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BENGALESE BREEDING

By Trevor Woodruff

Bengalese finches, because of their strong nesting instinct, sometimes get 'carried away' with nest building. Often they will build a nest with provided materials. Then they will lay eggs. Shortly after laying eggs they will decide to reline the nest. If you notice that they are in this busy mode, take out all possible nesting material as they will take this material up to their nest, reline the nest and bury any existing eggs, lay new eggs on top and the eggs at the bottom will be of no use. The birds will go on and reline the nest continuously as long as they have a continual supply of fresh nesting material. In this manner a lot of eggs get laid, but no babies are born

Bengalese finches do not form particularly strong monogamous pair bonds. However, like in the rest of the animal kingdom, males court females, females choose among their suitors, and the formation of a pair bond is marked by 'clumping' when two birds perch so near together that they appear to merge in a ball of feathers. The male builds the nest and then the breeding process begins. The breeding process is actually very simple. The mates sit on a perch next to each other and 'talk' together. The male will then hop on the female's back to fertilise her and flutter his wings to keep balance. The whole process takes about one minute and the routine is carried out a number of times. Bengalese prefer wooden nest boxes or covered wicker nests. Once fertilised and after nesting, the hen will lay between three and eight eggs, one each day. After a couple of eggs are laid, the pair will begin sitting on them. The brooding and incubation process lasts around 14 to 18 days or more. The two parents take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young until they are independent. Young birds are uniformly grey and have black beaks; they begin to assume their adult plumage between 30 and 45 days after hatching. The whole process from building a nest to the young fledglings achieving independence is approximately six to eight weeks. Most novice breeders of the Bengalese finch are caught off-guard by the speed of this process. It is important not to allow finches that are closely related to produce offspring. Inbreeding will result in a weakening of the offspring and eventually the breed. It's important to become familiar with the change in dietary needs of the parent during the nesting and birth process. As a general rule I feed egg food every day during the breeding season. I stop feeding egg food when the first egg is laid, I will resume feeding egg food around the 12 day before the eggs are due to hatch. This will hopefully keep the cock bird not so eager to mate and to concentrate on feeding both the hen and chicks when they hatch.

If Bengalese is to be used as foster parents to other breeds, the hatching date of the fostered eggs or chicks should coincide as closely as possible with the hatching of their own eggs. Bengalese is devoted parents, and, if the fledging time of foster chicks should differ from their own, there will be no objection or desertion. Also, they know no nesting season and will go to nest at any time of the year.

Bengalese finches, after several hundred years of captive breeding they do not mind humans interfering with their nestlings as other species might. They make such good parents that they have been known to interfere with the raising of other nestlings sometimes to the dismay of the chicks' of other parents. Finch breeders have taken advantage of this behaviour to help raise some of the more sensitive species, those that have not adjusted to captivity quite as well. They can foster most species of finches with their own nestlings of approximately the same age, though they do better with related species, the Mannikins and Munias, than they do with less closely related species, such as the Waxbills.

As they are likely hybrid already, they have been known occasionally to interbreed with other species, including most of the closely related Mannikins, as well as several of the more distantly related species like Cordon Bleus. Crossbreeding with a few of the related Mannikin species (Shaft-Tailed Finches or White-Backed Munias, for example) can produce fertile offspring, but this should be discouraged. It should be noted that hybrids produced from crosses between Bengalese and species outside the genus Lonchura are never fertile and cannot produce offspring of their own. Someone interested in breeding Bengalese finches should prevent his birds from choosing mates of another species, preferably by separating breeding pairs into their own cages for the duration.

Nesting. Half open wooden boxes about 15cm square, or wicker style nest.

Clutch. 5 - 7 eggs.

Incubation period. About 14 - 18 days, by both parents.

Ringing 17 days.

Fledgling. 28 days.

Weaning 42 days.

The following is a guide to my method.

" Select a suitable male/female couple in good condition and place them in the same cage.

" If the birds are in good condition they will usually start to build a nest immediately, and within a few days the first eggs will be laid.

" Check the nest every day in order to follow the progress. Be sure to let the birds know you are coming. If you frighten them, they may accidentally destroy the eggs in the confusion. If the birds are unwilling to leave the nest, don't chase them off unless you are worried something might be wrong.

" Around the time when the third egg is laid, the birds will start sitting on the eggs.

" After approximately 14 to 18 days, the eggs will start to hatch.

" At this time you should start to feed a good soft egg rearing food. The egg food I use is called E.M.P. this can be dampened with a little water; this can be obtained in a good pet shop. You should continue to feed the regular seed mixture as well.

" When the birds are around 17days old, they should be fitted with a closed coded ring for identification.

" Be sure not to disrupt the chicks after 20 days old so as not to scare them into a premature fledging. However if you suspect something is wrong, it would be safe to look them over. In that case, great care must be taken not to frighten the birds.

" When the birds are around 25 days old, they will leave the nest for the first time. When all chicks have fledged about one week later, the nest box should be removed and cleaned ready to be replaced back to the adult pair, mainly on the same day you remove the chicks at 42 days old, or sometimes a little earlier. Generally, a pair of Bengalese finches should not be allowed to rear more than 2 - 3 clutches per year. I personally only let them have two clutches per year.

" Chicks should be removed from their parent's cage as soon as they are eating on their own around 42 days old. The parents should pair again and start their second clutch at this point. After the young have fledged, they will moult into their adult plumage at about 90 days of age.

" Bengalese finches, like any other caged birds, are notoriously difficult to catch. Their prime instinct is one of survival they obviously see you as a great sign of danger, especially when you go into the aviary equipped with bird catching net. Just remember that they are very tiny to your size and must be terrified when you start coming for them. Be sure too that you remember that your hand is immensely strong compared to the frame of a tiny bird. If you keep trying to catch them for a very long time without success, the birds will become very stressed and exhausted and could injure themselves by crashing into the cage walls.

" Bengalese finches are good in cages as they are in aviaries and are good little breeders. They are generally very hard and sturdy but should not be allowed to breed in unheated aviaries during cold weather. If the climate is too cold, Bengalese is best kept indoors. These birds can be cage bred and will live happily in a medium-sized mixed flight with non-aggressive birds. Because of their highly social nature, Bengalese finches will try to cram into one nest at night (they are nest sleepers). Although that is normally okay, it can cause great troubles in the breeding season, firstly because most pairs will be too busy socialising to breed, and second because if any eggs or chicks are in the nest, the many birds cramming into it at night could squash them to death. It is for this reason that when breeding, only one pair should be housed per enclosure. They will nest in about anywhere. Provide coconut fibre, dried grass, or hay for nesting materials.

There are many things to consider when providing a place for your Bengalese finches to live. Strictly speaking, nests are not essential but if the birds are outside it's nice to be able to offer them a retreat and somewhere warmer and more sheltered. Bengalese like to spend nights in a nest. Recommendations for housing vary depending on whether your birds are seen as pets or you are trying to breed them. For pet birds you will want to enjoy them, so place them where you can see and hear them. Select a place that gets a lot of light. They need daylight but keep them away from direct sunlight, which could get very hot. Bengalese basically need the same temperature as we humans. Also avoid placing them where it may rain heavily on them. Try not to change their environment too rapidly as the birds will need to acclimatise to their new situation. Bengalese finches will feel quite at home with temperatures between 5° and 30° C. However, when breeding 15° upwards should be the normal conditions. Bengalese finches enjoy space in which to fly around and the opportunity for the birds to fly can be increased by having too few perches rather than too many. Don't use perches with sandpaper on them, as this can be too hard on their feet. Safe wood to use for perches includes: apple, aspen, birch, cherry, elm, maple, mountain ash, pear, pine, poplar and willow.

A good cage design allows the base tray to be slid out from underneath which prevents the birds from escaping while cleaning. The aviary should be vermin free and can be planted with grasses and small trees. A lot of time is spent on the ground foraging. Finches can be allowed to take a bath by placing a shallow dish of lukewarm water in the bottom of the cage or you could buy a bath that clips onto the door of the cage. Remember to keep the cage away from draughts and strong sunlight. A healthy Bengalese finch will have a life span of 4 to 5years.

Sexing Bengalese Finches

Sexing is quite hard although you can tell by their song and by their behaviour when it comes to courtship. Only the male sings; the female does not. When they first come out of the nest they will not sing so don't start thinking that you have only females as it can take weeks or months for them to be able to start singing. The male sings a squeaky little song to his mate while sticking out his chest and putting his head high. His tail sticks up, and his wings flicker out small sharp bursts, at a much sharper clown like angle during the display. This elaborate and amusing little performance is finished by vigorous little hops up and down the perch. Some are relatively easy to sex, but there are many cock birds in appearance that defies detection except by behaviour.

Showing your birds

This can be quite rewarding winning rosettes and cups etc, especially when you are a novice. You can if you wish join the Bengalese society www.nbfa.co.uk were you find excellent reading with quarterly magazines to keep up to date about breeding your birds, and info of what is happening on the show benches. When joining the society you will be given your own ring number. Rings are individually numbered, also your number and the current year stamped on them, and details were you could purchase rings. Recording ring numbers helps you when pairing your birds each year, also the family history of your stock.