BLACK HEADED BLUE GOULDIANS

[BluJay]

Out of an egg, laughing myself silly, from seriously in bred Gouldians, that produced that egg, namely Aussie yellows, Regards

[Blue Cuban]

G'day Paul,

Firstly great topic..!!
I can't explain why the demand for BHBB Gouldians other than their beauty.
All I breed is BH normals and with the quality stock I have I will be crossing them back to blues with my aim to end up with only BHBB, red/orange heads do nothing for me unless they are yellow or green backs.

Rich.

[TomDeGraaff]

I must say that of the blues, I personally like the black-headeds given overall quality is equal. white-breasted black-headed blues are even better imo.
It boils down to personal choice. I find the clean colours of the bh's best.

Regarding quality, Victoria's blues are the best imo thanks to good work by forum members down here. I have seen some of the results.

Bluejay, mutations arise in healthy populations. They are, in fact, a sign that there is genetic diversity in the population. Nature designed this diversity as an insurance policy in case the environment changes and a different form of the species is better adapted and can continue the species.

Inbreeding undermines quality because some money-grubbers have to get a quick quid. This has happened to the blue Gouldian in the past but not, it appears, in the Melbourne group working with them. I can't speak for elsewhere.

Tom

[finchbreeder]

Confirming - mutations are a naturaly occuring surprise. The first of any mutation just plain shows up. Yes Blue Gouldians are a mutation, So are Australian Yellows and European yellows. All mutaions that are developed then have to be develped by a mix of in breeding and outcrossing. Because you only have a very limited gene pool to begin with. It is a genetic juggling act, that is only done successfully be dedicated people who care about what they are doing. The money grubbers tend to fail because of their impatiance to aquire a quick buck. And of course so do some genuine people whos limited experience leads them to make genuine mistakes. We are all limited in experience with mutations because they dont pop up for the first time in our particular avairy very often (if at all) so we should all be forgiving of those that fail while trying to do the right thing. (it could have been us) ((dont we wish))
Back to the subject. Black headed blues just plain look the best of all the blues so will always get the gong.
LML

[elferoz777]

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


Cheers
Paul

Fully understanding their needs is key. They do require a little more attention than normal gouldian.I have found what works for me through trial and error plus some great advice.

I think the blue back purple breast is the best. The purple goes well with the blue. White breasted are nice to and all the young I raised this year are bb pb/wb bh and I love them. The red heads look a bit shabby in comparison.

To answer your other question Paul I think you summed it up by asking this question initially. Newbies sometimes go for what's in vogue and forget about quality. I got a blue split red head from garyh for that reason. The bird was big, strong and colourful and has gone on to be one of my best roosters. His offspring all have black heads which is a bonus and they share his good attributes.

[BluJay]

I must say that of the blues, I personally like the black-headeds given overall quality is equal. white-breasted black-headed blues are even better imo.
It boils down to personal choice. I find the clean colours of the bh's best.

Regarding quality, Victoria's blues are the best imo thanks to good work by forum members down here. I have seen some of the results.

Bluejay, mutations arise in healthy populations. They are, in fact, a sign that there is genetic diversity in the population. Nature designed this diversity as an insurance policy in case the environment changes and a different form of the species is better adapted and can continue the species.

Inbreeding undermines quality because some money-grubbers have to get a quick quid. This has happened to the blue Gouldian in the past but not, it appears, in the Melbourne group working with them. I can't speak for elsewhere.

Tom

Thanks Tom:
Then your opinion of the blue Gouldian needs to get out there. As well as what is being done to make them more viable.
I have some understanding of evolution and genetics. What you speak about, if my memory serves me correctly, are environmental additives, influencing the genetics. Genetics, also create fraility, debilitating ailments, deformity, and death, etc.. I truly appreciate your response.

Paul, and Steve, why does it have to be done disgruntled person writing an article? Lots of articles I have read, were written in a fair and impartial manner. Though they expressed great concern on how the desire for creating the mutations had destroyed the true pure blood Gouldians.
As to only inexperienced newbie breeders wanting the black headed blues, could it be they are most attractive to people who desire them? Regards

[Tiaris]

I prefer BH Gouldians in the normal form due to their stronger body colour (Green, purple, yellow & Blue) compared to that generally found in RH or YH.
In the blue mutation, I find the BH WB form to be particularly attractive in a bird of good condition. I find the washed out head colour of RH & YH blues to detract significantly from the overall appearance of an otherwise nice looking bird.
If I were interested in breeding blue mutation Gouldians, I would keep only BH blues due to my own personal preference. I would see the key to developing the best possible strain of BH blues to be using top quality BH normal birds as the key outcross rather than mating BH blues to blue mutation birds of the other head colours.

[gouldianpaul]

I agree with the majority of posts in that BH Blues are more visually appealing....but quality, bloodline and health will always come first for me...as you build these up they you are able to get picky with head colors.

But let's not write-off the RH or YH all together. IMO the RH is the more appealing color in other mutations (eg Aussie Dilute or European Yellow). So all colors have an important role to play in my set up.

Cheers
Paul

[Tiaris]

I agree entirely Paul. Quality, bloodline & health should always be top priority when strengthening a mutation & this is best achieved with any mutation by regular outcrosses with the very best normal genotype birds available IMO. I also agree that the best looking Gouldian mutation birds (again IMO) are RH birds. To me, a really good RH double-factor euro yellow is hard to beat for an attractive mutation.

[finchbreeder]

Clarifying some more. When it comes to normal Gouldians I like the lot. With a slight leaning to the Orange/yellow head (mine are definately more orange than yellow)
LML