Got my first BLUE backs :-)

[ac12]

Just got back from the bird mart.
I picked up my first blue back gouldians.
I was going to get split for /BB to get the price down, but I decided that going that way would take me an extra generation to get when I want to go, and I would not know if the greens were GB or GB/BB. So I bit the bullet and paid the $$$ for the two BB.
left = RH-PB-BB
right = BH-WB-BB (my only concern about him is the WB is not really WHITE)

Choosing which one to buy was hard because I was thinking about the /BB hens that I have to mate them to.
RH-PB-BB will go with a RH-PB-GB/BB hen
BH-WB-BB will go with a RH-WB-GB/BB hen

Now the tortuous wait to get them thru quarantine.

[JohnBoy]

Beautiful birds. You need to take care of the beak on the purple breast. It appears a bit overgrown on the top.

[L in Ontario]

They look like nice young birds (going by their feet). Congratulations!!

[twhyde]

Looks like your BH blue could be lilac breast.....expecially if it does not look "exactly white". I have one that is lilac breast and it is sometimes hard to tell - your could be also.

[ac12]

Oh man, a LB would mess up my breeding plans.
I'm going to have to contact the breeder about that one.

I should have timmed his beak when I put him in the cage. I will trim it the next chance I get.

[lovemyfinch]

Very handsome Gary, congrats

[JRs Gouldians]

Good looking birds you got there, hope they bring some good clutches after they go through quarantine. I know the feeling I have 8 birds in quarantine right now, 1 week to go!

They look like nice young birds (going by their feet). Congratulations!!

Liz how can you tell by looking at their feet? I usually look at a birds feet before I buy them to try and determine their age, but its always a guess in the dark for me. Do you have any guidelines when looking at their feet for age?

I should have timmed his beak when I put him in the cage. I will trim it the next chance I get.

What do you guys use to trim your birds beak? I have never had a bird that needed that.

[JohnBoy]

I have a manicure set I use for trimming beaks when needed.

[ac12]

I just use a finger nail clipper.
I clip the overgrown side down to the same length as the other side.

[L in Ontario]

They look like nice young birds (going by their feet). Congratulations!!

Liz how can you tell by looking at their feet? I usually look at a birds feet before I buy them to try and determine their age, but its always a guess in the dark for me. Do you have any guidelines when looking at their feet for age?

I should have trimmed his beak when I put him in the cage. I will trim it the next chance I get.

What do you guys use to trim your birds beak? I have never had a bird that needed that.

The feet in Gary's pics above look smooth and supple and 'soft'. They do not look flaky or crusty or 'chunky'.

I also keep a pair of regular human nail clippers in the birdroom just for the finches nails and beaks. I have one blue Gouldian hen that regularly needs her beak trimmed.

[CandoAviary]

Looks like your BH blue could be lilac breast.....expecially if it does not look "exactly white". I have one that is lilac breast and it is sometimes hard to tell - your could be also.

Many times when lilac is bred with white breast for several generations they produce what they call 'dirty white breast". Most times with the next molt the breast will become whiter.

Gary,
I believe your BH will molt out to a nice, clear WB. Breeding the bird to other 'good' white breast will help get rid of the dirty markings.
Once you get the lilac in the lines it is hard to get it out sometimes, Many people breed the lilac breast to white because this is the easiest way to get lilacs. Lilac is dominant over white. (purple breast is dominant over both white and lilac). Lilac breast to lilac breast produces the best shades and color intensities.
So your breeding plans to breed this bird to WB is a smart choice:D

[ac12]

OK so a closer view.
Is this a LILAC or WHITE breast?
Is the white on a WB supposed to be the same white as their belly, in other words, no difference in color?

Now I'm worried that it isn't a white.

[ac12]

Thanks Candace, I feel better now.
It would be a LONG drive to meet the breeder to return him.
And the only other BH-WB he had (if he did not sell it) was a /BB. That would give me the problem of now knowing if the green offspring are GB or GB/BB.