Caring for Bengalese Finches
Bengalese is sometimes used to rear the chicks of Australian finches to increase the number of youngsters reared in a season. Eggs can be removed from a pair of Australian finches and placed under Bengalese, who then rears the chicks as their own. Frequently, Bengalese are also used as foster parents for rearing chicks of those Australian finches that reject or refuse toffee their young.
There are one or two simple measures that are of great help if Bengalese are aroused as foster parents. Always use the largest and strongest pair of Bengalese you can find. Color is immaterial for this purpose, only their health and willingness to rear chicks are important. Impossible, to obtain a pair which have already proved itself to be willing fosters.
The Bengalese pair chosen must be prepared to feed the youngsters proper-lee. Before using these foster parents, try them with the chosen rearing food. If one or both of the brides only eat dry seeds, the donor uses them and exchanges them for another pair. A dry seed diet is not sufficient to rear healthy chicks. Test them first with a clutch of their Bengalese youngsters to find out Howell they rear chicks.
The young Bengalese may be split-ringed for identification purposes and kept for future use. However, they shouldn’t be used to rear until they are at least eight months of age.
When fostering it is easier to provide more controlled conditions indoors than in an outside aviary. Whether inside route, a fairly constant temperature of 20 °C (68″F) is necessary to prevent the foster parents from going into a molt during the rearing period, which would make the thesis lose interest in feeding the young. Arrange the nest box in such a way that daily inspection is easily managed. Ben-gales do not resent this.
When ready to use the Bengalese, try to tonsure so that the fostered eggs or chicks coincide as closely as possible with the hatching of their eggs. Their incubation period is 14 days and chicks leave the nest after three weeks. The donor objects, however, if the fledging time of the foster chicks is different from their own. They do not have a specific nesting season and may go to the nest at any time. When placing eggs under Bengalese, give no more than six at a time. As all the eggs hatch at the same time, chicks belonging to more than one pair of Australian finches cannot be told apart. ‘Fry to keep accurate records as to how many clutches of eggs have been taken from each pair of Australian finches.
Most Australian finches will lay again eight or nine days after the last egg of the previous clutch is laid. If the eggs are retaken away as soon as the last egg is laid, four or five clutches can be was taken without overstraining the birds. A maximum of office clutches should be adhered to since inferior chicks result if any more are allowed.
As soon as the fostered chicks hatch, feed only sprouted seed that has been well-trashed and scalded for a few seconds in boiling water. Scalding removes some of the natural vitamins from the seed so it is beneficial to add two or three drops of a multi-vitamin preparation to the birds’ drinking water. Fresh rearing food with mashed hard-boiled eggs should be offered daily. Always stick to the same proprietary brand, in case the Bengalese is reluctant to eat a new type once rearing has started.
As soon as the last chick leaves the nest, remove the nest box. This stops the Bengalese from laying again before the young Australian finches can feed themselves properly. Do not replace the nest boxiest after the young finches have been removed.
Sometimes Bengalese prefer wicker baskets to nest boxes and it is a good ideate try them with both.
Australian finches may be reared in greater numbers by using Bengalese as foster parents, but it is generally considered that parent-reared chicks are stronger than their fostered counterparts. In a mixed collection, it should be pointed out that Bengalese can make a nuisance of them by trying to assist birds who do not require their help. It may be necessary to house them apart from other breeding birds at times, keeping them in reserve for emergencies.
See more: Canary