Experience of breeding European Siskin

STUDY ON THE BREEDING OF THE ALDER SISKIN
IN COLOUR MUTATIONS
PHOTOS BY JM EYTORFF AND R DRIESMANS

Breeding this passerine is of great interest to enthusiasts of European birds with colour mutations, owing to the multitude of possible genetic combinations. The following section will give you an insight into some of the various matings already carried out in this field and may help novice breeders to plan their matings without too much uncertainty regarding the expected results.
The siskin is resident all year round in Central and Eastern Europe (including Siberia), as well as in southern Sweden and Norway, Scotland and Ireland. It is also found in France, mainly in the Alps and the Pyrenees. It is also found in northern Italy, as well as in Greece and Turkey. In summer, it is found in north-eastern Europe, and in winter throughout all European countries as far as Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Egypt, the Middle East and northern Iran.
Before we begin to examine colour variations in the siskin, let’s look at these basic characteristics.

DIET AND CARE
The siskin’s diet consists of grasses and insects (mainly during the breeding season).
The basic mix consists of canary seed, sweet turnip, white millet, red millet, niger seed, wild seeds, linseed, lawn seeds, aniseed, white perilla, brown perilla, plantain, chicory, white lettuce and black lettuce. Cluster millet, as well as alder and birch seeds, are provided on a weekly basis.
In addition, depending on the season, I harvest and provide the following grasses:
chickweed: semi-ripe, ripe
coltsfoot: ripe
common ragwort: ripe
dandelion: ripe, semi-ripe
shepherd’s purse: semi-ripe, ripe
wild sorrel: ripe
lance-leaved plantain: ripe
broad-leaved plantain: ripe
meadowsweet: ripe
root-tufted chickweed: ripe
scorzonera: ripe
biennial evening primrose: ripe
chickweed: ripe
wild chicory: ripe
small burdock: ripe
common tansy: ripe
garden sow thistle: semi-ripe, ripe
pyracantha berries.
Dried bones and grit are always available. The water is changed every day as goldfinches love to bathe.

HOUSING AND BREEDING
The siskin is a sociable bird that can breed in various types of accommodation. If space is limited, small aviaries of one cubic metre are the minimum recommended size for a breeding pair. In this case, it is advisable to monitor the male’s behaviour during the breeding season, as he can become particularly agitated and may disturb the female whilst she is brooding.
Small aviaries are of the box type, with only the front section fitted with wire mesh. Metal or wicker nests are suspended in the corners of the aviary and on the wire mesh, concealed within bundles of broom or thuja. Having used this type of enclosure in the past, I now prefer larger aviaries; specifically, for a breeding pair: 2.50 metres high, 1.20 to 2 metres deep and 0.80 to 1 metre wide.
As flying is essential for the birds’ conditioning, a living space of this kind allows the male siskin, in particular, to carry out his numerous courtship flights leading up to mating without restriction. Artificial nests of the type mentioned above are concealed amongst the branches of thuja or fir trees. If possible, a whole thuja tree can be suspended within the aviary, and it is not uncommon for nests to be built naturally in the forks of the branches or along the tree trunk.
I have had the opportunity to rear goldfinches in polygamous groups (one male to two or three females) and I can assure you that the best results are achieved with pairs, because whilst female goldfinches coexist very well outside the breeding season, things become more complicated when they are rearing their young. Territorial behaviour is very evident, and frequent fights break out between the different females, disrupting the regular feeding of the young.
It is also possible to breed using an ‘impromptu’ method, as with canaries, and let the female rear the young on her own, but I am personally not in favour of such practices as new problems arise when the female wishes to start a new brooding cycle. Under these conditions, the male does not always feed the young that have left the nest, and great efforts must then be made to save the brood. When kept as a pair, these problems do not arise and several broods are successfully reared, with the male perfectly supporting his female in raising the immature young.
Where very large aviaries are available, different species can be kept together – such as siskins and goldfinches – provided certain rules are observed: never place several pairs of siskins in the same aviary (as the males would then spend the breeding season fighting, resulting in a very low fertilisation rate among the females). Never place two birds of different species with the same dominant colouring in the same aviary, however large it may be: for example, a brown siskin with a brown greenfinch or a brown sizerin, a dominant pastel-green siskin with a split-isabelle greenfinch, etc.
From the moulting season (September, October) until December, siskins can be kept together without any problems in the same aviary (there is no aggression between the different males during the winter months).
From January onwards, the breeding birds are housed in separate aviaries of the type described above. The aviaries are always lined with conifer branches (even in winter) so that the birds can shelter from the cold during severe frosts.
I practise ‘natural’ breeding, that is to say without heating or artificial lighting, and achieve good results every year under such conditions. It is at the beginning of January that a change in behaviour is noticeable among the siskins. The male sings ever more loudly, without, however, showing any interest in the female. Both birds, however, become increasingly restless, particularly on sunny days.
In early March, the males’ incessant courtship displays can then be observed, following increasingly pronounced singing. The first matings take place whilst the nest is being built. The nest is built at a height of between 1.40 metres and 2.20 metres. The materials used are very varied, namely: fine rootlets, grass (fresh bluegrass), 10 cm coconut fibre, lint, natural wadding, plant down, dried or fresh moss, cobwebs, rabbit hair, cow or horsehair, etc... Much of this material can be stored throughout the winter in preparation for the first broods, which can sometimes be very early. Indeed, it is not uncommon for some female goldfinches over a year old to be in the middle of brooding by the end of March, even though the temperature has not yet risen significantly. The female builds the nest alone, with very few exceptions.
During the brooding period, the male sings near the nest but never takes over from the female on the eggs. The average number of eggs laid is four, bluish in colour (the highest recorded number is six). After 12 to 13 days, depending on the ambient temperature, the first chick hatches. I never remove the eggs as they are laid, to put them back under the female’s care once the last egg has been laid, as some females are particularly sensitive and do not like to be disturbed during this delicate period. Young siskins are covered in a light down at hatching. The average number of chicks reared is 3. The colour of their skin and down varies depending on the type of mutation observed. Dilute brown chicks and double-dilute chicks are the lightest in colour in the nest. The difference in pigmentation between normal chicks and brown chicks is not significant, and a novice breeder would be better off waiting for the feathers to grow in to be sure that they have goldfinches with colour mutations. The nest is kept particularly clean by the female siskin, which poses some problems when ringing the chicks, around the 6th or 7th day.
The use of rings with a diameter of 2.5 mm is recommended. I use flesh-coloured plasters to conceal the rings, and despite this, I still record a few cases of ring loss each year. I have tried all sorts of camouflage methods to deceive the female siskin, ranging from carbon black to black marker, and so far, adhesive plaster has given me the best results: so take care when ringing young siskins.
The young are fed regularly by both parents with wild grasses, but are mainly fed on insects, which are essential for the brood’s proper development. During this period, I provide them with bee moths, defrosted ant eggs, buffalo beetles and green aphids whenever I can find them in the wild. The protein-enriched egg mash is given twice a day, along with a portion of sprouted seeds.
At around 15 days, the young leave the nest but will not be independent until after four weeks (from the 22nd day onwards, some young begin to feed themselves, but as a precaution I wean them from one month onwards). During this period, and despite the second brood being on the way, the male and female will continue to feed their young. I generally wean the young from the moment the second brood is due to hatch, so as to allow the female to focus primarily on her new chicks. On average, there are two broods per season. Some females produce only one brood, even when they start breeding very early.
At around two months old, the young siskins begin their first moult without any major problems, unlike greenfinches in captivity. Be careful, however, of high temperatures, which can cause them discomfort. I have not, however, observed any serious incidents at temperatures around 33 degrees, provided the enclosures are regularly misted and that such temperatures do not persist for too long. In winter, my siskins have coped without any problems with temperatures as low as minus 17. Problems arise when dry cold gives way to damp cold.
In my view, breeding colour-variant siskins is more difficult than breeding colour-variant bramblings, as it requires a good knowledge of the species and sound experience of breeding carduelines. There is no room for chance in this type of breeding.
JM EYTORFF.