So after the horrible year I had last year when I was contemplating getting rid of most if not all of the birds during the summer I did not in fact get rid of any. In fact I've expanded...again. lol I even got a dear friend of mine into birds and in the last few months she's expanded from finches into some beautiful hookbills as well as, from the small grasskeets all the way up to cockatoos!
Of course my signature is all out of whack and really I'm just taking a break from working on a paper and some online discussions, but I figure I'll give everyone a run down of what's going on in the bird room.
So I now have:
Two pairs of Amethyst Starlings - I think the three new ones are a little young to breed, but they have been checking out nest boxes. I don't imagine much is going to happen. They are very nervous birds. My original hen as maintained her calm attitude towards me, and I'm hoping that wears off on the new birds.
I have several pairs of Bourke Parakeets - My Rosey/Ino x Rubino pair have six adorable little ones in the nest right now, four Rubino and two Rosey.
The Rosey pair is new and haven't even looked at their box. I also have a couple of single girls waiting on boyfriends.I have a lovely pair of Scarlet-chested Parakeets. These birds are so quiet and calm. I just love them. I saw the hen checking out the box for the first time yesterday. So I hope I get some cute fuzzies from them pretty soon.
As far as the finches:
I have two pairs of Strawberries who like playing in their nests but not doing anything. Well, that's not entirely true. The original pair laid several clutches but I believe the hens nails were too long as the eggs kept getting broken.
I have at least 11 pairs of Society finches set up, all different mutations including Crested and Frilled. I have one pair of Orange-breasted Zebras and a few Black Cheek hens waiting on boyfriends.
My Chestnut-breasted Mannikins have been breeding well and I have a few boys that need girl friends. I added a pair of Tri-colored Nuns, or Mannikins. They are super flightly and nervous. I'm hoping that they settle down and breed soon.
I've added Red-throated and Blue-faced Parrot Finches to the bird room. I just had my first Lutino BF Parrot fledge this week. He/she/it is adorable. I haven't had any luck with the RTPF. I lost my first hen (who was quite old) but her mate and another pair are doing very well.
I haven't had time to attempt sexing my Owl finches this year so I put all of them into a large flight cage and they seem to be building nests. I already have a couple of eggs. of course I won't have a clue who the parents are, but at least I'l have some little cuties. I don't have a single empty cage either so it would be near impossible to pair them in single pairs right now anyway.
My two pairs of Stars drive me up the wall. They lay, incubate, and then toss 4-5 chicks every time I let them breed. If they weren't so pretty I'd ring their little necks...
Some of my Shaft-tails are breeding which is nice. This particular pair throws the prettiest babies. Albino and Isabelle. My Isabelle, Normal, and Fawn pairs aren't really doing much.
I've decided the Gouldians hate the weather this year. It's been all over the place. I haven't gotten one fertile egg or chick out of the whole lot of them. Half of them aren't laying, and the other half only seriously incubate a few days before taking a break and then laying more eggs.
My Diamond Doves are breeding like crazy and I'm baby-sitting some Ground Pygmy Doves for a friend. I'm hoping to be able to get them to breed as well.
I also added some beautiful Painted Finches who have been settling in quite well. I'm hoping when they are a little older that they go to nest.
Anyway, I'm off to work on this paper some more. I jut needed a mental break for a bit. So I had a sandwich and decided to browse around here. I'll try to be on here more in the future.
