My Purple Grenadiers - New Pair + Cherries

[Sally]

Mealworms, mealworms, mealworms! I wouldn't even try to make these guys raise with no live food, though I think Misty has kept hers without live food. The two males are imports, so they want live food. And of course the hens in with them are now relishing the mealworms too. Once they are out of my house, I will do the fruit fly thing. And I have offered white worms to pair #1, but they ignore them so far. I'll give pair #2 some today and see if they like them.

[CandoAviary]

Are you farming the mealworms or ordering by the bucket

[Sally]

I have a mealworm farm going, but I have trouble keeping up with it, as far as harvesting at just the right time. I get busy, and the next thing I know, the worms are huge or have pupated, and I don't have so many small ones. That's the situation I'm in right now, so I need to order a bunch of minis. I have several drawers with beetles in them now, so before too long, I'll have some really tiny ones.

[MLaRue]

I gave in and now they have mealworms - all Grens and all VE's. I just couldn't risk it. My original Grens did perfectly fine without the worms. Their color and condition is actually better then the ones that have been with mealworms in my opinion. But will give the mw's during breeding as I don't think I've heard of a single situation of a breeder having success with these guys breeding without the mealworms. Not one.

[Sally]

I agree, Misty, it is not worth the risk right now. Maybe someday down the road, they will be domesticated enough to convert future babies over to no live food, but for now, I will give them whatever I can to keep them happy.

[Strickalator]

how big are these birds, they look huge in the pictures.

[annague]

I'm with Shawn... they look pretty big -- are they the body size of a mandarin orange or larger?

Will someone please take a picture of their gren's where you can see the whole front?? - they are shy and I know they must be very difficult to photograph but everyone always talks about how pretty they are in person...?

Looking forward to hearing about how these guys do --

[Domenic]

They are really not that large, I'd say like the size of a gouldian if I remember right. Their tails are VERY long, so this may contribute to their large appearance.

[CandoAviary]

They are smaller than gouldians, gouldians usually weigh around 18 to 22 grams....them more like a waxbill size... here are the notes on PGs

Length: Approx. 145 mm (or approx. 6 inches)
Colour ( "normal" colour ): Refer photo/s above if available.
Weight: Approx. 15 - 16 gms (or approx. 1/2 oz)

Another source:
The length averages 13.3 cm (5.25 in).

Here is a great article about parent raised Grens. They raise their chicks in the wild on termites...... Termites are easily cultivated
http://nfss.org/articles/article/purlgren.html

[monotwine]

Anna I can only help with a pic of a male bird, same as my avatar. Alas I don't have a hen.
Their colour and personalites I think influence the raving.

I too will be interested to see how your pairs perform in the future Sally. Perhaps one day I will get a pair, but in the mean time I have the Violets to try breed although I am in no rush for them to produce. I don't know what i would do with the young.

[annague]

He is really pretty, Monique! I was trying to see the pattern from the feathers on their breasts.

Is he lonely without a mate?

[Sally]

To me they are very large, but that is because I have mostly tiny waxbills--GBs, Fires, YB waxbills, CBs, St. Helena's--even the Owls are little. I haven't had Gouldians in such a long time that I think these Grens are larger than Gouldians, yet the weights tell the story. I think Gouldians are stockier, more solidly built. And Grens have big beaks.

[annague]

Sally, it will be so interesting to see how they do for you with your waxbill experience -- since they adore live food you are probably a very good candidate for success with these birds.

Keep us all informed -- I am excited for you (and us since we get to share your journey)!!

[Sally]

Misty and I will be working with the same number of Grens, I think, and Misty has more experience with them--these are a first for me. We are hoping that we will both have success, and then can swap out bloodlines.

[L in Ontario]

Wow - I too thought Grens were bigger than Gouldians (by 1/2 was my thoughts). Amazing!