By Mark Bishop.

Siskins in my opinion are the little green gem of the finch family.
They are a small finch measuring only 11-12cm in length, but their appeal is huge.
In appearance the cock birds have a black cap on top of their heads with a black bib under their chins (the bibs usually disappear in captivity).
Body colouring is a lovely sombre green with black lacing running down his back and a whitish under belly with black lacings to the sides.
His wings are green and black with a beautiful yellow flash running through them.
The tail is forked with black feathers lined with yellow.
The hen is also beautiful (but not as smart as her man).
Her head has no cap or bib, and is coloured the same as her body, a soft green.
Her body has more lacings than the male, and sits on a whitish base.
Her wings are similar to the cock, but the yellow isn't as rich or abundant.
Also the tail is black, but again the yellow isn't as rich (told you the cock was smarter).

Siskins are a hardy tough little bird that are relatively easy to keep, so long as you follow the basics of good bird keeping (clean living), they'll thrive.
Myself, i have kept/bred these in flights from 6'x6'x3', to cages of 36"x18"x20".
If keeping them in a flight, make sure they have somewhere to go (cover) that will keep them out of draughts and direct sunlight, plus make sure they can keep dry, as sun-draught-damp will kill your birds........(the same applies to cages).

When kept in cages, keep the perches up high as these little birds love to roost high up, and normally tight to the cage front, more often than not, roosting on the cage front.
Feeding your siskins is something you must watch and control, for even though they are the size of a mouse, they have a horses appetite!
This isn't so much a problem in a flight the size i have described, but in a cage, unchecked, they will gorge, and become fat/lazy, and can even die.

I feed my siskins two seed mixes combined. The first being Countrywide Canary Breeders with VAM, and the other being Versele Laga Weed Seed.
Between these two mixes there are many various seeds that i find the siskins enjoy, and i like them to have a variety (I wouldn't want to eat fish and chips every day), plus there's no hemp in either mix. This is a fatty seed that's not welcome in my bird room.
I find the trick is the amount you give them! A dessert spoon on average, per bird per day will keep them well. So many times I see cages with hoppers filled with more seed than the bird could eat in a week which is not good.
Also like the rest of the finches, always let them have access to grit, charcoal, cuttlefish, and of course fresh clean water.
On average, twice a week i'll give my birds a treat of either vegetable/fruit or soak seed (outside of breeding season).
When breeding siskins in flights, i usually introduce a pair per flight at the beginning of April. It doesn't take them long to settle in.
A must if you want success, is to screen off any adjoining flights from view, as when in breeding condition, these little happy go lucky birds, turn into horrible bickering little sods that will happily argue all breeding season with their neighbours (i know, i've lived it!).
I normally place approximately three nest sites around the flight. High up, and close to the wire. I don't know why, but they like to nest tight to the wire?
Not only do the three nest sites give the hen a choice of where to nest, but will let her go down again when the 1st nest of young are almost ready to fledge the original nest.
In cages it's similar, but with two nest sites, one at either end of the cage, tight to the front. All nests, in a cage or flight have some covering of fern around them just to make the hen feel safer.
Nests can be canary pans, wicker baskets, or wire baskets, all with a felt liner.

The materials I use are moss, cotton strands (nothing longer than 3"-4"), cocoa fibre, kapok, soft grasses, almost anything and everything if I think it will help.
When the nest is completed, the hen will lay a clutch on average of 4-5 eggs. These are a light blue with a brown speckle on them, and she will sit for around 13 days.
WARNING.........
If breeding in a cage, make sure as soon as the first egg is laid, you can separate the cock from the hen, but still in view of each other. This can be simply done with a sliding partition slightly left open because, if you don't, the cock will get to the eggs and peck and eat them (trust me).
Around the time of the first egg being laid, I start to introduce mini mealworms/buffalo worms, only a few and not every day.
This is for two reasons. First, it'll get her of the nest so i can check on the eggs, and second, it'll get her used to them for when the young come along.
The diet for my siskins in the breeding season is as above, but now i've been slowly building it up from around february with soak seeds, plus egg food with grated carrot and broccoli, (still feed moderately), and anything natural that may be around.
You'll soon know when the young are here, as the eggshells are usually dropped the other end of the cage. I think this is still instinctive, so as I can't find out where the nest is.
Mum will be fine on here own rearing these tiny little black balls of fluff, and it won't be long before they're feathering up.

Ringing your young takes place around six days old using a B size ring. Be observant though, as you may have to do this earlier, possibly at four to five days.
In a cage, when the young have grown and are on the edge of the nest, I let the cock back in.
Keep an eye on him just incase he decides to be naughty with the young. You will probably find he's fine, as about now the hen will be ready to nest in the other nest therefore keeping him busy.
The same rule applies when the first egg is laid. The cock has to be separated. This time though, you'll be putting mum and her young in the same side of the cage. It won't be for long, as the young are close to being weaned now. I won't remove the young until I can witness them feeding themselves.
The young in nest feather resemble mum, but duller, natures way of keeping them safe. Although they all look the same sex, you can sex them from looking at the underside of their tail. The cock, as mentioned earlier, will have more yellowing on the tail feathers (a tip I was given by a leading birdman. Takes some practice though!).

When I remove the young, I place them in a single cage with no perches for 2 days. The reason I do this is because I read a tip about birds perching and waiting for mum to come along and feed them. My practice prevents this, as it keeps them on the floor next to the food and water.
You can also put an older bird in with them, and this will show them the ropes.
The food is exactly what they were reared on, but the live food is crushed into the mix. Also, I place a dish of hard seed in there from day one.
The water is placed in a small, but shallow dish on the floor and also in the fountain drinkers. It doesn't take long for them to suss it all out.
Another little tip to get them onto the seed, is to cut a piece of red apple up and roll it in the seed. This way, whilst nibbling the apple, they'll be getting a taste of the seed (a canary trick that works well).
I've found over the last few years with siskins that the hen will let you know when she's finished her breeding cycle by filling up her old nest with anything and levelling it off, totally ignoring the other nest.
This is the time I will split the pairing/pairings. Mum will go with her young and other mums and young into a flight cage of 8'x24"x20". These will be left here to moult out in peace and quiet, whilst the cocks will go into a similar sized cage and be left to moult also.

Just a couple of things to help the birds in the moult: keep the soft food mix going for them, and go out and collect as much wild foods as you can for them. This will give them all the nutrition they require at this hard time. Foods like dock, thistle, fat hen, dandelion etc.

The moult will last until around October time Sometimes earlier/later, but not by much.
When the moult is finished and you are standing there looking at your brand new polished looking siskins, you'll be feeling proud of all the effort you've put in, and know it's the most rewarding hobby on the planet.
So it begins again........