BLACK HEADED BLUE GOULDIANS

[gouldianpaul]

Hi All,

Thought I'd put this topic out there to see how other people feel about the current "obsession" with black headed blue gouldians. I estimate that 75% of buyer enquiries for my blues is followed by...I want a black headed blue.

I recall when I got my first two blue cock birds all I wanted was the strongest, healthy birds from blood lines that had a proven track record of breeding success....I didn't care about head color or chest color....I wanted to cross them with my best hens and go from there. Now I am able to pair up birds for WB and the different head colors, but I must say my pairing each year is driven by quality of bird, the need to outcross and the overall current health of the bird. The head color is one of my last criteria.

I realise that the BH in the blue Gouldian retains the depth of color when compared to the normal bird much more so than the Red or Yellow head....but I just don't get why someone starting out with blues is adamant they must have a BH blue....and why their focus is not on quality, bloodline and health.

I'd be interested in what other blue Gouldian breeders think about this issue.

Cheers
Paul

[Craig52]

[quote="gouldianpaul"]Hi All,

Thought I'd put this topic out there to see how other people feel about the current "obsession" with black headed blue gouldians. I estimate that 75% of buyer enquiries for my blues is followed by...I want a black headed blue.

I recall when I got my first two blue cock birds all I wanted was the strongest, healthy birds from blood lines that had a proven track record of breeding success....I didn't care about head color or chest color....I wanted to cross them with my best hens and go from there. Now I am able to pair up birds for WB and the different head colors, but I must say my pairing each year is driven by quality of bird, the need to outcross and the overall current health of the bird. The head color is one of my last criteria.

I realise that the BH in the blue Gouldian retains the depth of color when compared to the normal bird much more so than the Red or Yellow head....but I just don't get why someone starting out with blues is adamant they must have a BH blue....and why their focus is not on quality, bloodline and health.

I'd be interested in what other blue Gouldian breeders think about this issue.
G'day Paul,many years ago when i had blue gouldians all the buyers wanted BHWBB's as in theirs and my opinion they were the better looking bird in the blue so that was all i bred.
I think the biscuit colour of the heads of reds and yellows put buyers off so you go with the flow to sell your birds.The birds you breed should be good quality anyhow no matter what head colour you breed as head colour has nothing to do with the quality of your birds imo. Craig

[finchbreeder]

I have to agree that quality comes first, but Gouldians are so popular because of their brilliant colour. So as the Black head is so much prettyer than the biscuit heads of the others, it is not surprising that I like most other people prefer them. And that the ist choice outcross is almost always a top BH normal.
LML

[gouldianpaul]

Some interesting points.... My original post questioned why head color come before questions of quality and health
Maybe time to charge a premium for BH if demand is higher than RH or YH
Cheers
Paul

[BluJay]

Just curious, aren't the blue Gouldians sickly? It least from what I've read they are. They remind me of the teacup or micro dogs. Where you interbreed heavily, brother and sister, mother - son, father - daughter, etc., you get the tiny animal, but with an array of health issues, but in this case it is the blue Gouldian. Or did I miss something in my reading about them?

[gouldianpaul]

Just curious, aren't the blue Gouldians sickly? It least from what I've read they are. They remind me of the teacup or micro dogs. Where you interbreed heavily, brother and sister, mother - son, father - daughter, etc., you get the tiny animal, but with an array of health issues, but in this case it is the blue Gouldian. Or did I miss something in my reading about them?

BH blues or blues in general being weak is another myth that people who have limited or no experience in breeding these birds love to talk about. What study has been conducted to prove the BH blue's are weak....some disgruntled breeder who tried his/her luck with blues for 1 or 2 seasons without fully understanding their needs and failed, wrote an article in some magazine so their experience gets used as fact....give me a break.

As I've said it before but there are loads of blue Gouldian breeders on this forum who have had great success with blues for many seasons....go figure.

Cheers
Paul

[BluJay]

Now that is almost laughable. "Limited or inexperienced". Maybe so when it comes to the blue Gouldians. Reading about those, blue Gouldians, they're genetic freaks. Based on reading about them,and a friend who laid down good money for them, and has had nothing but issues with them, I think twice about them. As in dogs, the attributes that are considered normal, are actually genetic abnormalities, that have been made part of the standard. As is the Blue Gouldian. This is my understanding why you have to breed them to normals, in attempt to bring "normal" healthier genes in their pool. In dogs this is called out crossing. Which adds it's own set of issues. Oh, I'm pretending to be an know it all. Regards.

[gouldianpaul]

Thanks BlueJay for proving my point....someone who has such a strong opinion about blue gouldians states that their knowledge about these birds comes from a book not personal experience.

Let's get back to the topic....why are BH gouldians more popular than RH or YH.

Cheers
Paul

[BluJay]

Because of an informal opinion, someone read in an article or a book.

PS: How did the blue Gouldian come about?

Regards

[gouldianpaul]

Because of an informal opinion, someone read in an article or a book.

PS: How did the blue Gouldian come about?

Regards

the first blue Gouldian come out of an egg.....I believe