Breeding the STRAW-TAILED WHYDAH (Vidua Fischeri) under its usual host species the PURPLE GRENADIER (Uraeginthus ianthingester). by F.C.Barnicoat
Breeding Information
Tap into the wealth of bird breeding experience and information available from Rand Avicultural Society members.
Johannesburg is situated on the highveld at about 5000 feet above sea level and boasts one of the finest climates in the world. Summers can be fairly hot (up to at least 35oC) and winters very often drop to below freezing, but on the whole the climate is very temperate. However, nearly all the South African finches and waxbills occur naturally at an altitude of 4000feet or less where the climate is a lot warmer and the vegetation is predominately Savannah grasslands, which consists mainly of acacia thornveld interspersed with sweet grasses which provide an invaluable source of food when seeding during the summer rains.
From Nick, a UK Breeders` perspective
I purchased 2 pairs of Peters Twinspots in Feb 2014. All birds were UK bred. They were housed initially in inside flight cages until warmer weather arrived. They were fed mainly on mixed millets with a “softfood” mix a couple of times a week. This consisted of sprouting seed, eggfood, frozen pinkies and a protein powder. To be honest I don’t measure the individual components accurately and place more store on the mix being the right constituency crumbly and not too dry/wet.