vendor in Orlando, Largo, Sarasota but mostly do the Ammerman's show in Plant City twice a year. Largo is this weekend it is hit or miss... depends on the vendors.

Are you looking for something specific? Been doing birds for a while in this area and might be able to point you in the direction for something specific

[TarponConch]

Hi again. Been considering getting into owl finches. For some reason I've become enamored with them. I'll never give up my javas, just want to try something a little different. I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling most of the owls available locally are pretty much all related. With the price of owls a little higher than other finches, I kind of hope to get a little bit better quality than what I'm seeing. Make sense?

[cindy]

I know several folks that breed them...I use to had a good size colony in my aviary. Some of the breeders are out of town... through these breeders you are more likely to get unrelated pairs.... if interested pm me and I can give you a few names or reliable breeders, friends. I may be bring several pairs in from the west coast in the Fall.

I wrote an article on breeding them, can pm you that if you like..... you can get a few pairs and colony breed them...would not put them in with javas though. They like longer flights.... Kept them in either a 5 ft long flight or my walk in aviary in my bird room... it was 8 long 6 high and 3 deep.