Gouldian mutation pairing

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sat May 02, 2009 12:05 am

From my selection of birds to choose from, I paired up a blue cock with a silver hen. Then I realized that they are both considered blue and that it isn't recommended. The cock has never produced in 5 clutches any fertile eggs and it was mainly just a test on his fertility. If they do produce fertile eggs, was this a fatal mistake? They have 2 eggs so far.
The split to blue pair also have 2 eggs. Hopefully the splits will produce fertile eggs this second round.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat May 02, 2009 2:14 pm

I have a silver male Gouldian paired with a blue hen now and they have 3 beautiful hatchlings!

They quite incubating the day before their first chick hatched - here it is along with its "cousin" - both raised by the green chicks parents.

Their first chick enjoying a swinging good time!

Here is their current clutch as of yesterday! They are taking perfect care of these 3 babies.

Good luck with your pair Jordan!

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sat May 02, 2009 2:46 pm

Thanks Liz, beautiful babies that I'll hope to look forward to as well.
Glad to know I didn't make a fatal mistake. Not really too confident the cock is potent, but maybe when paired with the first hen, they never got it right to reproduce. I'll keep an open mind.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat May 02, 2009 5:47 pm

Oh I'm bad. Too many birds on my brain, I guess.

I meant to say I have a "Pastel Blue" cock and a "Blue" hen together that have the chicks above. I'm sorry. I have not paired my silver cock with a blue female yet. But I believe Pastel Blue is basically a silver male with a purple breast. Genetics confuse me.

nixity · Post by **nixity** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:26 pm

You are right, Liz.

Jordan - I don't know that you will necessarily see horrible results in the first generation.
It's the second, third, etc., apparently that the problems start to arise if they don't arise in the first one.

None of the breeders that I am close with would ever risk this pairing, but it's a decision I think should be left up to the breeder based on their evaluation of their stock.

It could be that your silver male was just fumbling in the dark before, but still, these failed breeding attempts in the past would have probably cautioned me from trying a blue on blue pairing with him :/

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:27 pm

Well, either way, they are both considered blue. I guess the worst that can happen is that any chicks will fail to survive and I'll split them apart.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:31 pm

Tiffany, we posted at the same time.

I know that the parents of the blue were both normals split to blue.
What makes me a little suspisious that he is potent is that the orginal breeder sold him to this other breeder. That breeder sold it to another breeder. Then that breeder sold it to me. Sorta odd I would think. Didn't know this until I traced it back to the original NFSS member.

nixity · Post by **nixity** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:33 pm

Ohh.. I see - how old is the bird according to its band?

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:34 pm

It is very rare that a male finch is infertile. I had two that took a few tries with different females before they begat fertile eggs.

Good luck! I'll be looking forward to more posts about this couple.

nixity · Post by **nixity** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:38 pm

Some seem to have "more difficulty" in that department than others on their first tries. My male, Houdini, was paired with a blue hen I used to have for months. Two clutches.. none fertile.. didn't know what the deal was.
He barely over a year old, though - so I gave him a rest (sold my blue hen in the meantime because I'm stupid!) and then paired him up with my silver. She popped out six eggs, all were fertile, all hatched, but they abandoned for some reason the day after.
2 died as a result, but I was left with four N/B hens

So maybe it's just an age or inexperience thing? I wonder what sort of nest he has?

I know this sounds like an odd suggestion, but maybe try overstuffing the nest box. Maybe he can't get the right "leverage" or "falls off" trying to copulate? If the nesting space is a bit snug, maybe he can get a better "connection" if you know what I mean

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:41 pm

Tiffany, the blue cock was born in 2006.

The silver bird you're mentioning is a hen. Originally, the blue cock was pair with a split to blue hen. 4 clutches...all infertile. The split to blue hen is now paired with a split to blue cock and the first clutch was infertile. The blue cock is now paired with the silver hen. First clutch, 3 eggs now.

Liz,
I hope that he is fertile. Maybe he just isn't doing "it" correctly, but the fact that he was bought and sold so many times makes me wonder especially since one of these breeders isn't very honest.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:48 pm

Good point Tiffany, but I thought that maybe the nest box itself was too small. 5x5 measured on the inside. It was lined with coconut fibers and had plenty of room since it wasn't over stuffed. The second breeding season with the same split hen the nest box is a little bigger with the same coconut fiber. I figured if he had more space to "work", he would get it right.

nixity · Post by **nixity** » Sat May 02, 2009 11:59 pm

atarasi wrote:Tiffany, the blue cock was born in 2006.

Sorry, I'm a little frazzled, it's been a long day.
2006 :\

It's not horrible, per se, but it's not a young bird. I would think by now it would have figured things out

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sun May 03, 2009 1:10 pm

Yeah, no kidding!