British Birds In Avicuture - an indepth view of breeding British softbill & hardbills

The Bullfinch By John Reid

Pyrrhula p.pileata

Species specifics:

The bullfinch is one of the most attractive of our native finches, along with the goldfinch it holds a special place in the hearts of British bird breeders, however there are some things to consider when starting to keep and breed bullies.
One of the considerations that needs to be taken into account with bullfinches is the feeding, unlike the other finches, bullies can suffer from breathing difficulties , this usualy occures if fed a wrong kind of diet mainly one with to much fatty seeds.
In addition the chicks need livefood for at least the first week of their lives.
Once experienced is gained with the "easier" kinds of British then bullies can be tried.
These birds don’t eat as much seed as the other finches, and that can be seen by the shape of their beaks, designed for picking buds from trees etc, and if we can provide them with as many buds as is possible, such as fruit tree buds, hawthorn, blackthorn, rose buds, and buds from bramble bushes etc, will help gain maximum fitness.


British Bullfinch Cock	Bullfinch Hen	Northern or Siberian Bullfinch Cock

Distribution:

There are several species of bullfinch, from our native one to the much larger northern race to others such as the Beavans bullfinch.

Size:

Bullfinches are around about the size of a greenfinch 15cm (6"), but usually much rounder.
The northern race is larger still but tend to be on the long side

Feeding:

They can be difficult birds to keep right, and their feeding habits should be monitored so they receive a balanced diet,
my bullfinches get one table spoon full of seed per day and no more is given until the pots are empty, (I don’t mean a few grains)
all I do is blow the husks off and replace the pot, this way they are getting a balanced diet, not just eating the favorite seeds.
I must stress to feed your birds this way is first inconvenient at first as a careful watch must be given to make sure they have enough to eat,
every birds metabolism is different, and some may eat more or less than the next bird and also conditions have to be kept in mind, for example if they are housed in flights etc.

Sexing:

sexing bullies is not going to be a problem for any one as most people will recognize the cock bird with his striking red chest, black head, bib,
wings and tail with a slate grey back.
The hen is also a handsome finch; however although possessing the black head, wings and tail like the cock, she lacks his bright color and is brown elsewhere.
Both sexes have a white rump which is visible when the birds are in flight.
Young bullfinches look like the hen, but lack the black head etc, until they moult.

Color mutations:

You will find several color variants of this bullfinch with pastels being the most common.

General information:

Bullfinches are a very rewarding species, and are a pleasure to own.
Bullfinches can be prolific breeders and a good one will generally do well on the show bench should you be interested in that side of the hobby.
When they have eggs or chicks some become nervous, and take fright at the least thing whilst others will not move at all,
I have a hen that lets me feed her on the nest with live food from my fingers, whilst other hens reject eggs or chicks for the slightest thing.
A calcium supplement is used once a week as I have found hens can be prone to laying soft shelled eggs.

Choosing Your Bullfinch:

A good bullfinch should be as large as possible, not long though, it should be well balanced and the black head and bib should be as broad and clean cut as is possible.

Housing:

They can be bred in flights or in cages, no smaller than a double breeder, but will be happiest in a flight, some people leave there birds out all winter,
I bring mine inside but this is purely an individual choice.

Breeding:

Bullfinches usually start to show interest in breeding around mid to end of April, and get in full swing by May/June.
Pairs are kept together during winter so should have bonded, but when going into the nesting quarters, only put one pair in NEVER put more than one pair of bullfinches together in the breeding season, its ok to house them with another species, redpoll's for example.
They lay 3-5 eggs, and incubate for about 12-14 days.

The chicks need as much livefood as can be given, also wild seed in the form of chickweed etc,
if you can persuade your birds to take egg this will provide them with vital animal protein.
I find my birds like scrambled eggs, and it’s convenient to make.

What the Bullfinch use as nest also materials used:

Bullies are not good at making nests lots of times a few twigs and a few roots do, however eggs don’t normally survive such a flimsy nest so I like to use a home made shallow nest basket.
This is normally made from small gauge mesh and molded into a shallow basket and twigs woven through, this does the trick usually.
Twigs that are pliable are supplied (I find silver birch twigs ideal), and coco-nut fibre & sisal string cut into small lengths as well is used for nest building.
Difficulties can arise when ringing bullfinches, and this species, in my experience is the most likely to reject rings or leave chicks due to ringing.
A way round this is to cover the ring with "fishing float" rubber, this is said to have the look and feel of skin so the chicks won’t be either thrown out of the nest or deserted due to ringing.

Potential Ailment:
Bullies are prone to breathing difficulties, with incorrect feeding contributing to this, if this should happen then an anti biotic called Tylon helps the bird recover.

Annual medication:
Like all the finches they can be prone to going light after weaning, so sulphur based drug are added to the water until after the moult,
in the form of Bimodine or Intredine or the like.

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