Blue-crowned hanging parrot

My son asked me today if he can select a bird and keep for himself. Of course I said go ahead and choose one. And he chose this as expected because its the cutest at the moment. Hmmm... time to hand tame it I suppose, or teach my kid to appreciate it as a songbird?... hmmm

Hybrid vigour

Something was pulling me home this morning. Don't know what, but I felt like I forgot to do something. So, I went home to have a look see on a bike because the traffic was terrible & I just want to drop by for an hour or two.

To my surprise, one of my mule finch was flying around the garden. I quickly put in some vege (kangkong) and was able to capture it back. Whew... I must have been absent minded and left the cage door open.

So, I went out again shortly, happy at the turn of events. Then when I came home again at night, the cage is again open & the bird is nowhere in sight. I can only hope it is safe for the night & will be able to come home again. I have never kept a finch or canary that has learnt how to open its own cage door. This is the first for me. Is it hybrid vigour at work?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18636282/

I think so. And that was also the reason I ventured into hybridising. Something better than the parents - cognitive, physic & health.

Pests

I would have thought I could get a month or two of peace after trapping 5 cats within 2 weeks. Well, it was not to be. This is the latest victim of a cat attack...

No choice but to remove all chicks from their flight cages and place them in bamboo cages so that they can be hung out of reach should there be a seventh cat lurking around. 

At least the culprit was caught the following day.

Longer term solution. Appears to have good prey drive & very alert. A lot of work, keeping dogs, but a necessary evil ;) 

Rectangular nest boxes

I just realised that finches, like shamas, can adapt to squarish nest boxes. They are easier to make and hang than round nests :)
Could make 4 for Rm8 (minus the sisal nesting material)

Update 30th May 2015.
Box nest in use:

Goldfinch pair

I placed this pair side by side since yesterday. This morning, I let them together and so far, as seen with Shamas, the male that is interested in breeding will immediately check out the nest box and try to attract the attention of the female.
Now the only thing to hope for is that the female is equally ready. The male is a proven cock which I am also using to produce mules with canaries. But I do need more pure Goldfinches to continue and they are hard to come by here. So, this is the next viable alternative - produce some so that 2015 can be more interesting ;)

Happy holidays!

Photo cage

Was building a small aviary & I had some extra pieces of wood. So, decided to make a simple cage to photograph the finches. They are impossible to photograph in their normal cage where they will be darting here and there. The above was basically made from leftovers and a stapler. ;) 

Above is a 4 months old Goldfinch mule taken in the cage. 

This is a Yellow-rumped Seedeater. 

Now its much easier to take their photos :) 

Incardellato

From left, only chick from first clutch which is now undergoing molt. They usually molt to adult feathers by 3 to 4 months old. Second and third birds are from 2nd clutch. After which there were some disruptions. 3rd clutch is only at second egg today. Hope things resume back to normal.

It will be interesting to see how they will turn out and hopefully I can get an Agate female canary to come into the picture for some colour :)

The above is close to 3 months old & shedding a lot of small feathers. It sings its sub-song every time I put him atop the fence for some sunlight.

Breeding hybrids are frowned upon by some (these folks, I avoid), but with an aim to produce better songsters, I am beginning to be a convert :)

First clutch Goldfinch X Timbrado

Hatched yesterday 7th Aug. Appears to be 2 chicks at least.
I have been lucky thus far. Been reading a little bit on pairings to create hybrids. It is not always smooth and is usually more difficult to pair when compared to same specie pairings.
To be fertile at first attempt and having a relatively trouble free pair.... hmm yes! lady luck is with me :)

Egret begging for food

Its common to see interactions between domesticated animals with humans living in their vicinity, less common with wild animals. I was having a coffee break with Jeffrey when we noticed an egret walking into a coffee shop. Then a worker in the coffee shop walked over and hand fed the egret with  some food before it went off.

A nice sight to watch.... :)

Little Rotties

Little puppies at 5 weeks old - bred & raised by Jeffrey Low, a good friend, partner & mentor. A lot of work went into them.
They should be ready to go to their new homes by 8 weeks old.

Yellow-rumped Seedeater

First time trying out this specie. So far so good. Came from the latest batch brought in by Macau Pet Trading in K.L.

Didnt buy direct from them though. Bought by a friend & resold to me...

Grass seeds

Some seeds are prone to pest infestations. So I was not taking any risk with the grass seeds I received from a friend (Amir) in Bangkok. After freezing them for a week in my fridge, I will sun them to get rid of excess moisture before storing them in a bottle. This is to kill any bugs, worms that sometimes come together with seeds that we buy.