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Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:27 pm
by RigorMortisKitten
I have been educating myself a lot about ricebirds these days - but there is one thing i am not sure about!

On some sites, i have read that javas do best in colonies! And on other site i have read that they can be kept both in colonies and in single pairs.

What do YOU think is the best for them ? :) Will they not do good in single pairs ?


I have wanted to get javas for a while now, but i think 2 would be enough in the cage i have! (they are big birds, and i wouldnt want to overcrowd!) If they don't do well in pairs though, i will not get javas until i can build a bigger cage :)

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:52 pm
by cindy
My favorite site in regards to javas
http://www.javafinch.com/site/site.html

I think it depends on the size of your aviary or flight cage. They are territorial and pairs will bicker during breeding season. What size flight/aviary were you considering?

I had two pairs to a flight cage like the one in my picture and they bickered terribly

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:10 pm
by BigBear0007
What do YOU think is the best for them ? :) Will they not do good in single pairs?


They will do fine in single pairs! That's how I always had them!
When you have a good breeding pair they will go to work for you right away and build a nest and have babies!

There is an add on Kijiji here in Calgary, $100 for five Javas and a cage!

I am tempted but I want to concentrate on my Waterslager canaries!

Jerry

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:12 pm
by RigorMortisKitten
Ouch, the bickering doesn't sound good :( I was thinking about having just males or just females though, since i dont want any babies!

I have a new cage, that is exactly the same as my old one, that looks like this:

The size of this cage is 52 inches from the bottom to the top, and the bottom is 32 x 32 inches! I think it would be too small for 4 javas :( This is my 4 societies cage, and they do very good in there :) but javas are much bigger...

Image

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:14 pm
by RigorMortisKitten
Bigbear: I am new to javas :) and i care very very much about my birds well being, so if they feel best in flocks with more than 4 birds, i wouldn't want to have less birds than that ;) just so you understand my concerns about this :mrgreen:

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:17 pm
by wellingtoncdm
I would do a group. They really like being together and the bickering still happens if you have only two. It's not bad.

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:18 pm
by cindy
It may work, the size is the width of a breeding cage basically, the height for finches is not as important as width. Maybe you can free flight them in the cage and if you breed pull pairs for individual cage breeding.

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:21 pm
by DanteD716
My uncle kept one pair and they did fine. The male sang so he must have been happy. :)

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:28 pm
by RigorMortisKitten
I agree with wellingtoncdm i think! Maybe a group would be better than two...
for this, i'd need a bigger cage, so i think i'll get javas when i dont live with my parents anymore and have more room for an even bigger cage!

I have learned a lot just by watching my 4 societies :) when i had only 2, they were more reserved and careful, but when they got 2 new friends they became more confident!

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:44 am
by Nipper06
Javas are very social birds and like to be in a group. So you can keep more than 1 pair in a large cage together. But for breeding, you should keep only 1 pair per cage or there will be fighting. If you don't want to breed them, just don't put in any nest boxes.
You can colony breed Javas in a large aviary.

RigorMortisKitten, 4 (or even 6) Javas would probably be fine in the cage you posted a photo of - but that is too small to breed 2 pairs together (they will probably fight).

Here are some photos of my pet Javas, from the past... they can be tamed if you start out with very young ones and really work at it. But adult birds are pretty much untameable. I wrote an article about taming them.
Image

Image

I had this trio back in the 1990s. I got them as fledgelings and worked hard to tame them. They were very tame and would fly to me whenever I called them. I could let them fly in my screened porch in the summer.
Image

Wild Java Sparrows in Hawaii. There are huge flocks of them in Hawaii. They were introduced there from Asia.
Image

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:29 pm
by RigorMortisKitten
Awwww your pictures and your birds are wonderful Nipper06 :) javas must be great pets, even though taming is not always possible

I would not want my javas to breed, since i dont have any room for baby birds :) would there be fights among only males, or only females ?
I am still contemplating if my cage is too small or not, and thinking that maybe its better for smaller birds! I have 4 society finches in the cage on the picture above, and they are doing great! :) I was thinking about getting shaftails.... but they seem to be as big as the javas :^o

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:36 pm
by PrettyBird
BigBear0007 wrote:What do YOU think is the best for them ? :) Will they not do good in single pairs?


They will do fine in single pairs! That's how I always had them!
When you have a good breeding pair they will go to work for you right away and build a nest and have babies!

There is an add on Kijiji here in Calgary, $100 for five Javas and a cage!

I am tempted but I want to concentrate on my Waterslager canaries!

Jerry
That ad has gone up in price by 150! lol.

Re: Ricebirds/java sparrows - single pairs or colonies ?

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:09 pm
by Nipper06
RigorMortisKitten,

If you just want to cage a few pairs of Javas together and not breed them, it doesn't matter about the sex. But I would avoid 3 birds because 2 of them could pair off and pick on the other. If you just keep a few Javas, go for even numbers, 2 or 4.