Seagreen Pied Parrotfinch hens

[Stuart whiting]

608duj

You mention breeding compatibility, not sure if I follow. Was it difficult to find compatible pairs?

Regarding the chicks with malformed feet, were the parents closely related to one another?

I would love to know more about your breeding experiences with the Forbes. What sort of nests they like to use, what types of foods gets them into breeding mode, what do they like to feed their chicks, etc. Do they need to breed young, like the Red Throats?

Would appreciate any bits of information that you're willing to share.

I would of thought that 608duj probably meant that forbes ( tri colour ) are not particularly the easiest of birds to breed with, infact they can prove to be rather difficult at times, certainly don't breed as eagerly as the red and blue faced parrot finches

[608duj]

I found Forbes more difficult to pair up successfully than the Redface. Even with the Redface I have had to switch partners several times, and with some hens have yet to be successful. I recently added some new blood so will try them with these. I have a lot of experience with animal husbandry,
so really feel that hens that are too difficult to pair should be sold as pets, because their daughters may be difficult to pair as well. There may be a hereditary component. I have experimented with the Gouldians : I put 5 pair in a 7' flight and watched them until I saw bonding behavior , and then removed those two to a breeding cage. All the Goulds had different color combos, so it was easy to determine who was who. To do this with the Redface would be difficult . They all look too much alike and they move too quickly to see band colors. I am going to do all the SG x SG, but I only have 3 SG males, so the other SG hens will go with potential SG splits.

I would never knowingly breed close relatives. But birds can move around a lot. My original PFs I got from the FinchFarm, who got them from Rich. They could be related to the birds I got from Haider who got them from Rich.

[608duj]

To answer your other questions : I feed all my birds Romaine 2x weekly, Higgins Egg dry ad-lib and Kaytee Finch alternated with Kaytee Parakeet ad lib. I top these up 2x weekly. I used to spend a lot of time making up fresh food concoctions hardboiled egg/corn/peas /carrots.

One year I stopped on half my birds and switched them to what I now feed. Over a years time there was no difference in chick production between the two groups. I give millet spray once a week or ad lib if they have chicks. All are wormed 3x yearly with SCAT and the Gouldians get IVO
in between as well. I give ACV in their water sources 2 days a week. I forget the ratio, I just slosh it into a gallon jug, perhaps 30cc to a gallon. All water is changed daily.

If the birds want to breed they will. If they don't, they won't, no matter what you feed them. I give the Gouldians grass clippings which they do not really use. The PFs need copious amounts of Coconut grass. Zebs use anything. I line the nest boxes with coarse sawdust.

It is quiet here, no kids running around. 14 hours of light all year. The PFs raise their chicks in the living room listening to whatever DVD I am in the mood for, currently doing an ER marathon.

[lovezebs]

608duj

Thanks for the information.

[Stuart whiting]

608duj

Cheers fella, thanks for sharing

[608duj]

Forgot to mention I have HATCHED (crushed eggshells) available at all times as well as Cuttlebone..The Zebras use it the most, even the males.
No egg binding.

I am not a fella, I am a girl.

[Stuart whiting]

Forgot to mention I have HATCHED (crushed eggshells) available at all times as well as Cuttlebone..The Zebras use it the most, even the males.
No egg binding.

I am not a fella, I am a girl.

Oops......my sincere apologies

Yes I use plenty of shell aswell and I also grate the cuttlefish and mix with the shell as I believe that all finches and other seed eaters should have this

[lovezebs]

608duj. Stuart whiting

I make a mixture for all of my birds. It contains crushed oyster shell, bird grit, crushed egg shells, grated cuttle bone, grated iodine block, bird charcoal, grated mineral/vit block, and bird clay.

I scatter some of this on the floors of all my flights and cages and everyone eats whatever they want from it.