New finches - darn I hope they breed for me at that price!!!

williep · Post by **williep** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:18 am

Well, it was just a matter of time and today it happened....

I was doing so well but I went to buy some seeds for my birds and ended up buying a new pair of birds.

They are a pair of Peter's Twinspots and are absolutely adorable, but nearly 4x the price of a pair of BCCB, wow!!!

Anyway I'm picking them up later today and then it's off to quarantine before they will be released into my large aviary.

I'll try and take some pics once they settled down.

birdbrain · Post by **birdbrain** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:31 pm

Very cool. I definately want to see them. I've never heard of them before.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:30 pm

Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Post by **Sally** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:47 pm

How wonderful! They are expensive here in the US, too. I would love to have a pair, but I am overflowing with birds right now, plus I would have to have them shipped to me (not a good idea when it is 107F outside!). Can't wait for pics.

williep · Post by **williep** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:52 am

I was a bit worried about the hen yesterday afternoon when I released them into their quarantine cage, she just sat on the ground and last night at 7pm she was still there. I adjusted my light timer to give her some extra light to "find her feet" and this morning she was sitting next to the cock looking very happy, phew!!

It’s been a long journey for them from Tanzania where they were caught and imported from. They were in quarantine since January, first in Tanzania and then in South Africa. Hopefully they will enjoy their time in their aviary.

Post by **Hilary** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:38 pm

They are gorgeous birds - lucky you. We want pictures!!

williep · Post by **williep** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:07 am

I promise, I will post some pics tomorrow.

To all you aussies out there, I saw on an aus website that they sell for $3000 a pair. What!!!???

Check this out: http://www.birdcare.com.au/peter's_twinspot.htm

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:48 pm

they are beautiful birds, hope you have success with them.
the $3000 is what my price list has them quoted at for a pair.
wish I could justify spending that much money, who will lend me a time machine so I can get next weeks lottery numbers

williep · Post by **williep** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 2:18 am

mickp, I'll sell mine to you for $2800!

I paid the equivalent of Aus$227 or US$206 .

Anyway pics will follow in about 3 hours or so.

williep · Post by **williep** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:54 am

Well here they are! (hen on the left)

Notice the back of both the hen and cock are plucked. This happens when the birds are kept in quarantine, too many birds too small cages too many Twinspots in one cage - not a good idea. This is part of the sad reality of wild caught birds, but if it wasn't for that we would not have this forum, still makes you kinda sad.

I'm comforted in the fact that I will be able to provide as close to natural environment for them as possible and hopefully breed them successfully and do my part to ensure that wild birds don't have to be caught anymore.

Luckily the feathers grow back quite quickly.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:39 am

Beautiful birds!!! Keep us posted on the breeding and thanks for the picture.

Post by **Hilary** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:27 am

Very nice!!!

FeatherHarp · Post by **FeatherHarp** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:21 am

What colorful birds.....I love their little spots!

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:43 pm

Great stuff Williep!

Unfortunately for us Aussies, they are all but gone from our aviaries. No legal imports are allowed here, so we are stuck with what we can sustain here. A lot of finches that are commonly bought for cheap prices elsewhere are well over $1,000 per pair here. Orange Cheeks, Wydahs, Weavers, Green Strawberries and all of the Twinspots all command high prices and are never seen in any bird dealers.

Good luck with them!

williep · Post by **williep** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 2:26 am

Matt, when you say "legal imports", does this apply to wild caught birds only or does this include all birds?

It would be a shame for you aussies to be stuck with such a limited gene pool on some of these species.

We also struggle to get them here, but are lucky that they lifted the ban on the import of some wild caught bird species. There are still very strict quotas that the exporting country imposes. I.e. the quota for twinspots from Tanzania (where mine originate from) is only 100 pairs a year.