Green Backed Twinspots

[Justino222]

Hello all, some of you know that i bought a pair of GBTP and the female died. I have now purchased another pair. I am planning to breed them but wanted advice on people success and/or failure attempts at breeding them. These birds are not common in captivity I hear, so I would love to breed them and share them with other enthusiasts. I have a pair and a male by himself. The pair are in a 30x30x18 cage. Should I move them to a bigger one?

[Justino222]

I am going to use this post as my journal. A lot of people want to know how to breed Green backed twinspots, so I will try and help. This is my first time trying to breed them. With little to no information online, I used what I read to fill in the blanks. I moved my twinspots to a 3 1/2 foot wide x 2 1/2 ft tall cage. In this cage I planted it heavily with artificial plants. I placed small meal worms on the bottom of the cage in a dish, and give them seed and millet. 2 days ago I offered them some nesting materials and they have started building a nest! The male is working so hard to complete it.
I do not know if they will mate, But they are starting the process.

I will keep everyone posted with pics on the progress. If any questions, do ask.

-Justin

[Justino222]

Here are some pics.

[Justino222]

Got a completed nest today. They were working hard all day. Time to wait for eggs!

[Jen]

So excited for you! These are such beautiful birds. Please post photos and keep us updated on your venture with these guys. So far so good!

[Justino222]

Thanks Jen! I will certainly keep everyone posted. Im just very excited. They are not very common in captivity/ homes, and are said to be really hard to breed. I hope they are not pulling my leg with this nest haha.

[Justino222]

Update: the female has been in the nest for 2 days now. I have no idea if there are eggs, but see no other reason why she would be there. I would look and see, but im scared she will abandon the nest. I will try and look if I see her out of the neat. Until then....

[Sally]

Try not to peek, as sometimes with waxbills, even looking in the nest will spook them. Good luck with this!

[Justino222]

I did peek last night, and I am glad I did. My female was in the nest puffed up and breathing heavily, I had the thought of her being eggbound, but said to myself "maybe she is laying it and i'm just being a worry wart." Went in there an hour later and she was on the bottom of the cage, vent was pushed out and wings down. I believe she was eggbound. I supplied heat and a humidifier to her, and she went back into the nest. I woke up this morning and she is normal, flying around and eating mealworms, but no egg. I even checked the bottom of the cage. Can they re absorb them?

[Sally]

I have had this happen, with a hen that was so obviously egg bound that there was no doubt, yet after a night of heat and humidity (plus the calcium drops), she would be flying around the cage normally the next morning, with no egg in sight. I don't know that they can absorb an egg, but a soft-shelled egg can cause just as many problems. It is difficult for a hen to pass that egg that never forms completely, and so she will exhibit all the same symptoms, and she can also die from this condition just as easily as from a fully-formed egg that won't pass. Sometimes you can see a yellow blotch on the floor of the cage that was a soft-shelled egg. I've had birds eat eggs that they laid on the floor of the cage, so perhaps they are eating these eggs that they finally pass when egg bound.

So glad she is feeling better, and so glad you ignored my advice and checked the nest! Better to chance abandoning than lose your hen.

[Justino222]

Thanks for the info. Yea, she was in the nest and I just had a feeling something was wrong. Glad I checked. Im also glad that they seem like they want to start a family:) his will be a great success. I have provided some calcium, and hope that helps. Will keep everyone posted.

[Justino222]

Found the egg. It was in the back right corner, kind of translucent. Has a shell but looks thin.

[MariusStegmann]

With Twinspots, an insect diet is very important. In the wild their diet would be 60% insects. Meal worms are not enough, you could perhaps try fruitflies. Even if you manage to breed them, they will abandon the chicks if they don't get enough live food. The people that I know who bred Twinspots successfully give them termites every day. Maybe they will take freeze-dried blood worms.

[Justino222]

So termites would be enough?? Or in addition to the mealworms?

[wildbill]

I suppose you could try maggots but if you can't breed a bird on termites alone its pretty bad. if given the chance any of the waxbills will eat hundreds per bird per day.
I think termites are that far ahead of other live food they stir up pairs into breeding mode. in Australia you have to be a bit careful too. although the birds like the termites - the termites if given the chance enjoy a snack on your house