2016 Gouldian Breeding Season - Australia

[Sam007]

wildbill
I have noticed that you have mostly black head, blue back and green back gouldians. You don't like red head, yellow head, and yellow back gouldians?

[wildbill]

lovezebs

as to mealworms I only clean out the aviary prior to the breeding season. after that I leave all the waste seed on the cement floor and use it as insulation from the cold nights with young on the floor. its been warm here and if I brush aside the seed I have a plentiful supply of mealworns and their beetle.

@Sam007

here in oz the black headed blue is the most popular bird in the gouldian family. the black head white breasted blue even better. to try for this mutation cross I decided seeing the lime mutation is a black headed bird I'd use black headed purple and white breasted blues to do the cross.
I see nothing wrong with the other head colours but seeing I am trying for a new mutation its best I stick with one pure head colour so I have some idea what's going on.

[lovezebs]

wildbill

I'll get working on a salad for you, and ship it over. You can supply your own homegrown mealworms yourself, lol.

bon appétit.....

[wildbill]

Over the past few days I've thought of a pretty good idea. Within a couple of weeks I could be pushed for room with the new lot of young due out. So it's either stop them breeding or build them a quick holding aviary.
I have a back verandah doing not much except housing junk -excluding the bikes. I built the verandah about 10 years ago and it's a fair size 18 metres x 5 metres. My new plan id to divide the verandah to a snug 5 metres x 5 metres enclosed aviary.
I think this would solve my housing of the young problem on the cheap and I'd say I could convert it into a temporary aviary for just a few hundred $$$. More important I can house all the excess stock.
Well rather than jump the gun I won't start the build till I hit the 100 young mark as I don't want to excite the wife too much. After all she will lose her cloth line So if all goes well I will start in 3 weeks if not it could be 5 weeks.
Either way if they hit the projected target I will be taking the verandah plus I might buy the wife a retractable clothesline for loss of space. If I don't hit target no-one is the wiser

[lovezebs]

wildbill

That veranda, would make a beautiful aviary ( but don't tell the Mrs I said so).
A brand spanking new washer and dryer set with all the bells and whistles, just might put someone in a better frame of mind regarding a new aviary, hint, hint....

[wildbill]

After checking the nest boxes out today I think it would be in my best interest to stay away from any further nest inspections for the next few days. Any day now there are birds ready to jump and they'd be early so I think I will try and avoid it.
I did a quick count and almost 30 young are ready to bolt and the balance of later nest young would be about 10 days behind them. Still have quite a few fertile eggs ready to hatch so all appears good.

[wildbill]

It's been a few days since I've looked into the nest boxes but I have been wondering if the best nest was still going strong . So today I set up my camera outside the aviary and shot through the wire.
Well it took 3 goes but finally I scored the hen going to the box at around the 2 minute mark in the video plus at the tail end one of the blue pokes its head partly out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1MyqJS ... detailpage

[lovezebs]

wildbill

You're being too quiet down there in the land of Oz....

We need a progress report.

And, we need some information about the Pardalotus Punctatus (please check out my post under that name).

[wildbill]

lovezebs

been busy lately...lol getting ready to send my car of to the dyno tuner to have a new ecu fitted plus injectors and exhaust. I may take that run again to the top end in july

spotted pardalote

yeah they are around my neck of the woods. I use to catch them when I was a kid. best time was the breeding season when they dig a small hole in the side of a used quarry or the bank of a creek bed. their nest tunnel was about a foot long and lined with soft grasses. that task alone must surley be a feat for a bird in size between an orange breast and a zebra. I have actually witnessed the cock bird kicking out the dirt during the nest building process. not sure if they used feathers to line or not....too long ago...lol

bird report

I suppose i'd have maybe 75 flying and more due out any day including that nest of young with the new blue mutation. i'd say within a week the figure will be close on 100 young. these are the young I lost all last year so first time on the perch for me. a couple are a bit underweight but hopefully will go the distance. either way 2 blues appear well and the green backs -always good...lol

[wildbill]

lovezebs

1. young white breasted. this was one of the first young due out in jan/early feb. starting to colour now.

2. young on perch look from left to right - 1st young and young 4 are the limes.

3. closer look at a young lime on the right

[lovezebs]

wildbill

Well, glad to hear that your still kicking around

When you say another run to the top, are we talking another big trip like last year? Get that camera ready my friend.

Regarding the Spotted Pardalote.
They are super cute looking little birds. You mean they actually burrow in the ground to make their nests? That's amazing. I'm really surprised that no one on this side of the big pond has heard about them. Too bad you didn't save me a pair from your hunting days as a kid

I'm glad to hear that your kids are hatching and growing. Hopefully all will flourish and do well this year ( especially your favorite blue / limes ).

Just got the pictures of your feathered kids. Look at all these babies , they are lovely! Are these youngsters weaned already?

Look at the transformation of one of my girls, lol. She's from a clutch that hatched at the end of November. I had named her Uggy (for super ugly), but I'm told now that I need to change her name.

[wildbill]

lovezebs

those pardalopes would be mainly insect eaters but I did catch a couple in my youth in a finch trap while out trapping red brow finches. back to the pardalopes -they construct their nest on the vertical slope of a creek bed. in most cases pretty hard to get at or even near the entrance hole.
most cases its located a couple of feet below the creek bed wall and that's totally out of reach from predators which i'd say would mainly be snakes. same too applied in disused stone quarries.

yes it could be another top end run but early yet so will see what pans out. I am not upgrading the sports car for zero though...lol

apart from those photo I took a couple of the blues too. they were out of focus but I will try again in a day or so. within a couple of weeks I will be getting to the overcrowded stage so might move a few young on. I was thinking of building that holding aviary but if we decide to go for another run -its a waste of time and money because i'd have to be home to catch young and relocate.

I think I would be pushing 300 birds by then. I started mashed boiled eggs this year for the feeding of the young and am going through 6 to 8 eggs a day. first off they didn't go much on it but now when you look in nest boxes you can see the egg in the crops of the young...especially those first 3 to 5 days.

that's a pretty good transformation of a bird. the earlier photo if produced at an adoption agency for birds would be very pressed to get a taker....lol

[lovezebs]

wildbill

Another trip would be fun. There is always so much more to see.
No more plasti-dip for the vehicle though, eh ?

Adding the eggs to the diet is good. In my very limited experience, I've found that the egg fed babies come out stronger, and molt faster and better, into more vibrant colours.
The birds that I had picked up here and there, have colour, but don't possess the rich velvety shades that the egg fed babies do. Once introduced to a diet rich in eggs and a variety of greens and veggies, they then molt into much better colours, and appear to be in better health overall.

Looking forward to pictures of the blues.

[wildbill]

lovezebs

photo of which I believe is a new mutation young in blue gouldians

[lovezebs]

wildbill

Congratulations!

Just saw these cuties in my other post. They look healthy. Are the parents feeding well enough?

This is very exciting