A
once common sight on the show bench and the only 'Schedule 3'
listed small softbill, the Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
has become a rarer sight at shows in recent years with breeders
keeping alternative small softbills instead. British bird breeder,
Matt Pickering, is looking to buck this trend and re-establish this
charming bird as a regular in peoples
collections.
Having kept Dunnocks (also called Hedge Accentor
or Hedge Sparrow) for some years they have remained a main stay in
my flights when other species have come and gone. Their active
nature and soft springtime song makes them a real favourite. They
are a relatively straight-forward species to keep and breed, as
well as making good show exhibits.
The
main stumbling block to keeping these birds is sexing them. The
cockbird generally has a bluer colouring to the hen and has a
lesser build. This does making sexing them difficult however and
DNA sexing is always recommended to be
sure.
Over the years I’ve had success breeding these
delightful characters in various situations from mixed hardbill
& softbill flights to large indoor cages. My greatest success
however, has come when they are housed alone in their own aviary.
They do not require a huge space and are more than happy with a 6’
x 3’ aviary. They do, however, appreciate some ground cover as they
are secretive birds during the breeding season. I plant low growing
conifers and shrubs in my aviaries where they spend most of their
time.
Whilst they will normally be happy to
over-winter in pairs, I personally split my pairs, as I do with all
my softbills, so that I can choose my pairings in spring rather
than them bonding with other birds. Through the winter months they
are fed on a basic fine softbill mix to which I add 1/3
chickcrumbs. They are also offered a couple of mealworms per bird,
per day to provide variety and will even take a small volume of
british finch or canary seed mix as
well.
When the breeding season approaches the
cockbirds will fill the garden with their beautiful song as if
telling you that they are ready to pair. At this time I, normally
early April, I build an artificial hedge at one end of the aviary
and offer wicker nest baskets at varying heights for nesting. Being
very adaptable, they will nest anywhere between 1’ and 6’ from the
ground and readily take to baskets, although other breeders have
also had success with open front nest
boxes.
The
nests are very tidy and built from moss and fine grass, lined with
animal hair (horse, dog and sheep’s wool, all cut into small
lengths to avoid binding around the birds feet). Within this the
hen will lay 4-6 bright blue eggs, which are incubated for about 14
days. Whilst sitting livefood should be offered so that the parent
birds are used to what is available prior to the chicks hatching.
When hatched, unlimited volumes of livefood should be offered. I
provide some commercially available livefood in the form of
min-mealworms which are placed in a deep side dish, together with
small crickets which are particularly high in protein. These are
simply released into the aviary for the birds to forage for. This
ensures a continued supply throughout the day as the birds find the
insects hiding in the plants and hedging provided. During the first
few days after hatching I also offer a large variety of wild
insects, collected using an old net, dragged through long grass.
The variety of bugs, caterpillars, aphids, spiders and flies this
provides is amazing and helps the chicks early development
immensely. Whilst this variety should provide all their nutritional
requirements, it is worth dusting the livefood with a calcium
powder as the young can be susceptible to
rickets.
The
young can be rung at 6 days old with a size ‘E’ closed ring. I
haven’t yet experienced issues with Dunnocks ejecting chicks from
the nest after ringing so I don’t worry about covering the rings
with plasters or rubber piping as some other breeders may. I do,
however, ring the birds just before dusk so that the rings are less
visible when the hen returns to them. Once settled for the night
the chicks tend to tuck their legs beneath them, hiding the rings
from sight. In the event that chicks are ejected, they can be
easily hand reared with cropped mealworms and soaked puppy
food.
The
young fledge at approximately 14-16 days old and will again spend
much of their first few days out of the nest hiding in low cover.
Care must be taken when entering the aviary as they are well
camouflaged. The young may be left with the parents until the next
clutch is due to hatch. Dunnocks will have 2 or 3 clutches although
in my experience they appear to lose interest a little after the
second clutch.
I
bring the weaned young inside to moult and settle them down before
the showing season commences. At this time I continue to feed
mini-mealworms as well as a softbill mix until they are fully
moulted at which time they are placed on the winter diet described
earlier.
Dunnocks show themselves very well in exhibition
and are ideal for anyone starting out with softbills when it comes
to the show scene. Giving you the opportunity to decorate your show
cages to highlight your breeding
achievement.
Matt is coordinating a Dunnock breeding
programme on the ‘British Birds In Aviculture’ forum (www.BBIA.co.uk) during the 2013
breeding season. Anyone wishing to get involved can do so by
registering on the site.
