Grey Singer Breeding (White Rumped Serins)

Well, it is good to say that this Grey Singer couple is a hard core! They breed rapidly. Once they laid their eggs, 13-14 days the chicks are popped out ... then the male and female are start to feed the chicks. This feeding session also made them start to breed again. Even when the chicks ain't reach 2 weeks old yet, or at least the chicks has reached their baby's days out, they start to build another new nest for laying their new several eggs. It will be difficult for the male then to feed both the chicks and also the female in nesting period. But only the good one can do this, not every male wants to and can feed them at the same time. Most of them will abandon their chicks.

Experiencing the deaths of separated chicks from several experiment, I found out that this Grey Singer's chicks kind had no highly survival mode. When the parental feeding is less than 5 weeks, they get sick by poor eating ability and ended in death within couple to several days. I have tried to separate them in 4 weeks old, then 5 weeks old, they did not survived. So I decided only to separate them from the parental feeding after 6 weeks. It is very risky, due to the danger that the chick may kicking the eggs out of the nest, since they will still be in the same small breeding cage. In addition of that, they will also suffer from the parents that usually pulled out their feathers for nesting material or try to reject them out of the cage. Sometimes it is difficult to make a decision, wheter we have to take them out or let them stay in the cage supported by their parents but resulting the damage baby's feather. We have to be very sharp to watch the situation and condition on this.

The pair will breeds at least every 5 to 6 weeks, started from 3 eggs. Some of them survived completely to 2 or 3 chicks and sometimes they didn't survived at all. It means they are producing at least 5 to 6 breeding times and brings 15 to 18 chicks per year. But in fact, they only appear after suvival around 10 chicks. Not bad, isn't it? Of course, it was a good factory to me ... rather than to have only 2 or 3 breeds per-year. So, why don't you try to breed this kind? instead of only to get them singing in the cage.

Vintage Relief Carved Cages - 8 Chinesse Gods

Surprisingly, I found this vintage carved cage from a friend who had a store in the bird market. It is a rare stuff. Someone, a bird lover and also a cage collector is selling some of his collections. Some of them were put in his store for sale. I was just falling into the feeling that it is a must have cage! It is very truly unique, classic and really classy. This cage is seems a product of 90's era. Look at its carving appearance, even the carves it self doesn't shows that is not made by a real quality carver, it framed by a line, leaving a space in the edge, a plain space is available left after some crafting made by fine saw in connected square and round/circle modules, as we oftenly see it in the ancient chinesse carving. Surely the type is following theme of the carving: Chinesse Gods - the 8 prime gods. I used to have so many kind and so many type of the Chinesse Gods carving cages before, since the early of 90's. Those cages are product from Malang, Jepara, or other places. There is some details are always seen that becoming thew, a character of a carver and also from its origin that applied in the carving cages. Smoothly I can make a guess to a cage by defining the character and its appearances.

Serinus Mozambicus: New Kid on the Block

Here are the pictures of the 3 months old juvenile of Green Singer, from the last breeding season before the molting period in the end of last year. The bird is very good in its physical condition, in addition that it is a single chick of a nest, it got the blessing that the singing ability is very excelent.

Vintage Carved Cage from China

It was a lucky day when a friend of mine told me that he has been asked by his little brother to sell one of his cage collection. The subject is a cage, carved cage, made by a Chinese carver - a master in his special skill, made from bamboo material (surely we shall know that it will the best well treated bamboo in the world, if it will be used for cage material). The cage is an used cage, in good condition and it seems that this cage has been re-conditioned. I did not check it in detail anyway. It has a story carving, telling about the Monkey King, or Sun Go Kong in Chinesse. The finishes was in brown, a natural color that always be my favorite one. I pay the price he asked, surely after a little bit forcing to have a discount :-) i take it home. Took a little while to watch it, feel amazed and wrap it into a plastic cover to protect it from the dust. Since I do not know for what bird I will use this cage (in case you did not well informed, Hwa Mei, the purpose of this cage for, has not been introduced to Indonesia no more since 2000), so this cage been stored in the warehouse for many years. Surprisingly, once I checked and looked one day in the warehouse, some cages has been damaged by the rats attack, this cage was freed from the rats. I do not know why, maybe it is becasue of the round shape of this cage. Actually, this cage was my favorite one, but it is very sad to say that I never had a chance to use it for my favorite bird, the Melodius Laughing Thrush (Hwa Mei), is very difficult to be found in the market today. So, this cage will be still stored in the warehouse until this day.The carvings are very adorable, amaze me, always ... I think the carver must be very talented and well experienced. The proportion of the body shape, the captured acts it presented, the details proportion, the story telling, everythings were great. A master piece. I think oneday I'd like to visit the place where the cages like this are produced and get some new experiences and knowledges about how to make the cage like this.