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X Fingers Crossed X, got an egg :)

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srtiels

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A little update. I haven't checked the nest on how many eggs there are. Sometimes I see as many as 4 mousers in the nest. I will go out several times during the night to check all the birds, and noticed last night that Ruby (dark pink band) was sleeping clustered with the other mousebirds, and Pinks (light pink band) had nest duty.

I went to give some banana to start the morning and Ruby was on the nest and Pinks was with the males when they came down to eat. I'm suspecting ALL the mousers are helping with the nest...which is great because the eggs are being cared for and when they hatch there will be plenty of attentive feeders :)

The first egg in the nest was 12/16/09, so in 10 to 12 days there should be a hatch. It will be interesting to see what the babies will look like.
 

waterfaller1

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. It will be interesting to see what the babies will look like.
Hopefully like baby BN mousebirds?:dancing::rofl::hehe:
Congrats Susanne, this is so exciting!
 

srtiels

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Thanks Carole :) I am really encouraged how well they are doing this time. When Gryphon was here they made him take care of the eggs when they wouldn't. He thought the nest was a playpen...LOL This time all the mousers are working together.
 

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Now why was Gryphon different?
You said he wanted to be a pet and not part of the "flock"...This is interesting that he has a different view of "taking care of the nest".....
And once gone, they are more "into" nesting....:hug8:
 

southernbirds

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This is terrific. How are they doing today with the cooler weather? I can't tell if they are outside or in a sheltered area. I love the nest. Having bred finches and canaries,it is so different to see. I did not know they raised the babies in a community setting. This is a great story and these birds are so neat!
 

srtiels

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Billie Faye,...Gryphon is different because he was a hand raised domestic mousebird that I had purchased last year. At first the wild caughts wanted nothing to do with him. It took them a couple months to trust and accept him. But, thru it all Gryphon just wanted to be a pet. I had bought him for new blood, hoping he was a she. But he was a he, and I already had 4 males and 2 hens, and those males were not interested in sharing a hen, and I was afriad that when he fully matured, he was so brave and a dominant personality, that he would challenge the other males and get his but kicked. Mousers will fight to the death if provoked. So I had been keeping an eye on him. And when Carole expressed an interest in a tame mouser, he was the best choice. Which in retrospect, he is now totally happy with his pet human :)

THis happened in my white-backed colony. I had Robin that was a total pet. he was a great Daddy, but another male stole his mate. I didn't know it at the time, but I found him bloodied and brusied at the bottom of the cage. I nursed him back to health and put him back in the colony. Within minutes there was a horrific fight and I had to pull the 2 males apart. I phoned a friend in a panic and asked if they wanted to buy Robin because I was afraid he's be murdered. He is now a happy mouser, in a good home.

Since I have so many birds, between the tiels and the mousers, and many are pets, I try and keep them with their own species in harmony, and play with them a little each day. Even though mousebirds don't have dander, I won't keep them inside the house as pets because then I will be tempted to also bring in Noodles and a couple other pet cockatiels, which their dander bothers me.
 

srtiels

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This is terrific. How are they doing today with the cooler weather? I can't tell if they are outside or in a sheltered area
------------------------------------

Brrrr...it was nippy this morning. All birds (tiels and mousers) appear to be fine this morning. The cockatiel flights are outside, and the mouser cages are in the screened in back porch.

Yesterday I gave the blue-naped some more feathers and they brought them up to the nest and added them. I'll have to get more pix's. They look cute nestled amongst the feather fluff :) And they have been adding more moss. The hanging platforn was flat with sheet moss on it. Now they will work to add more Spanish moss, and bits of other moss scattered in the cage, and make the nesting area cupped shaped for when the chicks hatch out.
 

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birdlover82

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That's great they are doing so well. Counting down the days.:)
 

srtiels

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Susan,

I see your in Idaho. How far are you from Caldwell? In July/08 I shipped a pair of White-backed mousebirds there. If you are not too far, I can tell you who has them so that you can see some up close.
 

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When I had my farm in NH, I also had geese and chickens....I use to blow feathers in the air for the swallows to take for their nest...they would swoop down to get them out of my hands if I wasn't blowing fast enough:rofl:
Now my ? for you is...where are you getting your feathers from and if from your geese, can you transfer mites etc to your birds?
I know people use Diatomaceous Earth in the nest boxes of chickens and on the floor mixed with sawdust....it is not harmful from my understanding...:hug8:
:hug8:
 

srtiels

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Now my ? for you is...where are you getting your feathers from and if from your geese, can you transfer mites etc to your birds?
-------------------------------------------------------
Good point! The feathers are about 2 years old, saved in bag, and from when I had some peacocks. The nice thing about feather mites is they are host specific, and when off a host/bird they die. And if you know where to look on the feather you candetect the mites and/or lice. With mousers, their daily use of the sand dish keeps the feathers free of little critters.
 

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How do you protect your outside flocks from getting anything from wild birds? Is this even an issue? Of course most birds are raised outside for breeding I guess. Your mousers sound so neat. I have never seen one in a store. How many years have they been around in the breeding community. When wild caught how are they brought in to the US? Also, do you have photos of your tiels?
 

srtiels

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OK...I have geese (white chinese) that are protective of the yard, and don't like pigeons or doves to well. Plus a I have 2 hawks that regularly patrol the skys and will swoop down for the pigeons and doves. I also have the suspended cages wired in at the bottom so that the wild birds can't feed on dropped food. All this tends to act as a wild bird deterent.

As to the tiels, I've worked with most mutations over the years. The links below my signature have cockatiel info and pix's.

As to wild caught mousebirds,...I don't know how they catch them. My guess is they bait areas where they are sighted with food, since these little birds love to eat. There is an importer in CA that imports them in occassionaly. There are not that many breeders of mousebirds. Most mousebirds that are handfed go into pet homes.
 

srtiels

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With babies on the way I am always looking for new foods for the mousers. I stopped at a Spanish Market today and found the following.

I recently tried them on canned pigeon peas, which they gobbled up, so tomorrow I will put out some frozen (thawed) out. The bagged Aloe chunks looked interesting. And I'll try the Tamarind juice in a separate drinking bowl and in a small dish of pellets soaked with some of the juice.
 

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southernbirds

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This was my mix for parents (canaries and finches) who were feeding babies: egg food, a drop of olive oil, mashed peas, tiny Zupreem pellets, carrots all mushed together in a mash. I would put it on the bottom of the cage in a dish. I added oyster shell calcium sprinkled on top. They loved it and the babies really thrived. I used the frozen carrots and peas mix. I would microwave it and then mash it. I made enough of the mix for one to two days. When feeding babies they got this 2-3 times a day. I did not let it stay out more than a few hours at a time. When they were not feeding babies they got this once a day.
 

srtiels

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Thanks :)

The mousers can't have the peas mashed because of the skin...they can't digest it, and pass the skin whole. Whole they may like because they can hold them with their foot and eat out the center. I bought some pea seed to grow. More for the pea flowers, and the plant itself for them to eat.

The only mousers that will eat egg of any type (rejected egg food) was the white-backed and that was mashed hard boiled egg. The Blue-naped rejected eggs, mealworms, which are a source of protein, so I was glad they would eat the pigeon peas which has plenty of protein and amino acids. And none were fond of carrots in any form.

They love to eat, but will approach new food sniffing and staring at it, and if all looks well then one brave one will try it while the rest watch.
 

waterfaller1

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That's odd. Gryphon gobbled up some boiled and scrambled eggs. He was the loudest, and the glutton..that's why you let me have him...:lol:
I saw real Tamarind in the spanish grocery here. What would you do with it? It looked like weird pods.
 

srtiels

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Hmmm...that little booger :), he wouldn't try the egg for me. And he acted like I was going to poison him when I held mealworms in a tweezers for him to try.

You would have to split open the tamarind pods so that they can get at the flesh inside.

YES...he Was the loudest. I didn't realize how loud until he was gone. He has a good set of lungs. I would hear him all the way outside in tfront of the house calling. The other BN call and I can see their throats flutter, but their sound is very low. And the white-backed just sound like little finches chirping. The red-faced are the quietest.
 

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Oh my....my heart is going pitter-pat with excitement! This is so much fun following the progress! What busy little mousers :heart:

I found the perfect flight cage at the local exotics store. In sandstone colore & nicely priced...Joe said I couldn't get it until I knew for sure chicks hatch! :dance5:I think I'll order the Mousebirds in Aviculture book tomorrow because they're so fascinating! I may have to order the Turacos in Aviculture as well because I'm in love with them! As soon as I can build a large aviary, I will have acouple pairs :heart: Livingston & white-cheeked pairs maybe.
 

Billie Faye

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I love to grow peas in the gardens...the birds love the flowers/new shoots and the peas!:hug8:
 
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