Page 1 of 1

Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 9:31 pm
by isobea
Hi everyone,
I have had this wonderful pair of lavenders for 1 1/2 years now. Last year they built three amazing nests, laid eggs, sat on them as if super-glued to them and fed the hatchlings for several days each time. Then one by one the babies would die, some with empty crops, some with food in their crops. This year, already they had three hatchlings again and again the babies died one after the other.
All my birds are in an outdoor aviary that I've had since 1989 (16x6x6 feet). There are several kinds of seed mixes, different greens, sprouted seeds, egg food plus egg food mixed with insect food, fruit flies and mini mealworms, egg shell, mineral supplements etc.
Over the years I've successfully bred (without any difficulty): strawberry finches, fire finches, gouldians, European goldfinches, canaries, red hooded siskins and yellow black-headed siskins.
I have no idea what these lavenders could possibly need that I'm not supplying.
Does anybody have any insight? Have any of you had luck with lavenders raising their own babies?
Thanks,
Iso

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 4:25 am
by LarksNest
I've seen this behavior often over the years. It appears to happen when I've skimped on the live food. I only feed live food once the breeding season starts (I breed mine during the summer), so they go bonkers once I introduce bugs.

My Lavs have always consumed copious amounts of live food when feeding chicks. It has been my experience that if they feel there isn't enough live food, they stop feeding. Mine rarely touch any other foods when feeding chicks. It appears they raise them solely on live food.

Here they seem to prefer spikes (bottle fly larvae) and have only been successful raising chicks when I feed those. Of course I still have seasons where they refuse to feed for whatever reason, but as long as I keep the bugs coming, they usually raise 2-3 chicks per season.

I do cage breed mine, so no pair has to "share" live food which means it tends to last longer in the cage. Could be yours just aren't getting enough live food! It's just a guess!

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 11:29 am
by isobea
LarksNest - Hi, thank you for your advice. Even though my aviary is large enough, I only have two pairs of European goldfinches, one male blue cap codon bleu, one male canary, one hybrid parrot finch and the pair of lavenders.
I've never tried bottle fly larvae (will have to research who sells them around here) but there are always enough mini mealworms (less than 1/4 inch, I replenish them three times a day if necessary) and I raise fruit flies right inside the aviary. Also I see the parents (especially the female) hunting for spiders and whatever else she can find in the crevices of the aviary once the babies have hatched. Both birds take egg food and sprouted seeds as well and this time of year plenty of fresh half-ripe grass seeds. I do know that for close to the first week they feed almost exclusively live food but I offer this variety because it is a mixed aviary.
Theoretically lavenders shouldn't be harder to breed than strawberries or fire finches. Can you think of anything else I might need to do (or not do?)
Have a great day,
Iso

PS: Where are you located?

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 7:33 am
by LarksNest
Hey Iso,

Other than MORE bugs, I can't think of any other reason they won't finish raising their chicks! I do wish you luck though. They are such stunning little guys and a joy to have in the aviary!

I'm in Michigan

k-

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 2:24 pm
by isobea
LarksNest - just found out Saturday that they have 3 eggs again! Maybe this time is a charm!? I'll do my best.
Michigan? Love it. I have some good friends there. It was the first state I visited in '74 on my first trip to the US.
Isolde

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 2:46 pm
by LarksNest
WOO HOO!!! CONGRATULATIONS! I'll keep my fingers & toes crossed that everything goes well this time!

Forgot to say I get my spikes at Gruboco - here's the link:

http://www.grubco.com/store/store_produ ... duct_ID=10

Only real problem with spikes is they die off fast and stink to high heaven. I think that's why the Lavs love them so much (the smell).

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 7:48 pm
by isobea
LarksNest - Hi again, thank you for the tip! I checked their website but couldn't calculate the shipping cost without giving them my email address. Tried calling them but they are closed. Also tried calling several bait shops in the area and none carry those spikes. Will try again tomorrow. Not ready to give up yet.
Iso

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 9:41 pm
by isobea
Update: two of the three eggs hatched and the female once again searched high and low for spiders and other small insects, especially on day 1 and 2. Both parents also fed some mini mealworms (I never did get any spikes). But after about a week they tossed the babies one after the other.
I'm ready to give up on them. A friend went to Magnolia Bird Farm in Orange county last week and was told they don't expect more lavenders to come in in the future. Should that be true, it would be even more important to successfully breed the stock we already have.
Anybody in Southern California interested in buying my pair?
Iso

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 8:40 am
by MariusStegmann
They are unfortunately more difficult to breed than firefinches and strawberries. The livefood is the problem. I know that your birds get plenty of protein, but the parentbirds think that they don't feed enough livefood and abandon the chicks. Ideally they should get termites, but guys here in South Africa also get theirs to raise chicks successfully on black soldier larwe and meelwurms.

Re: Parent-raised lavnders?

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 3:24 pm
by isobea
MariusStegmann - Hi Marius, I remember collecting subterranean termites for my gold breasts years ago (before I found out where to buy mini mealworms around here). The problem was I couldn't collect enough (with tweezers as they emerged) and after that afternoon there were no more. Ants' eggs should be a great option, too, but I can't find any. I know that's not a problem in Indonesia. Oh well. Thanks for your advice.
Iso