Need info on a Chinese Laughing Thrush

[Terry57]

Does anyone know anything about these birds? I am getting one on Thursday. She is in a really, really small cage now, and I am moving her to a flight cage, but I can't find any info about bar spacing. Also any help with diet would be appreciated

 

[MikeyTN]

IF they're anything like the other thrush, they're insect feeders. Some fruits but main diet is insects. So it wouldn't be a bad thing if you can obtain a colony of meal worms and raise them yourself to feed. Along with crickets and such. You will have to disable the crickets or they'll be all over your house before he eats them. There isn't a lot that's posted about them, please do ask the existing owners on what they're feeding them. How did they obtain one in the first place as they're pretty endangered specie???

 

[Terry57]

I know he bought her from somewhere and already had a male. Then the male died and the female is in this tiny, round cage...maybe 12 inches tall and wide? I saw her tonight and I must get her into a bigger cage. The only things I was able to find about their diet online was the insects, seed and some fruit. He is feeding a dried insect mix he mixes himself...something I have never looked for is dried insects to mix..lol.
Yikes, dreading the crickets.
How would I raise a colony of mealworms?
The cage I have open is 3/4 inch spacing, so we are going to get some mesh to make that spacing smaller, just in case. She is a really large bird, about the size of my Pi.

 

[Terry57]

Hey Michael, I think it is this one from what I remember. Thank goodness, not one of the endangered ones

Chinese Hwamei - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[MikeyTN]

You keep the meal worm colony in a tank with a top cover on it, much like the reptile tank with the wire top. They start as beetles and you put fruits and veggies within the tank and the beetles will lay eggs on them and feast on it. I think the tank mixture is like sand/sawdust mixture??? It's been YEARS ago since I've raised them. They're high in protein and it's great to feed to our parrots too. I used to raise them to feed to my breeder birds. Someone was giving one away here not long ago but I was shot down by my partner as no bugs is allowed in this house....lol.....The tank stinks trust me....lol....Oh by the way, you have to dig in to the mixture to dig out the worms....Have fun!!!!

 

[Mekaisto]

We give our insectivores 15g meat mix (finely chopped pigeon, kangaroo, dog kibble, shell grit, nectar powder and calcium powder) plus 5g of insects per bird. The amount fed will depend on the size and weight of your bird. Insects fed are usually mealworms, crickets, cockroaches or fly pupae. If you only have one bird, it is probably better to just buy insects, rather than breeding them.

Mealworms can be a hassle to keep, but if you want to, here's a fine reference: How to Raise and Breed Mealworms: 8 Steps (with Pictures)

 

[Terry57]

We give our insectivores 15g meat mix (finely chopped pigeon, kangaroo, dog kibble, shell grit, nectar powder and calcium powder) plus 5g of insects per bird. The amount fed will depend on the size and weight of your bird. Insects fed are usually mealworms, crickets, cockroaches or fly pupae. If you only have one bird, it is probably better to just buy insects, rather than breeding them.

Mealworms can be a hassle to keep, but if you want to, here's a fine reference: How to Raise and Breed Mealworms: 8 Steps (with Pictures)

Thank you so much for the info! So since I am in Canada, could I substitute chicken for pigeon and ..hmm.. what would be the equivalent of kangaroo? Pork, beef?
Is the nectar powder the same stuff I use in my hummingbird feeder?
Cockroaches...nope, will have to do the other insects..lol.

 

[Terry57]

Oh by the way, you have to dig in to the mixture to dig out the worms....Have fun!!!!

I say double yikes! If I do this, then I think Hubby will have a new job..lol.
He can be a mealworm wrangler...yea, that's how I'll sell it.

 

[MikeyTN]

The site makes it sound more complicated then it really is. It's pretty simple and easy to do. As long as you feed them you'll have plenty of meal worms without worrying about them eating out the eggs. I don't separate them like that but I do clean it out like the skins of the vegetable matter and such plus the dead adults. At the beginning to try to be successful I would probably move them around due to you needing to built your population. It would be something you can teach your parrots to eat as well. Once they get the taste of it they will go for it everytime, the hard part is convincing them. Digging for them isn't that bad, feel little meal worms wiggle in your hands which you must do to convince your birds to act like it's yummy. You'll have lots of fun doing it!!!!! LoL.....

 

[Terry57]

Yea, looking forward to that...not..lol.
Where would i get the beetles to start?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Terry, check online. I know here in the US we have LOTS of online suppliers for "feeder" bugs.

This will be such a great adventure. Roaches are very easy to keep, especially if you'd get dubias. (I remember having a colony of those when I bred tarantulas)

 

[Terry57]

Terry, check online. I know here in the US we have LOTS of online suppliers for "feeder" bugs.

This will be such a great adventure. Roaches are very easy to keep, especially if you'd get dubias. (I remember having a colony of those when I bred tarantulas)

I will look now. I know that when I was a kid, roaches were very easy to keep. They were in all our cabinets, on the walls..to this day, I still rinse every glass I drink out of because of my traumatized youth
You used to breed tarantulas??? I would love to hear about that!
:11::11:

 

[Terry57]

Thanks Wendy, I found a place that sounds promising for the insects

 

[lquan]

IF they're anything like the other thrush, they're insect feeders. Some fruits but main diet is insects. So it wouldn't be a bad thing if you can obtain a colony of meal worms and raise them yourself to feed. Along with crickets and such. You will have to disable the crickets or they'll be all over your house before he eats them. There isn't a lot that's posted about them, please do ask the existing owners on what they're feeding them. How did they obtain one in the first place as they're pretty endangered specie???

There are plenty of laughingthrush in my homeland, Vietnam. Their melody is awsome. In Chinese they are called Hwamei. Similarly, in Vietnamese, we called them HoaMi. They look different than species from China. My friend has a few of these here in the US. He bought them here in the US. Apparently somebody smuggled fertilized eggs out of asia and started breeding them abroad as he told me. He is single, and has always been, that's why has so much time for such birds. They cost a lot more to maintain than seed eating birds. Somewhere at the level of toucanet. And yes, my friend has an Emerald Toucanet and Mynahs, too. The food bill for his birds is unbelievable! And the amount of time cleaning after them, OMG! Even though he lives only a few blocks from me, I only been to his house one time. We meet and ride bycicle together almost every Sunday. It was a facisnated experience to see his bird collection and aviaries. He doesn't have any parrot.

 

[Terry57]

There are plenty of laughingthrush in my homeland, Vietnam. Their melody is awsome. In Chinese they are called Hwamei. Similarly, in Vietnamese, we called them HoaMi. They look different than species from China. My friend has a few of these here in the US. He bought them here in the US. Apparently somebody smuggled fertilized eggs out of asia and started breeding them abroad as he told me. He is single, and has always been, that's why has so much time for such birds. They cost a lot more to maintain than seed eating birds. Somewhere at the level of toucanet. And yes, my friend has an Emerald Toucanet and Mynahs, too. The food bill for his birds is unbelievable! And the amount of time cleaning after them, OMG! Even though he lives only a few blocks from me, I only been to his house one time. We meet and ride bycicle together almost every Sunday. It was a facisnation experience to see his bird collection and aviaries. He doesn' have any parrot.

Thank you for the info!! What all does your friend feed his? I would so appreciate all the info you can give me as I want her to be happy and healthy and it is so hard to find info on them!

 

[lquan]

I looked at the laughingthrust's food bowl and asked him what are you feeding them, as I already knew their main diet are live insects and earthworms. He said those are chopped up mealworms, crickets, and pellets; all mixed together. The food looked a bit moist, I think he sprays water onto the crushed pellets. Chopping up live insects daily is definitely not for me!

When I see him the next time, I will ask him more about his laughingthrusts' diet. I think he is using toucan pellets (soft-bill pellets) for his laughingthrusts. I will ask him for you. I saw him yesterday; we rode our bycicles for 64 miles:32:.

 

[Terry57]

I looked at the laughingthrust's food bowl and asked him what are you feeding them, as I already knew their main diet are live insects and earthworms. He said those are chopped up mealworms, crickets, and pellets; all mixed together. The food looked a bit moist, I think he sprays water onto the crushed pellets. Chopping up live insects daily is definitely not for me!

When I see him the next time, I will ask him more about his laughingthrusts' diet. I think he is using toucan pellets (soft-bill pellets) for his laughingthrusts. I will ask him for you. I saw him yesterday; we rode our bycicles for 64 miles:32:.

Did you really say 64 miles? On a bike? That is incredible, I didn't even drive 64 miles in the car yesterday..I can't imagine riding a bike that far!

Thank you for your help with this, I look forward to hearing back from you after you speak to your friend

 

[SpotsandSally]

You can just buy a bunch of mealworms, feed them for a week, and BAM
Beetles.

Be a lot cheaper than buying online. Just go to your local petco

 

[Terry57]

You can just buy a bunch of mealworms, feed them for a week, and BAM
Beetles.

Be a lot cheaper than buying online. Just go to your local petco

I'm an idiot..never thought about what they turn into..thank you!
SMH at myself.

 

[SpotsandSally]

You can just buy a bunch of mealworms, feed them for a week, and BAM
Beetles.

Be a lot cheaper than buying online. Just go to your local petco

I'm an idiot..never thought about what they turn into..thank you!
SMH at myself.

LOL, you're not an idiot! I actually only know this because when I had geckos, I had mealworms and didn't realize that you needed to take them out at night I ended up with a bunch of beetles terrorizing the geckos