The Future of Aviculture

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collector_and_buyer
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Joined: 07 Jun 2012, 22:21
Location: young

Things seem to be quiet on here,so something to think about.
Us older bird breeders are getting older,seed is getting dearer,urban blocks are getting smaller,are there enough young people around that are even interested in taking up this fantastic hobby?.
I saw a great ad where a person was giving away some Zebs to any young beginners,to encourage them.
What else can be done to get the word out and more people interested in our hobby?
It may be that it is not the availability of certain birds in the future that is a worry,but perhaps the lack of new blood taking up the hobby.
What are peoples thoughts?.
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Talven
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Location: Melton VIC

I think that the hobby may die back a bit due to lack of interest but not die out. We've moved as a society into a mindset of immediate gratification. Whatever we want is at our fingertips where ever we are thanks to the mobile phone. Younger people don't have the patience that us older people have. They expect to get what they want now and when they don't they give up or lose interest. There are always exceptions so there will be some who have the interest and will keep it alive.
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E Orix
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Location: Howlong on NSW/Vic Border 30km from Albury
Location: Howlong NSW

Young people need to be introduced to our hobby even though 99% drop off before they get their drivers licence.
To the boys, birds in dresses become far more attractive than the feathered ones.
Having said that the seed has been sown, today in my opinion the majority of people taking up the hobby are more often
late 40's to mid 50's. Their family has fledged, they are still working but what can they do. This is when the memory clicks in.
I hope the next generation of bird breeders get as much pleasure out of our hobby as I have. Time will tell.
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finchbreeder
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Passing the love of birds on to our children and the children of friends and neighbours is a good start. Sure like Orix says, they will wander off to other interests. But with luck will come back when more mature. Space is a problem, us country types do have a better chance of having decent avairys than the city bound. But as the saying goes "where there's a will there's a way" have seen people with cages on balconys. Just keep telling the young how rewarding the hobby is and hope the seed grows.
LML
LML
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Rod_L
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Location: Mandurah WA

Stick a screen and some buttons on birds and everyone will keep them :)
death to all cats & ants
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Brisbane_Finches_333
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I personally think that it is because it is unknown. The only young people I know that are into aviculture are because they have family connections or they know someone else in the trade. Most kids probably think that the only type of bird you can keep is a Budgie and they can only be kept in a stereotypical 'cage', crammed with toys, and that they breed like, say, cats and dogs. In fact, most young people probably don't know what an aviary is. Another factor is price. Back in the day, aviaries and birds were much cheaper then they are now, but now it costs some $700 for an aviary and much more for birds, not to mention seed and food. Many kids' parents could not afford that much, nor would they trust their kid in keeping and taking care of so many birds. Some parents are also animal rights activists, and think this is cruel because they can't 'fly around' in your standard size budgie cage. We as aviculturalists really need to shed some light on this hobby and give kids a hands-on expericence of keeping birds.
Aidan [] Junior Moderator [] Breeder of Native and Foreign Finches
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2019 ABK Magazine Young Birdkeeper Winner
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arthur
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I would echo the thoughts of E.orix possibly lowering the age group to 30 - 50 yrs

Price of birds is not a factor. Birds are actually cheaper these days than they were 40 years ago and I can provide facts and figures

But . . house block size certainly is a factor

You could put a sizable aviary complex on a 32 perch allotment and still have plenty of lawn to mow . . but don't try it on a 600/ 800 sq.metre block of whatever shape the developers dish up these days

A complex issue . .

And again, as per E.orix (and many other forum members) . . Birdkeeping . . You could do a lot worse :thumbup:

While there are many forces working against the hobby . . I am optimistic . .
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elferoz777
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I think its doomed.
The wife is fighting me as we speak. The pre sale speel before we bought the new house was " oh yeh a couple aviaries is ok" now its no no no no. Ill get em or my yellow rumps will get a room in the house!
Im 36 and most others my age think its an "odd" hobby and you get that look.

When im gone i wont care but for me i feel lucky to be involved and i try to convert as many as i can. My kids dont really care too much for it and my yard aint big but Ill find a way to keep going.
Breeding Project 2020-2025.
agate mosaic canaries, agate yellow mosaic canaries, red zebs, self bengos and goldfinch mules.
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finchbreeder
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I am female and all for blokes having avairys/birds to spend the money on as opposed to going down the pub and spending it on booze. Tell the missus that one elf. I was hoping to pass the bird bug on to my kids as my parents passed it on to me. No luck so far - but they are still young and dont yet have their own homes.
LML
LML
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collector_and_buyer
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I believe what E.Oric says hoIds a lot of merit.
A fact is that life gets in the way and you are too busy generally for such things as " bird breeding" when you are younger,apart from the fact that you probably can't afford the cost of building aviaries and the birds.
Once the younger family is out of the way and suddenly you have some time on your hands as well as maybe,a few more dollars,the memories of being around the birds that either Mum or Dad had kicks in and this instills the nostalgia and passion.
Maybe if we could instill some interest and curiousity into people who are not aware of breeding birds,being both young and old,our hobby will not be lost.
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