The Economics of Aviculture

[Pete Sara]

Greg what I have done over the years by moving house every few years has had an impact on what I have kept. I have always managed to keep what I wanted, whether it be zebs or my softies .But have made a few mistakes and regrets along the way .

I have now been fortunate to start once more , on a much larger scale than before, this being a 10 year project but more like 20. The way I see it that when I started back into birds about 9 years ago I couldn't even think of where I would be today . What started me back then was a pair of blue parrot finches I got for $60, man they bred like flies from there the sale of the babies bought me new stock and different varieties. Most of my aviaries I built myself so I think I had a greater respect for my birds and tired to save mone building them myself, but dont recomend it to everyone, I did have more hair 6 months ago.

My current set up is nearly finished but still along way off by the time its finish about $10000 would have been spent and thats not including labour...To justify spending this amount , I must say I am passinate about my birds , You know you want to start again over here its in your blood , I had my hiatus when I was with my x wife and hated it.

Personally I dont think there is much money to make in aviculture, for some there is but its hard work either with new mutations or the hard to breed birds. I am just happy raising a few youngster's to sell and buy more , a few years ago a friend of mine told me that it is a hobby, if you have a cat or dog you still have to feed it same with birds to keep them you pay to feed them, so if you breed young to sell the, money goes to buy new birds not food or other items . because if your not breeding them you still pay to feed the buggers...at the end of the day mate you know you still want to keep birds , just start small I know it will be hard with the want want want, I know been there done that and still do , especaially looking at some of the pics on the forum.....oh well ...pete

[djb78]

Myself personally I've never worried about the economics of bird breeding, this years loss alone have probably put me in the red as Pete was saying its a hobby for myself and like any other hobby there's cost involved such as starting maintaining, if I were you I would consider, what you like, what you know works for you and what's affordable to buy and maintain. If you like a pair of birds that's expensive after 6 babies they should have paid for there outlay, food I consider as the same as fuel for a car you have to pay for it to keep them going. Moving to Queensland where the temps are warmer are an advantage of keeping alot exotic and Aussie finches without the constant use of heat lamps which this year I unfortunately have to resort too. I don't know what you kept in the Philippines but maybe there are some of those types of birds here that you may want to start on again, with what ever decision you make I wish you luck.

[Diane]

I agree with all the comments about the start up and ongoing general costs of finch keeping, every hobby has its costs and those I certainly dont worry about.
Couple of other suggestions would be if you are not sure of your eventual location, go for flat pack aviaries to begin with. These will give you your fix and can easily be dismantled and taken with you. Ive found them ideal, installation in half an hour, practical designs. When you eventually find your nirvana home they would come in handy as holding cages while your permanent aviaries are built and then become either quarantine cages or single sex aviaries for those birds still colouring up.

[GregH]

Thanks guys there is some great advice in there. I don't intend to generate an income from my hobby but I don't want it to appear as a constant economic drain. Of course that can be said on most past times/habits (and there's nothing wrong with that) but I will have to justify it because it's for me and the wife does't like them. What I've had in the Philippines are Zebs, double bars, Gouldians, Hecks,stars, diamond sparrows, cut-throats and native munias (spice, white bellied, chestnut) as well as a pair of hanging parrots and a yellow vented, bul bul. even managed to get hold of a pair of native king quail which unfortunately succumbed to coccidiosis before they bred. I also bred a lot of diamond doves for a while.

I guess I am resingned to going back to square one although I have one small aviary (2.5mX2.1mX1m) that could fit in the container back here. The main thing I have to ensure is that we don't end up in one of the small blocks where the house occupies the entire block. I'm sure the "better half" knows that if I walk then I take half the assetts and that would make it difficult for her to afford a place close within 10-15 min drive of UQ.

[wagga]

Greg, I going through the same process at the moment. Just sold the house. Pulled down some of the demountable aviaries, for the new house, left the rest - seems a waste but the new owner wanted them. I previously sold off my collection of birds, years of selective breeding down the drain. But on a positive note I am going to try other finch species when I rebuild, so this is like a enforced spring clean of my aviary stock.
The financial side of this exercise thats a different situation. For example when I built my first aviary it cost about $300, including seed etc and the birds about $500. Thats probably the last time the birds or bird related products did not pay for themselves. For the last 10 years to the present the birds pretty much paid for themselves. In fact the sale of my birds will pay for most of the removal costs when I move up the coast. Plus I have saved about $2000 in taking the demountable aviaries with us.
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Do birds pay for themselves, YES, and can they be treated like a business and make a projected income, rarely / sometimes.
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The major problem for me is that I now only look for houses in a location with level land, land size to accommodate the aviaries and of course the house. Apparently the bed rooms, bathrooms and kitchens are important too, one learns some thing new every day!

[desertbirds]

The proceeds of selling some Diamonds (70 odd) paid for some Lessers, some Lessers paid for Orange cheeks. I think you can keep in the green but like a few posts have said its like a job and you only get out what you put in.Diamonds arent a bad place to start Greg,3 young pair in a decent aviary can produce 40 or 50 fifty young in a season and they are pretty hardy.

[BENSONSAN]

Yep if it wasnt for my painted firetails i wouldnt have as many other birds. There the good old reliables which have paid for alot of other birds.