Blue Gouldians

[Craig52]

There is no lethal factor gene with the blue gouldian, putting two blue birds that are genetically weak together makes the offspring a lot weaker. With the knowledge of what we know today, other than a good diet that includes VM+A green seeding grasses,good quality seed and clean water we should still be breeding new normal blood into blues constantly to keep a strong quality bird for future breeders to enjoy.
It was also thought when the Euro yellows first appeared here that if you put a double factor cock bird to a SF hen half the young would die in the shell because it was a lethal factor to do so but this turned out to be a myth, but again new blood has to be an added advantage to disclaim it.

[finchbreeder]

There is no lethal factor gene with the blue gouldian
My point exactly. But there are still people who will not believe this. Mother and I have been beating our heads against a brick wall trying to get this fact through to an aquaintence who keeps saying there is a lethal factor in them for 5 years now. The same person still does not understand the facts about splits as explained above either. Sometimes you just can't get those who do not want to know to listen.
LML

[BellaBlue]

I just thought birds would be like dogs and horses with genes were lethal can be involved when breeding merle/merle, perlino/perlino etc
One parent should always be to a solid colour.

[arthur]

??

[finchbreeder]

Bella Don;t get what you mean? To quote a famour redhead - Please explain? Blue to Blue is not fatal. It is just that Blue to Split or Normal is better.
LML

[noah.till]

There is no lethal factor gene with the blue gouldian, putting two blue birds that are genetically weak together makes the offspring a lot weaker. With the knowledge of what we know today, other than a good diet that includes VM+A green seeding grasses,good quality seed and clean water we should still be breeding new normal blood into blues constantly to keep a strong quality bird for future breeders to enjoy.
It was also thought when the Euro yellows first appeared here that if you put a double factor cock bird to a SF hen half the young would die in the shell because it was a lethal factor to do so but this turned out to be a myth, but again new blood has to be an added advantage to disclaim it.

It's very much like the countless Neophema mutation stories I have heard

[stevecatlin]

I read with interest the comments above and although I know that weaker birds are being bred by mixing colours and that it seems it is all about the money and not the bird, I have a question. If you have a mixed aviary the birds themselves pair up, do they tend to stick to the same colour or do they mix? If they do mix and it is not a healthy match should only the same colours be kept together?

[finchbreeder]

Birds are like people. Some stick to their own colour and some do not, and guessing which will do which is like winning the Lottery. Not likely to happen most of the time. The best way to breed Gouldians in my opinion is. Either in single pair avairys OR in avairys where you have all cocks the same and all hens the same. But cocks and hens do not need to be the same as each other. So you might choose to have all Blue Gouldian hens and all split Blue Gouldian cocks. Or you might choose to have an avairy of normals where all have the same head colours. Whatever works for you.
LML

[noah.till]

Please pardon myself for being partly off topic
I was reading an Article in an Australian Geographic magazine a year or so ago, and the article was all about Gouldian head colours, and what % had particular head preferences in mind
Very interesting, a good read
Thanks
Noah Till