Java Sparrows

[Shannylee]

I agree! Thank you Cindy for all of the great information!!

[Stuart whiting]

Hi cindy,

To be onest over her in England we've got hundreds of em and I've never really taken much notice of em but have now recently become more interested in them

Maybe have a few pairs in me birdroom once me room is finished

[bunchou]

I tried giving them a dish of water to bathe in, but they don't seem to notice it!! They are, however, panicking a little less when i stick my hand into the cage to fix something.

I haven't tried to grab or touch them yet, and I'm not really sure how to, because they're really fast and I'm nervous and slow. I'm not sure if they need a nail clipping yet, and I've been cleaning poop on anything that's not the floor.

They've both started chirping, and I'm 99% sure both are girls! Naming is always the hardest part for me, even as an animation student that has to make up my own characters.

Neither are pure normal javas, both of them have white markings (one has them under the beak). But I'm kind of glad, because this means I can tell them apart easier! Maybe next year, when I'm sure they're healthier and happier, I'll get another cage and two boys.

Also, I'm looking to invest in a larger cage eventually, but I couldn't quite find one yet. Maybe at the bird show in October - It's only an 18 minute drive from my house, too!

[Shannylee]

Awww...what a sweet picture. Mine were nervous nellies when I first brought them home and it took them about 2 weeks to settle down. They don't flit about (aka crash their bodies into the sides of the cage) when I move them now. Our routine is that I move them from the porch to a pretty place by our koi pond each morning for a few hours. They used to freak out, which freaked me out! Now, they don't even leave the perch. Yours will figure out their new routine in a week or so and they will be fine.

[bunchou]

is this poop on her tail?? did the other birdie poop on her?

if she did, then i'm kind of worried because they're very flighty and i can't grab them well enough to wash it off...

[cindy]

give them a bowl to bath in..... if they are new to you and your routine, young they may be flighty and should calm down.

[bunchou]

cindy I've tried putting a bowl of water in their cage, but at best, they just seem to look at it

I've also had to replace the water several times because it would get dirty - Is there any way to convince them to bathe, or do I just keep trying?

[cindy]

What kind of cage do you have? Would this kind of external bath work on your cage?

[bunchou]

cindy i think it would! what is it called?

and also, do you have any suggestions for brands of food, nutrients, and other products i should buy? i'm planning to go to a bird show in october (only 18 minutes away by car!), so it'll open up my options a lot more...

https://www.amazon.ca/Living-World-Plas ... +bird+bath
https://www.amazon.ca/Living-World-Outs ... +bird+bath
https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-Bird-U ... d+bath+pet
https://www.amazon.com/Pen-Plax-BA808-D ... d+bath+pet

would either of these do? or is the one at petsmart fine? (http://www.petsmart.ca/bird/bird-baths/ ... tid-400020)

[cindy]

Mine love the Higgins ProTeen 25 Egg food

A good parakeet mix proso and oat groats, they do eat some canary seed mixes. I use Higgins and I get bulk white proso and oat groats in 50 lb bags (flook is a bit big and the javas eat what my grasskeets eat.

They like sunflower chips but use those sparingly, very high in fat and since you have girls fat can set the hormone levels off and they can start dropping eggs though I have not had that issue.

The do eat Roudybush and I include it when I mix my bins of food, if they are not use to it start off buy putting a small amount say a tablespoon on top of the seeds.

If not using pellets you will need a good vitamin mineral supplement.... I like AviTech's AviVita Gold...sometimes you can fine it at shows, check the expiration dates on the products you pick up at shows.... if you can't fine it you can order it through Glamorous Gouldians (she carries the tubs also, you might be able to find them at a show as well).

If using pellets and feel you need to supplement with a vitamin mineral supplement and they are eating the pellets do so no more than once a week.

Also since you have hens they can still drop eggs and become egg bound even without males so pick up or order a small bottle of calciboost to keep on hand, it is beak dosed using a drop to the side of the beak on a schedule (beak dosing is to the closed beak, do not pry the beak open)

You mentioned you were looking for a cage for them...height as mentioned earlier is wasted on them... two are fine in a 30x18x18 cage or longer....length is more important than height.

[Stuart whiting]

cindy I've tried putting a bowl of water in their cage, but at best, they just seem to look at it

I've also had to replace the water several times because it would get dirty - Is there any way to convince them to bathe, or do I just keep trying?

Hi there bunchou if yer bird don't seem to wanna bath the option to take is to use a plant sprayer, can be purchased quite cheaply from most garden centres etc,

Tap water is ok but collected clean rain water is actually better for the birds, adjust the nozzle of the sprayer so it's a fine mist and then spray yer birds through the cage bars,

Incidentally make sure that you always spray or bath birds first thing in the morning so yer birds have then got the rest of the day to properly dry and preen themselves before the go to roost of a nighttime

[cindy]

I purchased one at Wal-Mart for around $7

[Stuart whiting]

cindy perfect, money well spent, that's all I use,

Incidentally I also use this when it comes to catching a bird up out of a flight cage and you've got several or more birds in the one cage or aviary and all look the same,

By standing back away from the cage a little you can then suddenly spot the bird you need to catch up,

A quick squirt of some water onto the bird and now he / she is the odd one out and makes catching the bird that much easier

[Sally]

I have that same mister that I use for birds that don't want to bathe (almost all of mine are enthusiastic about baths!). I also use it when I have a loose bird. Spray it when it lands, it gets wet enough to slow it down to where I can catch it.