Fancy starting to keep birds, in a cage or an aviary? Here's some tips from my first years in doing so where to start and points to watch out with them.
Zebra Finch
The Zebra Finch is the most common Estrildid finch in
Central Australia and one of the most popular aviculture birds. These little birds come in an array of
different colours or mutations, from the wild form grey bird with chestnut
cheeks, striped throat and tail and chestnut-spotted sides to pure white birds
and wide variety in between. In
captivity, zebra finches live usually 5-7 years but as high as 12 years. They are seed eaters, preferring millet and
other small seeds plus egg food and greens.
They love to bath and are very thorough in it!
 |
| Snowy, a white Zebra hen |
These little breeding machines will find a suitable nesting
site nearly anywhere but the preferred site is a finch nest box, a wooden or
wicker covered box with a hole or gap at the front. Eggs are laid from 2-7 per clutch and
incubated by both birds for around two weeks.
When the tiny chicks hatch they are fed for a further three weeks until
they are fully feathered at which point they fledge. Fledglings are easy to see as their beaks
remain black for around a month with adult markings finished around a month
later.
Zebra finches are social birds who will tolerate others,
although cock birds will defend their nest when the hen is on eggs or with
chicks and chase others from the immediate area. Otherwise they will be seen sitting in
groups, chatting away and preen each other, and anyone else who happens to sit
with them.
Downside: there isn’t one, really. Easy to feed, easy to breed, friendly, these
little guys make ideal pet birds in a cage or in a flight and their little
characters will bring endless viewing pleasure.
Bengalese/Society
Finch
The Bengalese or Society Finch as they are known in North
America is a cage bird not found in the wild and believed to be descended from
the White-rumped Munia, a Estrildid finch native to tropical continental
Asia. Bengalese come in a wide variety
of colours from chocolate brown and black to pure white with both black and red
eyes. They are probably one of the most
sociable and easy-going bird I have worked with. They are very difficult to sex however, with
the only definite sign being that only the cock bird sings.
Feeding Bengalese is also simple; they are seed eaters
enjoying such as millet, canary seed and niger seed, though at a limit amount
due to fat content. They also love
greens and fruit.
 |
| Caramel, a Bengalese hen |
Bengalese, like Zebras, nest in finch boxes or similar
surroundings. Both birds incubate the
eggs and can be very stubborn in not moving to allow nest checks; such is their
dedication to their task. They hatch
14-16 days and fledge in around three weeks, weaning around a month later. They are also known for their willingness to
foster other bird’s eggs and chicks. As
long as they can recognise the gape of the chick, meaning its open beak, then
they will feed it. The only downside
with this method is that fostered chicks will often not then raise their own
young.
Downside: the only downside of Bengalese comes from their
sociability. They like to roost all
together which can result in destroyed eggs and only the alpha pair will breed,
or sometimes not at all. I have found
that either keeping a single pair or in separate breeders is the best method if
you are wanting to breed them but if you want to enjoy their colony antics, then
a group of them in a cage or a flight are a treasure.
Canary
The domestic canary is a domesticated form of the wild
Canary, a songbird originally from the Azores, Madeira and, of course, Canary
Islands of Spain. They have been captive
bred since the 17th century when Spanish sailors took them across
Europe. They now come in a wide range of
colours and breeds, from the small slender Irish Fancy to the big, chunky
Border Canary.
Canaries are seed eaters and also enjoy egg food, greens and
some fruit. They are impossible to sex
visually and can only be definitely sexed by the song, of which the full bodied
song comes from the cock while the hen ‘mutters’.
.JPG) |
| Irish Fancy Canary Harry |
Breeding canaries comes about when the light levels reach
around 12 hours a day and is best achieved one pair to a cage as they can be
aggressive. Breeders often separate
sexes until the hen is ready to breed due to the male being over-keen and
hounding his mate. Feeding through the
bars is a sure sign the hen is ready to mate.
Nests will be made in a canary nest pan or similar cup and 4-5 eggs are
laid. The hen incubates the eggs and the
cock is relied on to bring her food.
Chicks hatch around 2 weeks and fledge at about 18 days old. Sometimes it is then necessary to remove one
or other of the parents to ensure they concentrate on weaning the young and not
preparing the next nest.
Downside: Personally, I have found canaries a little hard to
breed with a series of small disasters such as squashed chicks or eggs but as a
general rule, canaries are easy to breed, easy to house and feed and have the
most beautiful, uplifting song.
Budgerigar
Not many people won’t be familiar with the Budgie, one of
the most common pet birds originally from Australia and bred in the wild since
the 1850s. They are a parakeet from the
parrot family and are naturally yellow and green in the wild but have been bred
into a fantastic range of colours. They
also come in two main size groups, known as Normal (smaller) and Exhibition
(larger and often chunkier).
Sexing Budgies is achieved by the small nostrils known as
the cere above their beak. Brown, pale
brown to white indicates female while blue is a male. There are some slight exceptions to the rule
for special mutations.
Budgies are intelligent birds, as are all parrots and like
toys to play with an interaction with humans if this is how they have been
raised, or others of their kind.
However, they have a reputation in mixed aviaries as sometimes a
problem, particularly due to their preference for chewing everything to investigate
it which can lead to injuries and also to eating other birds’ eggs.
Breeding comes from June to September in the wild and nests
are made in boxes with small concaves in but little in the way of nesting
material is used. 4-6 eggs are incubated
for 18-21 days and the young fledge at 30 days.
Downside: As a pet, budgies can be noisy if you live in
close proximity to your neighbours with surprising volume for their size. As mentioned, they have a reputation as a
potential problem in mixed aviaries and the other issue with chicks can be splay
leg, where legs are bent outwards and can impede proper standing which leads to
problems in later life.
Cockatiel
Cockatiels are another parrot family member, closely related
to cockatoos and again originating from Australia. They are second in popularity to Budgies as
kept pets. Cockatiels are easier to learn to understand in some respects than
other birds due to the expressive nature of their crest, vertical when startled
or excited, slightly more relaxed when neutral or relaxed and flat to the head
when angry or defensive.
The wild type bird is mainly grey with white flashes on the
outer wing edges and a yellow or white face on the male or grey to light grey
on the female. The orange around the ear
areas tends to be brighter in the cock bird.
Lifespan in captivity is typically 16-25 years
Cockatiel hens typically lay an egg every 48 hours and the
clutch size is around 2-8 eggs. They are
incubated for 18-21 days and both parents feed the chicks once they hatch. They fledge at 4-5 weeks and are fed by their
parents for some time after this.
Downside: Like Budgies, cockatiels can be very loud, almost
screaming at times, especially with hand reared birds not receiving the amount
of attention they require. In a mixed
aviary, some cockatiels can be aggressive so it is best to have a bird from a
mixed aviary background for this situation.
Lovebird
There are nine species of lovebirds altogether, eight from
the African continent and one to Madagascar.
The Rosy-faced Lovebird, more commonly known as the Peach Faced
Lovebird, is one of the more commonly known and there are several colour
variations available. Peach Faced are
often said to be aggressive to other species apart from the one it has bonded
with, be it another lovebird or a human.
The Yellow collared Lovebird, or Masked Lovebird, is
distinctive for its black head, bright red beak and white eye-ring. The blue mutation of the Masked has been
known since the 1920s, making it the oldest lovebird mutation.
Fischer’s Lovebirds are another species kept in aviculture
and are seen as charming and affectionate birds who like to spend time with
their owners and require interaction and stimulation to prevent boredom.
All species require toys and perches of wood to chew as
their beaks are made from a material called keratin which keeps growing so
chewing is required to prevent over-growth.
This can make them destructive to their environment and have been known
to chew their way out of wooden cages!
Downside: lovebirds love to make a noise and are good at it,
so may not be suitable for people living in built up areas.
Gouldian Finch
The Gouldian or Lady Gouldian Finch is a beautifully
colourful Estrildid finch from Australia which comes in a wonderful variety of
colours. They can be visually sexed as
the hens are duller in colour than the cock birds. They are seed eaters like most of their
cousins.
During breeding season, they are not the most sociable of
birds and best kept in single pairs as the males can be territorial. Outside breeding season, they will live in
mixed colonies with other Australian finches though Parrotfinches should be
avoided as hybridization can occur.
Downside: Gouldians have a reputation as troublesome
breeders and a lot of people use Bengalese as foster parents. The downside with this is that the young will
then not rear their own young and so the cycle continues. Other breeders recommend perseverance and allowing
them to throw eggs and even young as part of the learning process.
Greenfinch
The Greenfinch is a common garden visitor in Britain, an
olive green bird who lives across Europe, north Africa and south west
Asia. When it comes to British birds in
aviculture, Greenfinches are one of the easiest to keep. They eat a mixture of small seeds, green,
fruit and occasionally some mealworms for protein.
Greenfinches nest happily in canary nesting pans, usually
above eye level and with some form of protective greenery around them to
maintain the illusion of a tree. Or a
tree itself, if you can have one in your flight. They lay 3-8 eggs.
.JPG) |
| Greenfinch hen |
Legally, Greenfinches must have a special closed ring
provided by either the IOC or the BBC (British Bird Council not the TV people)
which is put on the chick at 5-6 days to show it has been captive bred and not
caught from the wild.
Downside: Greenfinches are prone to ‘going light’ which is a
sulphur deficiency. This is treated with
a drug called a sulphadimidine (for example Intradine) when chicks fledge to
help prevent this.
Hecks Grassfinch
The Hecks Grassfinch is an Estrildid finch known by various
names including the Shaft-tailed finch and the Long tailed Finch. It is a beautiful little bird with black bib,
grey head, fawn body and brilliant red beak with feathers that look like
velvet.
.JPG) |
| Hecks Grassfinch |
Breeding in captivity is not a problem, though some breeders
have found that they need to be kept alone to avoid aggressiveness. Personally, I have my Hecks with other
finches and have witnessed no problems so far, but each bird has its own
personality. They lay 4-6 eggs and
incubate for 13-17 days.
Downside: not much really, in my opinion. They need to be kept separate to their two
closest related species, the Masked Grassfinch and the Parsons Finch as it can
hybridise with them.
Chinese Painted Quail
This last species is one for the aviary or a very large cage
but are amongst the easiest birds to keep and are actually very useful as
little seed vacuum-cleaners. Chinese
Painted Quail (CPQ) are the smallest of the true quail, part of the pheasant
family. They come in a range of
different colours, from nearly black to brown, silver, lavender and white.
Quail are ground birds who can fly but only tend to do when
startled and is an awkward undertaking for them! They will wander around the floor picking up
seed and greens and therefore are kept for their tidying abilities. They are peaceful birds, apart from
occasional cock-bird aggression to each other.
They are also good entertainment with their mating displays!
Downside: a lot of these birds are raised in incubators
rather than parent reared so as a result, can find it difficult to rear their
own. Eggs are laid and sometimes
incubated but can be random with results.
No comments:
Post a Comment