Video

I can envision the cotton ball!! I sometimes give the birds white feathers, they go nutty over them.

thanks Doug! Kind of star struck by these little guys 🥹

color rings help the breeder to track individual birds and correlate with breeding records for healthy genetics. Numbered rings help track birds generally for identifying captive bred vs. wild caught birds, again for healthy populations. If you are not a breeder, they would still help you identify individual birds to be able to know who gets along, who should not be allowed to breed, who is the bird who looks unwell etc.

Thank you- that is very kind of you to say 😀

Thanks for the encouragement!!! I have snuck in some cleaning this last week as chicks are independent and round 2 due to hatch next week. I feel like a fugitive with my scrubber 🤣🤣

I can’t speak to Budgies unfortunately as they are better chewers than finches. A budgie group on facebook could answer definitively.

these cages are 40” wide before joining. They are a&e brand.

@@Echosaviary thank you.

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I did not see them eating any. There are a lot concentrated in the compost bin and I never caught them in there foraging. however the flies go everywhere in the aviary so possibly they were getting them elsewhere. they did eat mini mealworms readily.

Thank you Torben! hope you are well!

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thank you 😁

I don’t think chicks would beg from foster parents after fledging. It is very hard to hand feed at that age too. I could remove the eggs or very young chicks to foster, but then I don’t learn anything about how to take care of parents properly so they will take care of chicks. It is a tradeoff.

my new super power is hovering from a far😀

Thank you Papi! I got lucky I think on these guys but will see if I can replicate your success!

Thank you Papi!

thank you so much for sharing your experiences with them!

I really hope to be able to breed again. Maybe next year!

thank you!!

@Ann congratulations ❤❤❤

Thank you! this video was more for my record keeping than anything helpful, but it does illustrate how rich an experience finch keeping is- highs and lows, twists and turns!

thanks Robert! Hope all is well with you.

Congrats on the successful duo! Whew!

no, I don’t use societies as fosters, but many people do.

thank you. late summer is not the breeding season for my species, hence the reason no nesting materials. There are many videos about breeding in the aviary if you are curious. The artificial foliage is a deliberate choice because for where I live, I could either optimize the environment for growing plants or for keeping birds. Over the years I have tried both and I can not tell any difference in how the birds interact with the fake foliage (perching, copulating, foraging for bugs, futzing, nest building, hiding, resting, breeding success etc.).

Fake grass too

they need high humidity as new chicks. put a container of water in brooder. do not spill water on chicks. roll up a paper towel and put it in container so it wicks out water. replace water when empty. watch chick skin to tell you when hydrated. be sure older chicks can not get to water and drown if they are old enough to move around.

@@Echosaviary in the brinsea i do have a bucket of water which i put a screen over the water container so babies can’t fall into the water… the chicks are good healthy temper set to from day 1 to 6 days at 36.8 humidity at 50-58 … it’s all ok until the chicks started to have pin feathers or 6-10 days old when they started to be dried up… i had the temperature at 35 C and humidity at 50-58… at this age they all started to be dried up

most of the cages are a&e brand. check amazon for xlarge flight.

@@Echosaviary is possible to give me dimensions so I can see what I'm roughly looking for. Many thanks.

that is artificial turf. check out options at home depot etc. it may have some advantages foe you. the liquid portion of poop tends to drain down the “grass” leaving the poop to dry quickly. make two sets (at least) of mats so they can be changed out often. the edges of mats need to be sealed after cutting or they unravel. Most important finches do not chew the way budgies do! I would guess they are not suitable.

I am in USA

Язачарований вашим захопленням мрію теж займатися такою справою як ви але в Україні це тяжко

thank you! That is a product called available insectivores dust from Eutrolabs. It makes up for the nutrient deficiencies in larvae (and has added bonus that it separates the larvae into individuals instead of clumping when frozen. I dust it on live insects as well like mealies (which is the intended purpose).

Hi. What is the products name as I couldn't quite get it in the video. Thank you

I don’t actually know. It is a wild grass (possibly escapee and not native). I can tell you that I feed orchard grass and several grass mixes from American Meadows (SW grass mix has some species similar to where most of my bird species come from). I also feed half-ripe panicum species and crab grass is a favorite too.

yes

be careful of mixing parrot finch species, they will hybridize.

Thank you Doug! I always seem to be a work in progress. 🙄

@@Echosaviary Oh I know that feeling all too well. Everyday something catches my eye, and I'm like I wonder if it would be better this way...

thank you Dylan, thats so nice to know that it is fun for you to follow along

www.avitoon.nl/en/ The two books written by Tony Jochem are the best! Link above if you can get them. In English I have written a few articles mostly for European magazines.

almost all are silk or plastic

thank you!

I can’t answer your question for anyone else but I did volunteer at the Raptor lab at the University of Minnesota for many years working in the rehab area and one of my jobs was to hand feed wild baby birds brought to the lab in similar circumstances. We took no precautions against imprinting. It was never a problem to transition them back into the wild once independent. Even the captive birds I hand feed, easily transition back to a feral state when kept with other birds.

@@Echosaviary thanks for your reply....so the bird I am hand feeding is just by himself...so you think I can release him when he is able to eat on his own ? Will he think he is a bird and be able to find other birds? I think today he is 18 days old. How long until he can eat on his own?

@@shelleycharlesworth5177 sorry for late reply, at about 30 days the chick will be eating and drinking on his own. If you or any neighbors feed the birds, then release nearby and they will follow the lead of the birds at the feeders to get them started.

Thanks Doug, I miss his presence.

An, Totally understand that, I feel like we have an individual bond with our birds, some more than others. I have a handful that people swear are tame, I tell them there are not tame, they are not afraid, so when they land on me, its that they trust me. So of course we miss that connection...

Hi Paul, It is still there, just had to do some rearranging for a few reasons.

Thank you for your kind words!

Thank you! love to see where folks are from!!

Thank you, trying to do a few as I can!

Thank you, never gets easier.

They are getting a bit scarce here too. I can not imagine an aviary without them

@@Echosaviary neither can I. In the morning, they are the first to wake up and sing. And that’s the only time they sing or make any sound.

so in the US, it has all been finalized. The best source is the AVA or OPA as they have published excellent summaries (or can go to USDA direct).

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hey, drop me a note with an update when you get a chance!

@@Echosaviary I'll message you Beautiful