when to rest?!

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

when do you larger breeders ever get a rest???
my question is to do with the non-breeding season, when does it happen?
i know of one experienced breeder with hundreds of birds who, without fail, does a round-up every february and it seems to work for him.
i have birds breeding whenever they damn well please and therefore i cannot get organised.
i know i would have nests of eggs and young if i did a blanket catch out no matter when i did it, should i just harden-up and get over it??

i would like nothing better than to have a month or two to sort out young and rebrush etc, even give the family a holiday!! but it never seems appropriate to do it.
At present i stagger re-brushing and catching-out throughout the year so i am always in a state of anarchy.
are your birds in control or the breeder?
i used to think the availability of green feed dictated my seasons but the last couple of rainy years have meant something has always been in season. And what with leb. cucumber,sprouted seed etc etc it goes on and on.
anyone with 50 or more finches must sympathise....
Any suggestions welcomed.

[matcho]

Hi CC,

I keep goulds, stars and painteds so the breeding season can theoretically last all year but this is what I do. I remove the nest boxes systematically that aren't being used by the goulds from starting mid August. During the season I catch up all weaned young and place in holding avairy until the first moult. Makes for less clutter in the larger aviary and removes the really inquisitive young goulds who can cause tossing of chicks and general disturbance to other breeding birds. Remove brush September/early October. I then leave the aviary bare until late January early February when I re brush, re do floors, spray with coopex, scrub shelves and also replace perches where needed. Hopefully by this time most of the really hot weather has passed and all breeders have had a decent break. All birds have generally gone through the moult by mid December so I catch and sort birds that I wish to keep for breeding and move the others on. A few pennies for Christmas. Going by what is happening at the moment 80 or so looks to be the number to be moved on. Nest boxes for the goulds go back in about a month later, so the cycle begins. Worming and airsac mite treatment is done quarterly with moxy plus and baycox administered together in water. Any really wet weather where my floor gets overly damp/wet baycox for coccidiosis is given as a preventative measure.

Sounds time consuming but it is pretty simple. You may have to adjust timings given your location. As for holidays they can be a problem but I am lucky in that I have a like minded mate who lives nearby.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Ken.

[E Orix]

It may depend on your local climate when the birds and you get a rest.
At this moment my collection is in virtual winter mode, there are birds nesting including ones that prefer this time of the year but in general a massive percentage have stopped.
Weavers have a set period but other finches can and will breed around the year if allowed to and encouraged.
Mine don't(95%)because their diet is basic less Canary Seed, limited live food, old worn brush making sites unpopular, nest boxes
either taken out or not refurbished. If that doesn't slow mine down the cold, rain and horrible climate will.
Certain species I bring into my bird room such as Painteds, not to keep them warm but to keep them in a dry situation with the indoor aviary covered in dry sand.
In days gone I would put brush right across the shelter walls, good for the birds but hard to control. Now I put small islands of brush.
It enables me to keep check on what's nesting as it is far easier to find them. Also as the bunch gets old and used it is simple to replace a small bunch insteads of waiting for all to age.
It's not easy but get to know your local climate and watch your birds.
Your mate that does it in Feb does it because the summer temp. is very high in his area and the birds(small finches) stop for awhile then by choice as it is too hot for the sitting birds.

[Tiaris]

I'd base the decision largely on which species you mainly breed & what time of year would benefit them most for a break as well as local climate & the best time for you & your family to have a break from high maintenance aviculture. As the range of species expands it becomes far more difficult as most larger collections include a range of Spring/summer & Autumn/winter breeders with overlap at both ends. The arbitrary decision to "bite the bullet" & just do it at a pre-determined time of year will inevitably adversely affect the breeding attempts of some pairs, but the greater good of the whole collection is the over-riding influence here above the prospect of a handful of untimely eggs &/or young which happen to appear at an inopportune time.
- preserving run down breeding birds from a clutch too far; the improvement to the following year's breeding which a well timed break from breeding activity can contribute to these pairs; the opportunity to cleanup, rebrush, etc the aviaries which if not carried out can result in reduced breeding results, health, pest & other problems; the chance for the aviculturist & their family to have annual timeout/holiday from intensive daily bird feeding/breeding chores.
vs
- The possible one-off loss of some eggs/young which can occur when rebrushing anyway.

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

thanks for the replies gents....i really appreciate your comments/suggestions.
i will take it on board and see what works best for me.
mid winter is obviously not a "down-time" for my birds...young gouldians,diamonds,masked and stars all on the perch now, despite the temperature.
possibly early springtime?....seems like a good time for a spring cleanup! slightly longer days, a little warmer and new growth appearing plus most youngsters should be independent.
as stated, i must think of the vast majority rather than a few stragglers....wish me luck.