Lovebirds - start of a new season

I didn't have any luck with lovebirds so far. First clutch were not fertile. 2nd clutch of laying started. I have a feeling, this will be the changing point of my luckless run with lovebirds ;) 

First clutch of the incardellati

It has been a slow year as far as the finches are concerned.

Was trying to breed a trio of finch & canary mix (1 male Goldfinch, 1 female Goldfinch, 1 female Timbrado)

So far only the Timbrado canary is laying... & they do grow quickly :)

What was different this round was, using a square nest box and placing 3 birds in a cage.

What was observed was that they do not care for the dry moss as nesting material, pine leaves and cuttings from a broom was accepted. Then topped up with shredded newspaper. The newspaper is entirely the hen's choice as she tears it out from the floor linings.

 First chick hatched 26th May 2015 (photo is taken on 27th)

 2nd chick hatched on the 28th

 Progress on 31st May 

 3rd June

7th June

Now, the longer wait will be till they start to sing ;) will update by then....

The Bare-throated whistler

I was introduced to the Bare-throated whistler through the writings of David De Souza. From what little info (at that time), I could gather, it seems like an interesting bird to keep.
Mine was a wild specimen which I bought from a local shop. It took a long time to get it to sing.
Being an insectivorous bird, I eventually fed it with Jeffrey Low's dry food. And some crickets as supplements in the evening.

Lately, it has tame down somewhat and I was able to take a short video of it from a distance of 3 meters away. Still not in full form yet. I am hoping its song would improve over time :)

Wild Zebra Dove pt 2

This fella was found on new year's day & handfed. Been more than 4 months already & he appears to be doing well. Maybe he could be trained as a "pikat".

Tokay Gecko

This looks like a young Tokay. Second one I caught. They must be breeding nearby. Didn't know they are around my house. Thought they thrives further North. 

The first one was released near my son's school, somewhere far away. This second one, I will keep awhile to see how it develops. 

Meanwhile, I will set traps again :) 

Wild Zebra Dove pt 1

This New Year day, first thing in the morning I rescued this chick from becoming the breakfast of a cat. It must have fledged recently but not a strong flyer. Its a wrong time to be out. The weather is mostly windy and wet. Decided to keep it and nurse it. 

I always had emergency stock of hand feeding formula in the fridge for emergencies like this. But I am never good at feeding with a syringe & moist formula. So, I did what I had done once before. I made the formula into small kibbles and air dry them. This way I can hand feed just like feeding merboks mung beans. 

The above is how it looks like. That should be enough for the day.

Its hard to estimate the correct amount, so I have some extra which I filled it in a syringe and pump out some to dry. When its dry, I intend to crumble them into pellets to see whether the finches will eat them. Waste not is the motto.... ;)