Breeding House sparrows in Cgaes and there mutations

[NRJ]

Hi,

I will be getting a house sparrow pair very soon and intend to try and breed them in captivity,

So is there anyone who has any experience with them, i have heard they are bred in European country like the canaries.

Any help will be appreciated, on cage size , diet , soft food mix...etc.

thanks

Neeraj

[wildbird]

I raised several english sparrows which are also called house sparrows. One lived to be 13 years old. One or two were kept in a 16 X 16 X 23 inch cage. As with any finch, the bigger the cage, the better. If they are raised from babies, they can become very attached to you. I gave them Hiiggins finch seed, diced fresh papaya, small piece of cantalope clipped on the side of cage, brocoli top clipped to the side of cage, fresh parsly. I also gave them 4 or 5 mini mealworms from Grubco. They love them, but don't give too many to them. They will eat cooked corn and peas and a bit of bread. I also specially prepared Harrison's neonate formula. It comes in powder form. Place about a teaspoon of it on a cutting board and sprinkle with water to dampen. Then flatten it out with a spoon, cut into tiny bite size pieces. It should not be wet, but like a very thin pie crust so as not to stick to the inside of their beak. I gave them this in the morning and changed it out in the afternoon. They always had fresh bottled spring water. A shallow reptile dish was provided for a bath. Oyster shell and mineral grit was always avialable. Hope this helps.

[w.l.]

While hand-raised sparrows get very tame, wild-caught ones tend to remain very wild and aren't suited for small cages.
A very experienced friend of mine once bred them through generations (trying to stabilize a mutation) and he said breeding the original wild-caughts was difficult. It certainly needs aviaries, not a small cage.

[MiaCarter]

I've had an assortment of sparrows who came to me as a wildlife rehabber. A couple of adults with permanent injuries/disabilities (wing, usually) and a few babies too.

They are actually a quite aggressive species. For most, I wouldn't put them anywhere near another bird of the same size or smaller. I had some habitats outside for the long term residents and the sparrows almost always had to be with larger birds; smaller birds would get bullied.

There were a couple exceptions. I had a pair of siblings who got along with finches and canaries. But they weren't house sparrows. They were one of the other varieties - whitethroat.

The sparrows who came to me as babies did just fine in captivity. The adults had all the usual challenges of a wild bird placed into a captive situation.

[w.l.]

To avoid confusion it is worth mentioning that in North America, members of the family known as buntings in most of the World (Emberizidae) are also known as "sparrows" while that term in the rest of the World refers to the "real sparrows" (Passeridae).
The House Sparrow is a "real" sparrow (and my friend bred that same species), but the white-throated sparrow mentioned by Mia is actually a bunting (or "American sparrow").
Not sure how much difference that means when keeping them - I think buntings are even more rarely kept, let alone bred, than sparrows.

[NRJ]

Thank everyone for all you inputs, has anyone been successful in breeding them in cages?

will post pics soon of my pair.

thanks

Neeraj

[NRJ]

Here are the pics, not very clear as they would not stay still.

[MiaCarter]

w.l. - Very good point! I should have mentioned that myself!

To expand on what you said, there are literally dozens of different varieties of sparrows in any given region and many are easily confused:
http://www.pbase.com/mobish/all_sparrow ... s_together

So that's important to keep in mind too. Even as a former rehabber who's worked with lots of different species, I struggle to identify some of these sparrows (especially since many were juveniles, which makes it more challenging).
The varieties are many and I've seen a few cases where someone thought they had one type, but really had another.

I never tried to breed any type of sparrow. I imagine it would be hit or miss much in the way it is with all wild-caughts. If you can get them to feel comfortable in captivity, I think you could be successful.

I know sparrow babies need plenty of insects, but I'm not sure how picky the parents are in this regard when it comes to breeding.
In other words, it's possible they may be like some waxbills where they absolutely won't breed unless you have just the right live food and lots of it. (Though I suspect they probably aren't super, super picky in this regard simply due to how prolific they are).


ETA - Lovely photos!
It may be the lighting, but the male looks like he has a lot more contrast than many house sparrows. Many are more "muddy"/"ruddy" like the female.
Lovely birds.

[NRJ]

Thanks MiaCarter

[w.l.]

Actually, from what I have read and heard, live food sounds essential for raising their chicks.
Though at least they should take larger ones than waxbills.

Mind you, not many people bother with sparrows other than the golden one.

I was wondering why someone was even so enthusiastic about getting them, but it so happens I landed in the Maldives yesterday and am yet to see sparrows here, so they may be exitic beauties viewed from here!
Btw, many people seem tp have smal aviaries in their gardens here, and I think the sparrows would thrive much more in those.

And beautiful they are.
If they were not so common in most places, people would surely appreciate them much more.

I only keep golden sparrows, but have quite a wish list of ithers I would love to get!

[Colt]

The Sudan Golden Sparrow is a beautiful bird. Congratulations on keeping and breeding them.

The House Sparrows look nice. I'd give them a roomy cage as they are aggressive/territorial as Mia mentioned. I believe Chris103 had them in an aviary with Zebra finches outdoors and he had to modify nest boxes to ensure the Sparrows didn't raid the nests and kill the Zebra offspring.

[NRJ]

Thanks colt and w.l.

w.l. will you be able to send me some of your Timor sparrows, do you know some one who can export to Maldives??

thanks

Neeraj

[mhdi20]

this may help you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPNjD-Z6q84

[mhdi20]

Also this trick look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufGv4_mEGmM

[w.l.]

NRJ
Sorry, I can't send birds abroad and don't know anyone who can.

@Colt
So far I only keep, not breed the Golden Sparrows.
The males are definitely keen to breed though!
Let's hope... I have 2 pairs (I hope, one of the "females" is a bit yellowish, so suspect...) so I should have a decent chance.