Nick Hall

Hi mate, Never done this but my list says, cocks; Normal/lt back+Silver/lt back hens; Normal+Silver. Very ecenomical pairing. Regards, Nick

Welcome to the forum Regards Nick

Hi Guys, Just like to share some pics of some of the youngsters, bit rough but could be promising? Thanks, Nick

Have a good one mate

Hi Richard, Welcome to the forum. Nick

Promising mate, there a ***** to photograph at this stage.

currently 11 pairs.

Hi Dan, Yes I condition the Bengies the same, this year I have not had a single pair of Bengies not feed the youngsters, one pair fed 8 chicks till I had places to move them. I find if in the breeding room you have a number of pairs feeding zebs/bengies, it creates a stimulus and the chicks all seem to be fed better than years when things dont go so well and only a few clutches hatch. The noise of the chicks wanting to be fed, I think has a knock on effect? Luckily with the number of feeders and 14 pairs of zebs, I can find somewhere to place eggs or chicks. Regards, Nick

Hello

Hi Dan, I try put an older bird with a younger bird and so far, they have been ok, if they are not in condition then they will not be interested so dont just go out and buy a pair of bengalese and expect them to incubate eggs and rear chicks. I have not had many problems with zebras rearing there young to be fair either its just if I want to run a cock with a number of hens, or try a hen with a few different cocks it can be an advantage. Regards, Nick

Hi Emmy, Hi Emmy, Yes I have bred about 12 young bengalese to replace some of the older ones nextyear. Regards, Nick.

The Bengies are conditioned along with the zebs and paired a week or two before, I find with Bengalese as fosters, although they can be dirty birds, they will sit on anything to try hatch it, when I put the nest boxs in for them I place a few dummy canary eggs in and even if they are not laying themselves, most will start to incubate the eggs, even 2 cock birds. Nick

I prefer to use fosters/feeders for the first few rounds, a lot of hens lay on the floor so I collect the eggs and set them under the feeders. Sometimes the first few rounds of zebs they can be too fit and not settle down so you may waste the first couple of rounds from the zebs anyway so I find by fostering the first half of the breeding season is constructive and by then the zebs are tuned in to being good parents most of the time anyway so will rear there own. I dont find exhibition zebs bad parents, I just want more from them. Nick

Hi Dan, Lauren was lucky to buy some birds from Peter Harrison, she started with 4 pairs and added a few more from Peter over a number of years. So really she had a good start. Recently I have swapped, borrowed or bought birds from a number of fanciers to create other lines last year a cfw cock from Kerry & Wayne Davies has produced some useful birds this time, a cfw hen from Peter Hook a few years back also was usefull. Lauren had a good fawn line about 4/5 years ago winning Best Fawns at the club show in 2008 (62 pairs benched) but we have struggled to continue this. The chestnuts came on strong in 2009 where Lauren won BIS at the East Anglian ZFS show, these were bred from her original light-back line which produced birds which won best light-backs at the ZFS club show in 2009, The light-back cocks were all split for cfw and threw some nice birds in both colours. It was a 2008 bred light-back cock and a young hen which won again at the club show in 2011 nearly going all the way for BIS but picking up best light-backs on the way. Last year was my first year on my own as such so I had to pick the pairings etc. Our stud has always been very close so some times we keep a bird we may not use that particular year but hope we may find something to take in to pair it too the following year. Luckily this year I had a number of pairs which I had shown last year I could breed together, The chestnuts which won BIS at the S&NCZFS were not related so along with a light-back cock which is a 2008 bird and 3 other birds they have produced over 40 youngsters this year!! Hopefully I can make some better pairings with these birds and breed some even better birds next round. I have some Bengalese fosters so the better birds will only rear maybe 1 or 2 rounds on there own. It may sound rather like a factory but it is not, its just the way I try to maximise the youngsters while I have good birds in my shed. You did ask, lol.. Nick

Hi Dan, It was my Daughter, Lauren who started with the Zebs in 2005/6, she started showing in 2007 and at that time I disposed of my crested canaries and we just had the zebs. She has horses and approaching 16 years old she was less interested so the last two years its been just me. I always liked typey bold birds, Crest canaries, Norwich, Good Glosters lol (pm) Norwich canaries and Bullfinches, so the exhibition zeb is very appealing. I also found the zebra finch fancy very accomodating ever since Lauren set up and current. Regards, Nick. PS There are no secrets mate, just patience and dedication.

Hi Dan, They will be cobwebs mate. No, they are what is known as salad racks! I used to keep old variety canaries and put the nesting fibre in them. I sometimes use them on the Zebs. Nick.

Hi Emmy, Yes I am a big fan of the Quiko cage (Orniex). Take care on hanging nest boxes on the outside front of the cage, a wooden nest box with nesting material and chicks and parents can be heavy and the fronts sometimes can come away. For the feeder pairs (Bengies) I use a plastic nest box, fixed to the back wall, inside the cage, they seem happier with this set up and at about 10 days I take off the lid of the plastic box and put the box on the cage floor, I find this helps keep the nest cooler and the feeders can sit on the back and sides of the nest box to feed the young with non being left out. With the nest box entrance facing you it is also easier to keep an eye on its contents with minimum disturbance. For the Zebras, I use the light-weight cardboard boxes, fastened on the outside via a metal hook and a peg to stop any movement. Regards, Nick

Hi Emmy, The shed is 14x8 and very cosy at the moment lol. The wire cages are from supapets, they are usefull for weaning chicks and the 8 cages have around 50 young birds in them which shortly will be moved on to single cages in pairs. The wire cages and stands all dismantle for storage after the breeding season. Nick

Hi Adam, No mate.

Hi Mark, Mostly cfw and light-backs so far but there are a few Normals in a couple of nests about 6-8 days old. Regards, Nick.

And a few more, defo a cfw year.

And a few more, defo a cfw year.

Pottering about today, put a few young cocks into showcages, thought I would share.

Hi Paul, All the best for the rest of the season. Nick

Thanks Guys, the mother is a fawn hen, the father is a cream cock.