I must congratulate you on an excellent site, but I would like to correct/clarify some of the statements in the Bengalese section. Most of the content is fine - please see my specific comments below. Clearly we all have different experiences with our birds and some strains behave differently to others but from discussions with many experts over the years I believe my views reflect the norm.
The Breed
The bengalese is NOT a Manakin - they are Mannikins/Munias (Lonchura species) . Manakins (Pipridae) are a completely different family
Current evidence indicates that the Bengalese was developed in Japan, the species concerned was the White Rumped Munia also called Striated Munia or Sharp-tailed Munia ( Lonchura Striata) and the subspecies concerned was probably Swinhoei from China. It is only in the last 30 years , primarily in mainland Europe where the bengalese was hybridised to produce the darker Self birds. We therefore have some strains that will have hybrid origins and others not.
Even the wild form is 115cm (approx.4.5 inches) long and most Bengalese are much larger.
I have found the opposite with fostering and would not mix bengalese chicks with other species if I had a choice - other bird sites would support this view.
Feeding
Too restrictive diet given
Although white millet is a preferred seed, they should be given access to other small seeds as found in a good foreign finch mixture. Paddy rice is also a firm favourite.
Mine enjoy lettuce, spinach, and carrot (moistened dry form). Other people feed peas and other vegetables.
Cuttlefish is a waste of time if not grated, small amounts of a calcium supplement are probably better.
Colours
Brown and White? some could be described as brown but the established colours of chocolate and chestnut are given
Chocolate/Grey? no idea what this means -
There are several other established colours including pearls and red-eyed varieties
( I can provide a full list)
Breeding
I and many others use hay for nests but coconut fibre is a good but realtively expensive option.
There is little to be gained from touching eggs but highlighting the statement is misleading. I frequently move eggs between pairs and will re-organise and replace nesting material between clutches. Bengalese are very tolerant and will allow nest inspections . They do not desert the nest after being disturbed.
Bengalese do NOT wait until the last egg before starting to incubate - they usually start on the 3rd or 4th egg. It is rare for a full clutch (5 or 6 eggs) to hatch on the same day , indicating that incubation has not started with the last egg - 14 days from the fourth egg not the last egg is a more reliable count. Some pairs may only lay one or two eggs and other may lay as many as 10 or more so i count 18 days from 1st egg.
Cage size of 3 foot is admirable but i have not known a serious bengalese keeper to use more than 2 foot as a breeding cage (my current cages are double breeders of 45" x 15" x 15").
Ringing
It is better to wait to longer than 10 days if you have mastered the closed ringing technique - say another week.
I have never known my birds abandon chicks due to closed ringing. Single or sickly chicks may be left to die but otherwise I have not had any problems - I breed and ring over 200 per year
Tony Edwards
(Vice-Chairman of the National Bengalese Fanciers Association)
