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. Peter's twinspot
Aviary Notes: Read notes on "Finches - Non Australian" web page and use in conjunction with details outlined on this page. Level Of Knowledge Required: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced / Specialist Breeders Only. Government Regulations & By-Laws: Refer to "Government Laws" web page. Housing Requirements: Click on "Housing birds" web page for general details on the housing of Australian Finches or read on for specific details for this finch. May be kept with other finches but with their rarity in Australian aviaries it would be best to give each pair a planted aviary of their own. To minimize the aggression between pairs, pairs should not be housed in adjoining aviaries. These birds spend considerable amounts of time on the aviary floor. Catching, handling and transportation of these birds requires more care and attention than most of the other species if finches. They tend to be more "delicate" than the other more common finches. Diet / Feeding: Click on "Feeding birds" web page for general details on the nutrition of Australian Finches or read on for specific details for this finch. Good quality finch mix, seeding grasses and some fruits (e.g. apple). Live food is essential especially at breeding season. Small mealworms, small crickets and small locusts can be offered. Sprouted or soaked seed if available. Leafy green vegetables can be offered. Basic seed mix should include Canary seed, White French Millet, Japanese Millet, and Yellow and Red Panicum. Nesting: A basic overview only.
Nests are built low to the ground. Some may make a nest ground level. Adequate new nest material must be available for the birds to rebuild the old nest or build a new nest for the next clutch. Nest inspections are not tolerated. More details on finch nests and a selection of finch nest photos can be located on the "nests", "finch nests" and "finch nest photos" web pages. Click on "Up" then "nests" then "finch nests" and "finch nests photos" in the navigation bars. Breeding: Egg Colour White. Clutch/s per year 2 - 3. Eggs per nest 3 - 6. Incubation approx. 12 - 14 days. Fledge approx. 3 - 4 weeks. Independent approx. another 4 weeks. First bred in Adelaide prior to World War 1. May be kept with other finches but with their rarity in Australian aviaries it would be best to give each pair an aviary of their own. Some hens may lay at 6 months of age but it is better if the hen is allowed to fully mature and start breeding at about 12 months of age. Young should be removed from the parent birds as soon as they are fully independent so as to avoid possible aggression from a parent. Both parent feed the young. The young may return to the nest for a few days after they fledge. Extreme care must be exercised if birds have to be re-paired to a new partner. With their low numbers in Australia, it is essential to find out as much background genetic history of each bird to avoid pairing up closely related birds. The successful breeding of the Dybowski's Twinspot lasted till the 1990's and since then breeding results have been few. A breeding register may be required to minimize the risks of breeding with close relatives in most of the rarer birds in Australia. Artificial incubation, hand rearing or fostering will not be covered on this web site. It is too complex and diverse in nature to be attempted here. Refer "Specific References" as listed below and "General References" listings. Health Issues: Refer "Avian Health Issues" web page for information and references.
General References: Refer to references listed on "Book References" web page. Specific References:
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