2014 goulds, not a great season but not a bad one

[elferoz777]

Just thought I would share some photos of my 2014 goulds.

Round 2 hasn't really kicked off yet....I am thinking I may re-arrange the aviary a little to stimulate interest again.

So far I have 33 young that are a mix of

Split blues
Blues
WB YB OH
WB YB BH
GB PB OH
GB PB RH
GB PB BH
AY splits

I am going to fill the holding aviary in the next couple of days to ensure the young are fully independent...

Steve

[iaos]

Well done so far Steve.

How many pairs did you run?

Cheers Ian

[Finchman18]

Well done so far Steve.

How many pairs did you run?

Cheers Ian

Was going to ask the same question, 33 young is pretty good, but it does depend on how many pairs are being bred from.
I haven't been having alot of luck myself this year, only fledged 4 young so far, been having major issues with cats giving my breeding pairs night frights and scaring them off the nest, last year i bred around 60young from 3 pairs, felt really bad for the birds raising so many clutches, but they got their well deserved rest.

[Sime]

Well done, my first ever lot are still only 2 weeks after hatching, looking forward to the day they fledge. 4 young in total.

[finches247]

Good work Steve Well Done

[elferoz777]

It was from 9 pairs so an average of roughly 3 per nest.

Some had clutches with single young and others had nests with up to 7!.

I did have a lot of first time parents so this may explain some of the low nest numbers.

They are fed well with fresh kale, chicory or winter grass daily. I have noticed the chicks seem to feather up and colour quicker up when greens are in good supply.

I have been documenting the pairings and ringing birds so they chaos in that aviary is organised to a degree.

They are eating me out of house and home each day though.

Culling is going to be hard this year. I get attached to the damn things but I will need to let some go for sale to keep the desirable ones from the bunch. So far there are no stand outs for culling and most look good at this young stage.

I have two really large and strong looking blues that I hope survive the cold. So far they are the biggest of all the young and they have a nice blue tinge of their backs already.
I have bred a really nice GB PB YH which I am thinking of keeping. He (assuming here) has a good posture and neon orange dots on his head so the full adult colour should be attactive.

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

good luck to you elferoz777 and well done, nice looking gouldians.
you coastal fincho's are spoilt.....all that winter grass....it must rain on your side of the hill!!
and it's not even winter yet....

[wagga]

This coastal weather can be challenging at times when compared to inland (over the hill) Australia with temps below zero in winter to 40+ in summer. Its no wonder that the finchos on the coast can and do breed so many birds. I now can see why finches breed so well, the birds just love it.

[mickw]

This coastal weather can be challenging at times when compared to inland (over the hill) Australia with temps below zero in winter to 40+ in summer. Its no wonder that the finchos on the coast can and do breed so many birds. I now can see why finches breed so well, the birds just love it.

And my house is for sale folks........comes complete with aviary! ......................................