Down to six Gouldians

[kyle]

Hi all! About a year ago I got my first pair of GB Gouldians so exciting! Three months after I got them I gave them a nest box and ten days after that my hen laid the first egg! Their first clutch wasn't successful but their second and third clutch gave me a total of six healthy chicks. For the next 6 months these little guys filled up my flight cage and kept me entertained. The day came when I had to sell the babies to make room if I were to breed again. I decided to sell the mom and dad too because I wanted to try other mutations and space is limited. I found good homes for all of them. I'm still getting progress reports on 5 of them. Lol.

Throughout the year when the situation presented itself I bought three new pairs a male RH WB GB/BB + RH PB/WB BB and a stunning pair both YH WB YB and a pair of RH WB GB. It's not often that mutations become available in my area so the bird's I bought that were Younger than I would have liked. Two of the pairs are a year old and youngest pair not quite six months. In my enthusiasm for getting the right breeding stock I short changed myself a breeding season! . The upside is I get to stuff these guys with good food and I will know they get the best start. I find when there is no babies I haven't as much to contribute.

[debbie276]

Great idea to build them up for a successful breeding season. Lots of times people are in such a hurry to have chicks they forget the most important part, strong healthy and most importantly settled in adults. Kudos to you for not rushing it.
Pictures would be great and short stories of what they are doing and their personalities.
Good luck in your upcoming breeding season, looking forward to updates

[lovezebs]

kyle

Don't ever feel that you have nothing to contribute
Pictures of young ones, please.
Also, jump right into other people's posts (threads) with comments, opinions, advice.....

[Babs _Owner]

kyle

kyle

Just like Debbie mentioned, when we rush things (like I did), you can end up with problems. Ex: my 4 gouldians babies sitting under fosters....not the ideal breeding situation. And that pair is unbreedable-incompatible...
No more breeding this season for them.

My other pair are doing "ok", not heavy feeders.

You have a lot more time to properly pair your rainbows up, see who likes who.

And as far as "contributions", your words of encouragement to me have made me smile BIG TIME. And the words of encouragement I always see you give others too. You enjoy others successes and lift people up when it all goes wrong.

Now next season......your birdies are gonna take off and with the time you have with them now, they will probably be more suited for breeding than some of us.

So chin up! The forum wouldn't be the same without your cheerful observations and your thoughtful posts

[Sally]

Agree with the others, kudos to you for not rushing your breeding season. It's always important to build those parents up, get them in breeding condition, as raising those babies is hard on them. Don't feel you have nothing to contribute, we enjoy hearing how members are doing, whether breeding or not!

[kyle]

debbie276 lovezebs Babs Sally
I discovered this forum shortly before I got my first finches and sharing my experiences with like minded finch lovers really enhances the joy of the hobby. Not to mention how much I've learned through others here on the form! . So thanks so much for your words of encouragement! I tried to get some nice pictures of my pairs but nobody was cooperating. Lol. Apparently you can't rush photography either!

[lovezebs]

kyle

Photographing birds takes immense patience.
Sit beside your flight (s), just get comfortable and allow your birds to calm down and get comfortable with you sitting there.

Then place your camera or phone (turn off sound) close to the bars and wait until the panic calms down. Either lean it against a perch that's sticking out, or the back of a chair (unless you have a brain surgeon's steady hands). Then wait patiently.

Once everyone has calmed down, you can start snapping pictures. Gouldians I have found, are very curious creatures, and will approach eventually to see what you're doing. Snap away through the space between the bars (if you don't want bars I the photos).

You can always delete the pictures that didn't turn out.

Good luck