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Mixing head colours

Posted: 27 Nov 2018, 18:47
by Finchnut
Hi all been a while, just want to ask about breeding Gouldians.
Last season was my first and raised three read hens that have now coloured up can I pair them to a dilute black headed male or it best to breed black to black.

Re: Mixing head colours

Posted: 27 Nov 2018, 20:08
by vettepilot_6
I breed all head colours together same as they do in the wild...and have gotten some particularly good results that way..

Re: Mixing head colours

Posted: 28 Nov 2018, 06:32
by Tiaris
I breed the three head colours together with controlled pairings in which I know the head colour genotype of every parent and every young bird. Certain matings (including some same head colour ones) would produce unknown genotype offspring so these are avoided. Most of my pairs are black to black (usually black split yellow to yellow-billed black) although I have some pairs where a yellow male is paired to a black hen & s couple with red male to black hen. I have found that the best young birds are bred from black hens so will no longer use yellow or red hens.

If you have pure genotype birds for each head colour (not split to other head colours), then mating same to same will continue to produce the same head colour in all progeny.

Re: Mixing head colours

Posted: 28 Nov 2018, 10:09
by finchbreeder
There was a time when I bred all Gouldians, pure normal matching head colours. Unfortunately it became impossible to get the same for new blood. So now I breed whatever I can get. Success is no better or worse.
LML

Re: Mixing head colours

Posted: 02 Dec 2018, 07:17
by Finch Whisperer
I only breed Red and Yellow headed normals And mix them to improve the females face color. They are pure within those 2 types as I have never bred a black head or a mutation.
I breed them in aviaries with wire flight roofs, When I 1st got gouldians they would leave young out in the open ect and lost quite a few that way.
Then I sold out of them and didn't keep them for years. I saw some nice normals and got back into them 10 or 15 years ago and this strain are most attentive parents.

Hey Finchbreeder I was up your way late August. Drove from Perth to Carnavon checking out wildflowers. Love your state.

Re: Mixing head colours

Posted: 02 Dec 2018, 15:38
by finchbreeder
Hey Finchbreeder I was up your way late August. Drove from Perth to Carnavon checking out wildflowers. Love your state.

Not that I am biased at all. But so do I. There are places where you can see the Blue wrens within reaching distance. Not as many as there used to be, but they still exist.
LML