Native Bullfinches.

[tong po 129]

nice birds i have 9 pairs of bullys give them plenty of room and feed them with as natural a diet as possible(weeds and berries)and they will breed no probs

[fireman 10,869]

My pair is in a 6x6x6 flight now so have plenty of room,fresh blackthorn and other buds to help get them into condition and a dose of crossed fingers and they should be ok tong po,is that a yellow cock in that cage digger or just the way the light is in the pic?.What ever it is gutting about the hen mate .

[KittleRox 2,147]

Braw birds, I,m usualy lucky enough to see one or two pairs every winter, far from abundant though, awe the best with breeding them bud

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Talking of Bullfinches; Is that thing about how you can't handle them, because they die in your hand, still doing the rounds?

[byron 1,169]

fireman...

as tong po said ,,keep em on there own and plenteeeeeeeeeee of room, and they'll do the job for ya...

used to put plenty of conifer branches in with mine ,,and used the horse hair that you used to get in old mattrase/ coco fibre for nesting time.....

[fireman 10,869]

Well as it happens i have them in with a trio of redpolls,i am in contact with someone who keeps their bullies like this all the time without problems but i am keeping a keen eye on them.They have plenty of cover and the redpolls have cover to get out the way in just in case the bully cock starts any hassle but i am of the thinking that give them space and things to do then come nesting time their to busy to bother with anything but their chicks,but bullies are known for breaking hearts and it's my first year with them so it's a case of lets see what happens.

[Hammo 42]

Keep bullies myself , bred 9 last year , the key is as much natural food as possible eg hawthorn , blackthorn buds this time of year , dandelion heads bring em into condition rapidly ! Don't put the nest pans in to early ! Try hold em back abit or you'll end up with clear eggs ! You'll get em on eggs easy , once the eggs hatch feed soak seed , egg food , peas , and pinkies a few times a day , I've tried keep it simple as I can for ya , if you need any help fireman pm me , cheers hammo

[Hammo 42]

this pair had a nest built inal i seen him treading the hen a day after this photo was taking the hen was brown bread have not got a clue what happened

judging by the size of the cage digger I would say it either got to fat due to lack of exercise or got cocci due to stress mate , bullies are prone to getting both of these .

[hawki 1,431]

Feel like a kid with a new toy,after waiting a couple of year till i felt i had learnt enough to keep them i got myself a pair this weekend so i thought i'd show you some pics of them .

Beautiful birds!! i hope everything goes well for yea

[digger. 615]

My pair is in a 6x6x6 flight now so have plenty of room,fresh blackthorn and other buds to help get them into condition and a dose of crossed fingers and they should be ok tong po,is that a yellow cock in that cage digger or just the way the light is in the pic?.What ever it is gutting about the hen mate .

light mate

[digger. 615]

 

this pair had a nest built inal i seen him treading the hen a day after this photo was taking the hen was brown bread have not got a clue what happened

judging by the size of the cage digger I would say it either got to fat due to lack of exercise or got cocci due to stress mate , bullies are prone to getting both of these .

i had only moved house i would usualy have them in a flight mate

[KittleRox 2,147]

Keep bullies myself , bred 9 last year , the key is as much natural food as possible eg hawthorn , blackthorn buds this time of year , dandelion heads bring em into condition rapidly ! Don't put the nest pans in to early ! Try hold em back abit or you'll end up with clear eggs ! You'll get em on eggs easy , once the eggs hatch feed soak seed , egg food , peas , and pinkies a few times a day , I've tried keep it simple as I can for ya , if you need any help fireman pm me , cheers hammo

pinkies as in mice ?

[fireman 10,869]

Pinkies as in frozen maggots,maggots from the fishing shops as it were can carry salmonela so you have to keep them in bran for a few days till the black spot you can see in them is clear,this is their gut and once it's clear you scold them in boiling water,then straight into cold water then into the freezer with them.This kills the salmonela bug and makes them safe to feed to the birds,you can buy them pre cleaned and frozen from some bird suppliers like Priors for eg.

[downsouth 7,216]

A mate of mine had a pair off bullies years ago when the chicks had hatched he used to open a little flap on the front of the flight and they used to clear off feed up on wild food and come back he reckoned hed had them in cages before where he could open the cage during the day if the had chicks and the would always come back to feed the chicks.Has anyone else ever seen this?

[fireman 10,869]

Craigyboy (god rest his soul)once told me of a chaffie cock his uncle had i think that escaped one day and flew into a bush and started to collect insect food for a hen who was sat on eggs in a aviary,the cock then flew to the aviary door and wanted back in so they made a flap in the wire and he would go and come with wild food for the hen and chicks but he could only do this during breeding season as it would have done one at any other time.Must be a grand thing to see happening mind and bet the chicks grow better than fully enclosed reared chicks due to their better diet?.