Aussie Finch Forum

Trilobite wrote:Gee Craig, shame they werent the red ones truly spectacular birds, shame they died off here so long ago. I suspect it wont be long and we will see some more around the traps. Smuggling birds - i dont know?? bringing viable eggs in seems to be the preferred way and easy when you know how, however there is a risk and the risk are very high for our captive and wild birds alike. I suspect you will see violet eared waxbills in the not too distant furture as well??

Gee Trilobite,i get the feeling that you think these birds were recently smuggled in,they have been here for years in small numbers and i don't think they will last much longer according to breeding results and are going to end up like the violet eared waxbills have here.
I suspect inbreeding/poor fertility etc will be their demise.
I don't condone smuggling and never will Craig

Chill peeps! We are not serious about the smuggling. Very bad idea indeed, so entirely tounge in cheek. (Wasn't that obvious? )

It would be lovely to find a way, though, to have more effective influence on those non-specialists who have positioned themselves as 'authorities' and are making rules for the masses (including actual specialists), so that they make decisions based on relevant facts rather than unfounded fears. But that's all beeen tackled in other threads. In the meantime, I'm sending lots of good vibes to those lucky few who are still engaged in breeding efforts with these and other rare beauties.

let me just say i dont condone smuggling one ioata, what was said was toungue in check but based on fact and the authorities know that. The risk to what we have here is far too great. If you read my post in the holy grail section you will realise I am all about looking after what is here before they become our holy grail's. Agree the legal mechanisms should not only be promoted but subsidized to the extent that the economies of scale would make smuggling so much more unattractive. They do this for the plant industry eg 1 plant through quarantine will set you back about $500 total, cheaper by the dozen so to speak. Now I dont know about you but I would pay that sort of money for some rarer finches and really there would be clubs that could make one species a rescue/reintro priority each 2-3 years and enter it into a breeding program, hell I think this could be done nationally through some of the national clubs. Maybe considering this is a dream it would be nice to think we live in a eutopian world and the few who hold such precious gems start talking to each other about rescuing a species and start pooling their resources rather then think one day they will crack the formula for breeding what they have and make their fortunes based on their limited popul;ation. Anyway off my soapbox now as I don the kevlar vest.

crocnshas wrote:

Trilobite wrote:Gee Craig, shame they werent the red ones truly spectacular birds, shame they died off here so long ago. I suspect it wont be long and we will see some more around the traps. Smuggling birds - i dont know?? bringing viable eggs in seems to be the preferred way and easy when you know how, however there is a risk and the risk are very high for our captive and wild birds alike. I suspect you will see violet eared waxbills in the not too distant furture as well??

Gee Trilobite,i get the feeling that you think these birds were recently smuggled in,they have been here for years in small numbers and i don't think they will last much longer according to breeding results and are going to end up like the violet eared waxbills have here.
I suspect inbreeding/poor fertility etc will be their demise.
I don't condone smuggling and never will Craig

Their demise, like so many, began when they ended up in the hands of a few fly-by-nighters whose only claim to fame was that they could afford them, and only bought them in order to become richer from them. They bought them, killed heaps of them and then left the hobby "as there was no money in it". They never recovered from that.

Well for the sake of the hobby it's not just buyer beware but the seller as well. I hope to be in the market for finches again soon but I've not kept them in this country since 1981! How do I prove my skill and intentions? I guess I have to go back to start with zebs again and build up from that and that's probably what I will do.

GregH wrote:Well for the sake of the hobby it's not just buyer beware but the seller as well. I hope to be in the market for finches again soon but ai've not kept them in this country since 1981! How do I prove my skill and intentions? I guess I have to go back to start with zebs again and build up from that and that's probably what I will do.

Why? You sound like you had much more skill then that over Philipines...go with what you want to breed and what you would feel comfrotable with, or your favorite...mine being Painteds and RFPF...

I haven't fully checked the licensing system here in Qld but in the southern states there are birds on advanced licences that mean that you have to keep on the class 1 licence for 12 months or more first before you can attempt the more difficult species so I can't launch onto the more difficult species immediately. Even if I choose exotics like Pin tails (which I could never afford - or be allowed to afford) much of what I learned was site specific - for instance we never got more that a week with temperature minimums less than 20oC in a year but here even in "tropical" Brisbane it's too cold now to culture insects without a heating, I also had a rice farm to gather green seed from 12 months of the year up there and here in Chapel hill the lawn might need mowing but getting decent quantities of green seed will be more problematic. By the time I work out these things and get a feeding routine going it will be at least 12 months and right now I haven't even go the aviary mesh on. I'm looking foreword to getting going again but I will hasten slowly.

GregH wrote:I haven't fully checked the licensing system here in Qld but in the southern states there are birds on advanced licences that mean that you have to keep on the class 1 licence for 12 months or more first before you can attempt the more difficult species so I can't launch onto the more difficult species immediately. Even if I choose exotics like Pin tails (which I could never afford - or be allowed to afford) much of what I learned was site specific - for instance we never got more that a week with temperature minimums less than 20oC in a year but here even in "tropical" Brisbane it's too cold now to culture insects without a heating, I also had a rice farm to gather green seed from 12 months of the year up there and here in Chapel hill the lawn might need mowing but getting decent quantities of green seed will be more problematic. By the time I work out these things and get a feeding routine going it will be at least 12 months and right now I haven't even go the aviary mesh on. I'm looking foreword to getting going again but I will hasten slowly.

I don't think you need class 2 to keep the Pintailed Parrot Finches in Queensland! If you have been breeding Finches for more than 2 years and if you have someone who could give you some reference like a Vet or a Bird Club, Employer (Zoo, CSRIO etc) it is possible to obtain class 2 without going on class 1 first.

I just remember, I saw John Albert advertising in the ABK, he was specializing in Violet-eared waxbills and Purple Grenadiers, that means they are still around but he no longer lives near Bargo NSW.

We don't have classes as such on the QLD licence. Everything is on the recreational list except red eared and beautiful firetail which are on restricted but hate it up here anyway.

Our husbandry methods are now at a stage that we could successfully breed most finch species in captivity, and keep their populations going... Pin-tails, violet eareds etc included.

Unfortunately it is the absence of enough birds and genetic diversity that is the problem with these short-generation birds.
If only we had the same numbers now as we had in the 1930s to start off again...