Java Sparrows

[bunchou]

Hi there! I'm interested in getting a pair of Java Sparrows, but I'm not entirely sure where to start. First, I'd like to say that these will be my first birdies, but I promise to take great care of them! But before I buy a bird, I have a whole list of concerns because I tend to overthink things and no matter how many resources I read, it never seems to be enough.

I was wondering if there were any breeders in Toronto, Ontario or close enough to it to reach by car. Should I be bringing anything to the breeder (for example, a carrying case or any identification I may need)?

Is it fine to put them near large windows? I live in a peaceful Canadian suburb, so there's not a lot out here. It won't freak them out to see any (not so wild in terms of variation) wildlife? I think our backyard also does have a raccoon (or few) roaming around, but they're usually out at night and we never notice.

I'm really scared of clipping the tiny toenails they have, because I don't want to ever hurt my birdies. And I'm also scared of any beak clipping that I may or may not have to do. I've found that there are specific perches for this kind of thing, but are they alright? Will they hurt my birds' feet?

I'm pretty sure I don't want them to breed during the school year as I'm a college student and I won't have as much time to keep an eye on the birds (the school year lasts from early September to late April and I have a 2 week spring break and 3 week winter break), but if it's during my summer vacation, I think I'd be more alright with it. Will hand feeding the babies make them more hand tame when they grow up, or should I leave the parenting to the parents? I'm also scared of losing a female bird because they became egg bound or any other birthing complications they may have.

Do I need any specific toys for them? Aside from perches, and some fake plants.

How do mites happen? I'm really scared of this as well, because during the school year I won't be around as much and I don't want to notice too late. Is it likely for any mite problems to occur if they're the only birds I have and I don't bring them any open or used products?

And lastly, how long is the life expectancy of java sparrows if I take care of them really well? I haven't even gotten my pets yet, but I already know I'll be heartbroken when nature takes its course.

If you read all of this, thanks for reading!

[cindy]

I raise a fairly good number of java. They are a pretty hardy birds.

A pair will do fine in a 30 x 18 x 18 cage. Tall cages are wasted on them since they tend to stay to the top. They love swings. Silk plants they will destroy. Not big on toys.

Diet...this is what I feed and they do very well a simple parakeet mix that includes oat groats (they relish these), they also eat pellets...Mine like roudybush the Nibles size. The like dried egg food, boiled grated egg, kale and carrots chopped fine, shaved broccoli.

If not using pellets use a good vitamin mineral amino acid supplement in the soft food as directed. I suggest AviTech AviVita Gold...very complete. Any bird not directly exposed to direct unfiltered sunlight need a source vitamin D3 the pellets I use and the Vitamin supplement both contain Calcium and D3. If you do decide to add pellets to the diet it is recommended that if you feel you need to supplement with a powder vitamin, mineral supplement to only do so no more than once a week.

Breeding is done when the birds are about one yr of age....an external mounted keet box with a layer of pine flakes and a layer of timothy hay on top and extra hay and long straight coco fiber cut into manageable size can be give in a container on the floor of the cage, some will build out the interior of the box.

If thinking of taming you can hand feed out the young very easy to do since the mouth gape is like a canary and the sit straight up to beg. The parents are typically wonderful parents in regards to tending to the young. Most my pairs do not mine fledglings or weaned youngsters living with them, in large flights they tend to mob together.

Toenails... even with a cement perch, do not use the sand perches to irritating to the soles of the feet.... you will still need to trim nails. The best way to hold them since some will nip hard is to place your middle finger and pointer finger on either side of the neck allowing the back of the bird to rest in the palm of your hand. Avoid using what I call the "death grip" holding the birds body in your fist... this can restrict the birds breathing and the bird will still be able to nip you can get away.

Mites do not just happen, if they have them in the environment they will get them.... you can do a couple of different things... not sure what is available in Canada but you can use a spray called AIL lightly spray the underside of the wings and back...the ingredient in AIL will only stay in the body for about 3 to 4 day...topically you are not putting the insecticide/treatment through the liver it goes through the skin to the blood stream. once you do that you can follow it with a drop of either Scatt or injectable (not giving it as a shot but you will need a syringe with a needle to draw the liquid up) of ivomec (ivermectin 1%, feed stores carry this) I will pm you the dosing for those.

They do make oral treatments like iverlux and s76 also follow the directions on the bottle. Be warned if using a water cup they love to bath so get them use to a water drinker or water tube. No bathing during topical mite treatments. If using a water mite preventative treatment do not supply an extra bath for them, you want the treated water to be their only source to drink from.

If you can't get any of these but can get a mite and lice spray in a pet store be very careful not to drench the bird with this, it can make them sick.

if you do treatments/preventatives when you first get them you should not have to treat them again.

[bunchou]

cindy

Thanks a ton for your detailed response!

[Sally]

bunchou

You've already gotten some good advice, but I wanted to welcome you to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. Good luck on your venture into this wonderful hobby. You will find it addicting!! Once you get your birds, we love to see photos. And don't hesitate to ask questions, there's lots of help here.

[bunchou]

Sally

Thanks!

I'm still not entirely sure where I should be getting my birds, but I'm still looking around. I've only found one store that's two hours away..

[cindy]

I can check around on some of the groups and see if anyone has young unrelated javas in your area that are available.

[bunchou]

cindy I would be really happy if you did!!! Thank you so much!!!

[bunchou]

cindy update: i ended up finding two at the nearby petsmart, and they were pretty expensive but one of them was missing a toe and i felt so bad, and the cages were so small!! they had three cutthroats and two javas in there.

im not sure about their sexes, i think they're both girls. the girl there kept trying to sell me a sanded perch, and tried to tell me i could kill my bird by clipping its nails

in the end, i just told her id buy it if i need it later (probably not)

one of them seems to be pied (tiny amounts of white feathers around its head) but they both have the normal colours aside from that.

[Shannylee]

Congratulations on your new Javas! (You got the birds...just not the perch, right?) They are great little birds! I have a male/female (I think...hahaha!) pair and they are a blast. My male (?) has normal coloring but the female (pretty sure it's female) has some white feather ticking around her face too. They are kind of hard to sex but the male has brighter color eye rings and a more bulbous bill. I hope the bird experts on here will correct me if I'm wrong.

Cindy already mentioned the oat groats but I'm going to bring it up again because they LOVE oats. I bought a bag of steel cut oats and mix it with their regular seed. They dig through the seed to find the oats. Mine like romaine lettuce, boiled egg, applesauce, and banana but they like the oats the best.

Don't worry about that missing toe. I have a few canaries with missing toes and you'd never know. They get around fine.

Hope to see pictures of your new babies!!

[Sally]

bunchou You should have told them they needed to discount that Java with a missing toe, damaged goods! LOL Just kidding, Petsmart never discounts. However, I did get a free bird years ago from a caring manager.

Congrats on your new birds. Everyone who has Javas tells me what an intelligent bird they are.

[cindy]

this is a guide to sexing them...... by the way if you can find the Higgins dried egg food they love that too, the love the seeds in it.

If you have trouble sexing them take some pictures we can help you.

I found my topic on mutations and bumped it up for you

[bunchou]

thanks for all the suggestions! i dont think these birds want to be touched at all, so i was wondering how often their nails should be clipped and if i should just pay to have it done for me (it seems to be 8 dollars per small bird...) because I'm scared they'll squirm and hate me

[cindy]

if you hold them to clip the nails restrain them like this...you pointer finger on one side of the neck and your middle finger on the other, their back resting in your palm. You can hold gently with the rest of your fingers. I hold mine like this to avoid a nip and you can also actually hold a a foot with your thumb, little finger and ring finger while you clip with the other. You'll notice if the nails get too long, once maybe every 3 to 4 months.

See if you can find a pair of baby nail clipper with a light on it...it will help you see the quick/blood line easier.

[Stuart whiting]

Extremely informative info on Javas on this thread,

Very interesting and put together very well,

Thanks cindy for taking your time and sharing

[cindy]

Thank you Stuart...my pleasure. Javas are one of my favorite species. I rested my birds for a long time and am a bit looking forward to getting them to produce again.