Poorly Bred Gouldians

[Ian]

Hi Guys,

Since starting to breed Gouldian finches I have been amazed at the number of poor feathed, poor coloured, poorly conformed birds for general sale. I had been put off the species for some time for this reason. I know that they can become stressed very easily but a good specimen will still hold his condition well. Maybe its just me but they are generally overly large with ruffled feathers (not tight) and with poor pigmentation. They also lack good conformation and are generally assymetrical.

I think avairy life and the pampered conditions our birds live within are weakening the breed. I know good breeders will breed for desirable traits but the majority of breeders I believe will just breed with what they have (often community set ups). Mutation breeding is probably compounding this and I may be in the minority but I would rather see a well bred nominate bird than a poor mutation.

I once had the fortune to see a very well bred pair for sale (for a fleeting moment) at my local bird outlet. The difference was astonishing, the pair literally `glowed` and were balanced and very tight feathered. I still have not seen a pair of black heads to match these since, however I have managed to obtain a very nice male specimen who I believe has all of the traits that epitomises what a gouldian should be. He is lean, very tight feathered, deeply coloured and very active!.

Even during the colder months he holds his condition well and is always complimented by visitors. Fortunately I paired him to an outstanding female (colour wise) and I have 4 new youngsters (two of which look very promising). I hope to use him to form the basis of a breeding programme that will focus on producing very fit well coloured nominate birds that are healthy and all parent reared.
I will match the best youngsters to the offspring of another pair I have that are nicely conformed but not in the same league.

If the local specimens for sale are representative of the general (and i believe they are) state of affairs regarding weak blood lines then I look forward to breeding more of what this species should look like in its natural habitat where the ravages of nature ensure only the fittest birds sucessfully breed.

[L in Ontario]

That certainly is one beautiful Gouldian! Best wishes for getting more like him from the offspring! Sounds like you're doing well pairing him with the colourful female. Any photos of her?

[Ian]

She is currently just entering her moult and has some feather loss under the beak from feeding. As soon as she is moulted through I will post. She has a much darker breast than other females and I seem to remember reading about a darker strain?

I rate good sleak and tight feathers as being the most important with addtional colour pigmentation being a bonus. He is one hansome bird! Thats for sure, I have no idea where he came from as he was a lone speciment being offered for sale (right place right time - for a change). The first round of chicks were dead in shell due to a hot spell last year. I decided to breed in our winter instead and then moult in late spring. This seems to have proved to be the best method. I just hope he is long lived so I can produce as much progeny as possible.

[L in Ontario]

That's basically what we do in Canada (North America?) as well - breed Gouldians in the winter (set up in fall) and moult in spring.

Best wishes.

[6finchfriends]

So beautiful! I mean really beautiful bird!

[Ian]

Thanks

Although he wasnt bred by me.

[Ebichua]

What a GORGEOUS specimen! I have a soft spot for black headed gouldians and that one is probably one of the best, if not the best, I have seen. The colors are so pronounced!

May I ask how much you paid for the guy? I'm simply curious if you paid "normal" asking price or a higher one? As the seller may have known how special it is...

Very nice!


-Jeremiah Chua

[nelloyello11]

I don't know much about goulds, but I can see that he is very beautiful indeed!

[Ian]

May I ask how much you paid for the guy? I'm simply curious if you paid "normal" asking price or a higher one? As the seller may have known how special it is...

He was at my local bird trader as a group of odd cocks, the others were quite nice too but he was outstanding. I too like black heads because of the contrast between the velvety black and the blue collar of the males.

If i remember he was 35 pounds.

[okiebirds]

Incredible looking male! I would have probably paid "any" price for him.

[Ebichua]

Ah, that's such a good price for such a high quality bird. That is, if you convert it to US dollars. It's approx. $60 per normal colored gouldian here. Is 35 pounds the average price over there?

I'm still in such awe over that bird!

[Ian]

They average about 70 pounds a pair in a pet shop (now 85 in my local) but do vary enormously from private breeders (as low as 45 pounds a pair). I guess the better quality breeders charge more and 70 pounds is what you would expect to pay for a reasonable pair.

My local pet shop has some real scruffs in there at the moment for the same price (single cocks) and he just seems to blanket them all with the same price (crazy).

I often check now and then to see if he has any good specimens available. I would say I walk away (now I have some birds) most of the time - if i see a pair of stunning red/yellow heads I would probably buy them. Its really luck of the draw there.

I aim to breed to a consistently high quality and then post pictures of the birds for sale.....eventually (fingers crossed).

[Ebichua]

Well, I wish you lots of luck. You certainly know how to pick em!

Still droolin' over here.