When the male comes in to give the female a break, he sees this strange looking creature in the nest and he throws it out… not realizing it is his baby! I collect the chick, warm it and feed it, and put it back in the nest box after other chicks have hatched. I hypothesize, this happens if a chick hatches during the night while the female is setting the eggs. Newer pairs are known to toss their chicks out of the nest box. Some birds are quite picky when choosing a mate, others, not at all.Īfter pairs have bonded and have been moved to their own breeding cages they tend to be good parents. Additionally, literature suggests that red heads are most dominate, that doesn’t appear to be the case with my birds either. Although literature suggests gouldian’s produce more males and fewer offspring when the parents have different head colors, that has not been the case with my birds. I’ve noticed the birds seem to choose their mates based on dominancy, not head color, so I end up with pairs with different head colors. After they have bonded and hatched their first offspring, I move the family to their own breeding cage. I put three to four unrelated birds of various head and breast colors in large flights (8 feet long). In 2016 I switched to another type of closed numbered bands. I have used National Finch and Softbill Society (NFSS) closed numbered bands to identify each bird in the database and visually identify the birds. This database is a work in progress that enables me to be sure of what I am doing with my birds. I am also able to grade each bird for a set of criteria that I developed to help me choose the best birds. It calculates what head and breast colors (the genetics) the offspring of existing pairs and potential pairs may be. It provides me with lists of birds that are not related along with their head and breast colors and their color genetics. I couldn’t manage this selective breeding activities without this computer program. To keep track of all of this, my friend Jessie and I have developed a database in MS Access. I also select the brightest colored birds. In my breeding program I focus on pairing non-related large birds. These birds show very well in a lighted cage and will draw a lot of attention and brighten up your room. People who see them can’t stop looking at them because of their bright colors and crisp contrast. I now have a few lilac breast colors in my lines and fusion bar. These color variations are: Red Headed, Black Headed, or Yellow (Orange) Headed with a Purple or White Breast and a Dark Green body. Normal represents the colors they naturally have in the Australian wilderness. The Gouldian’s that I raise are called “normal”. These birds are truly beautiful, peaceful, quiet and easy to keep.
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