opinions on colony breeding the gouldian mutations

[wildbill]

hi all
apart from the one pair in the breeding cabinet i thought this year i would have a go at breeding the gouldian mutations in a colony.
so far things are going ok - a few young flying and quite a few young in the nest boxes. only time will tell how it ends up.
the reason behind all of this this.i had an excess supply of pastel blue and split blue cock birds so i took 6 normal hens from one of my outdoor avairy - to live in their new surrounding with split blues, blues. silvers w/b blues and yb/split blues
all up theres about 50 birds so heres goes.

[L in Ontario]

They sure look great in there. My only issue with colony breeding like that is you won't know 100% who the parents are of which babies (and all the implications that follow along that line).

[annague]

I think we all want more control over certain things than colony breeding normally allows with single species colonies (inbreeding and two "weak" mutations choosing each other for mating as well as interference by other birds are just three examples of the challenges with colony breeding).

However, I have found that my birds are about twice as quick (or more) to breed in a colony setting as they are in a cage -- they seem to like the space, freedom and socializing such a situation allows.

It will be interesting to see what you turn up with! Keep us informed!

[wildbill]

update on the colony.
last year i bought 10 pairs of blues and set them up in breeding cages. out of those 10 pair there were 7 pairs which went to nest. one pair hated each other and the other 2 pairs - always laid clear eggs.
now in the colony the original 7 pairs have all stayed together and now most have eggs in their nests.
as for pair 1 who originally had a dislike for one another they have seperated.
the yh wb split blue cock is now with a split blue hen ( called p.j.) i handraised her from 5 days old and she eventually stayed and was the inside house pet for 9 months. they now have 5 eggs all fertile.
as for the other 2 pairs - the cock birds were released into my larger outdoor avairies and the hens stayed with the colony.
i recently purchase 11 hens 5 normals and 6 yellows from sydney aust to bring in new blood. all were rung with green rings and after 3 weeks transferred to 3 different avairies including 3 hbirds to the colony.
these normal hens appear to be huge egg layers and their nest egg count averages 9 to 10 eggs, and the yellows around 4 to 5.
i also brought in 6 australian yellow from another breeder to cross with the blues. these birds are averaging around 3 to 5 eggs per nest and 2 hens reside in the colony.
im in the process of rebuilding my holding pen to accommodate about 30 pair of blues/splits for 2012. my colony birds are now 2 years old and their first year breeding in cabinets was very disappointing. only 9 birds breed in total. of those 8 were males.
their first season in the breeding boxes was a total failure the tally of young lost was huge. on my count at least 15 silvers 25 pastel and 30 or 40 blues and splits. this i put down to being just inexperienced 1st year young.
although i paid au$6000 for the 10 pair it's not about the money. i dont care if i ever sell any or not.
i just want to be successful in breeding the blue mutation as here in aust ive heard several bird fanciers refer to it as the heart break finch and honestly that is a very good discription.
in total i have 400 birds plus another 150 zebra finches which i don't count - their the daughters.
surprisingly i have never sold a bird in 7 years. i have given quite a few away but overall i guess im classed as a hoarder.
graham

[CandoAviary]

What a collection I have a large flock too but I don't call it hoarding...I call it collecting
I am just now working on blues and have most set up as blue with a /blue. Haven't had too much success with them so far. Clear eggs and small clutch hatching. I bought several birds from a retiring breeder and most had some age on them so I am glad to be getting even small clutches from them. They are some of the nicest blues and silvers I've seen around these parts.
I cage or cabinet breed mine. I did the colony thing with just red head normals and had too much strife so I gave it up. I now use the aviaries for resting males in one and resting hens in another,
Best wishes with your breeding, keep this thread updated to the progress and results.

[debbie276]

Sounds like a great collection!
Can't wait to hear how you do this breeding season, keep us updated

[annague]

Very interesting update, Graham! Don't worry about keeping too many birds! Unless you HAVE to get rid of some for space your good to go with us!

The key to successful colony breeding IMO seems to be allowing each bird enough private space to nest, places to hide and escape and keeping the right number (and type) of birds in the aviary.

[wildbill]

ref to my colony of zebra finches all 150 of them.
3 days ago i decided to release 40 birds in two lots back into the wild about 30 klm from where i live in australia.
all were the normal common grey variety ( they blend in better in the bush) consisting of 20 pairs and the drop involved 12 pairs to one location and the other area 8 pairs.
drop point was dense scrub (good cover) beside a small creek. in both cases out they shot and landed in the nearby bush about 20 metres away.
back to the car took out 3 kgs of finch mix and half a lettuce scattered in a clearing to get them started off.
today i took the journey back to the drop off point and was pleasently surprised to see several zebs feeding on the seed.
over the next few weeks i plan to check the seed situation out every 5 days or so till they become independant. at the moment day and night temp is good, there is plenty of seeding grasses about and the location is perfect.
i feel i'm giving them a chance at freedom when compared to cage life. i know some might not make it but zebras are prolific breeders and i started from 16 birds and went to 150 (all colours) in just 7 months.
prior to the zebs take over my large avairy last year i managed to breed 50 painted finches but since the zebras arrival nothing.
other varieties of finches never get the change to collect nesing material - zebs take it all.

[debbie276]

WOW!!
You can legally just let your birds go like that??
We would get the book thrown at us over here.

[wildbill]

hi
if they were imports or foreign i could see a problem but the common zebra finche is native to australia and populates a large portion of the inland in great numbers. they are therefore not classified as vermin unlike imported sparrows ,starlings, etc etc which are problem.

[wildbill]

ref to photo 2 (caged pair)
the yellow is a 4 year old hen ( unable to fly) that's why she is in the breeding cage. si i mated her to a black headed male about 9 months old.
she laid 5 eggs and all were fertile but i did an egg swap from a pastel blue male who is mated with a yellow back/split blue.
4 eggs in her nest and all 4 hatched. unfortunately one died a few days later. when i entered the birdroom today there were 3 young out of the nestbox. 1 silver - 1 yb/split blue and 1 which looks to be split blue.
so overall its been a good day.

[L in Ontario]

hi
if they were imports or foreign i could see a problem but the common zebra finche is native to australia and populates a large portion of the inland in great numbers. they are therefore not classified as vermin unlike imported sparrows ,starlings, etc etc which are problem.

Technically and by law you are not supposed to release birds into the wild in Australia, even birds that are native to Australia; but I understand some people still do it.

[wildbill]

these 3 left the nest today. i thought i'd take a photo or two as with the mutations - you never know how long you will have them

[MLaRue]

I've enjoyed reading your posts - I sure hope everything works out with your mutations (blues and silvers) - I've always wondered why it is so hard to get a good blue line going in Australia?!

[wildbill]

hi all
this morning the news wasn't all good. in my other outside avairies i have split blues gouldians, normals and yellow backs.
last night was a pretty cold and windy night of 6 degrees celius. i had a total of 8 young around the 8 to 10 day old mark in three nests. unfortunately all were dead in nest with full crops. some others only about 5 to 7 days old were fine. my guess were the hens weren't sitting.
this also happened mid march. it's been the worst temp variation ive seen for many years. we should be in the 12 degree celius nightly mark instead of not far off freezing.
if i had the blues,silvers etc in those avairies i can honestly say i would have been wiped out by now and very quickly!