Difference between a chocolate self and black brown society?

[wilkifam]

w.l.

I agree, the scale-feather on that beauty is just mezmerizing. I think I am a "pattern-junkie". Is that a chocolate or a hybrid? Its gorgeous!

It is a Black brown Euro Babs.

[wilkifam]

wilkifam

Just a question. What would happen if you bred a female chocolate with a Black Brown cock?

I'm thinking about color as well as temperment?

I'm really drooling over both.

The only reason I would cross those two, would be to get better pattern in my american selfs. You would have euro influenced Selfs. Temperment is always good with all of these guys. All stellar parents.

[wilkifam]

wilkifam

Just a question. What would happen if you bred a female chocolate with a Black Brown cock?

I'm thinking about color as well as temperment?

I'm really drooling over both.

The only reason I would cross those two, would be to get better pattern in my american selfs. You would have euro influenced Selfs. Temperment is always good with all of these guys. All stellar parents.

It would also add some size to the americans, as the euros are considerably bigger birds.

[w.l.]

Nice birds!
I particularly like the one with white ring on left leg, the last bird on the 2nd lot of photos. Good to see some quality societies here.

That bird came in behind it's brother who won the show last year, but the judge said if it had a couple more weeks to feather out, he would have won.

Well, nice to hear I had the eye for quality!

[w.l.]

w.l.

there were a pile of light pied societies and one dark one sitting nearby. Maybe it wasn't even a society finch, but some sort of wild munia?

If it was a wild munia, then it was probably a Spice Finch.
Spices have nice scaly pattern in their own right, and you could safely add them to a cageful of societies, though they are not so easy tyo breed themselves.

[Sheather]

I love spice and miss mine a lot. I got them to breed once by not caging them - they built a nest in a vine ball hung on the wall and had three chicks. Now they're really rare in my local area and I wish I never sold mine.

[isobea]

Hi everyone, several years ago I was looking for those beautiful societies (without having to have them shipped). None in my area that I could find, so I ended up with two spice finches. Very pretty and easy to keep but never bred since I ended u with two males. Now we have a whole flock (about 15 to 20) "wild" ones that come to the feeder in the backyard three or four times a day and eat me out of house and home. Most of Almost all of them are juveniles that will probably go through their first molt once spring arrives.
Sheather - Dylan you want me to 'get' a bunch for you?
Iso

[w.l.]

isobea

Shouldn't you limit the amount of feed offered to them?
I think wild birds should only be given supplementary feed so as not to make them stop looking for their own food in the wild. Offering them some food once a day should be enough to keep them visiting without making them dependent on it.

I am curios when whydahs will reach your feeder.

[isobea]

w.l. - Maybe I exaggerated with the 'house and home' expression. I do put out that food but aside from the spice finches we also have house sparrows, house finches, song sparrows, doves, and white-crowned sparrows show up. So between all of those birds they go through quite a bit of food. But there are also long stretches where no birds show up. I do agree with you, it should only be supplemental food.
Iso

[w.l.]

Well Sheather, if Iso is serious about her offer, you should really consider it!
I think birds grown up in the wild tend to be stronger and healthier than those bred in captivity, thanks to more diverse food, more exercise, and varied weather conditions.
The health issues associated with them are usually results of poor captive conditions at the traders and in shipping, and I am sure Iso would keep them in top condition. Plus they are still young so should adapt to captive conditions fairly easily.
Any moral doubts about keeping wild caught birds could be much reduced by knowing that these are introduced feral birds that should not be out there in the wild in California to start with.

Incidentally, I bought 4 wild-caught spices just yesterday!
Two are fawn mutants, one of them with red eyes which I had never seen before.
Fawn spice from the wild invariably tend to be females, so I added two normals to give them hopefully male companions. I have already had 2 such fawn with normal pairs in my birdroom for quite a while.
I am not a fan of mutations normally, but do make exceptions to mutations popping up in the wild.

[isobea]

w.l. - You are so right about the overall health of the wild spice finches, their superior color and overall look of health and well being. A wide selection of foods, lots of exercise and plenty of sunshine make all the difference. Unfortunately due to environmental factors, diseases and predators, the average life expectancy of wild birds (statistically) is only two years.
I haven't done this in ages, so not quite sure if it will work but I will try to attach two pictures of spice finches. The first one will show a bird the color mine were, the second one will show the color these "wild" ones in our neighborhood are.
Iso

[isobea]

w.l. - Forgot to ask you if you can post a picture of those red-eyed fawns. I don't think I've ever seen one.
Iso

[w.l.]

Iso, the color differences could aldo be due to different subspecies.
In any case it sounds like you have beautiful ones thereabouts!
Our Javan nisoria subspecies are brown like in the upper pic.

There is only one red-eyed fawn:

FB_IMG_1482548225860.jpg

[isobea]

w.l. - Oh my goodness, they are beautiful! No wonder you bought them. I would have, too. Now what will happen when they pair up with normal colored males? And may I ask how much you paid for them (the normal males and the fawn females)?
Iso

[w.l.]

Not "they are" but "it is"!
I told you there's only one red-eye.
The other fawn is dark-eyed and more greyish.

I paid $15 for the 2 of them and asked for the 2 normals thrown in as extras.
Those would cost ca 15 cents each here.