The Highs/lows of 2014 and goals for 2015. Whats yours?

[Brooksy]

Highs would have to be breeding Red brows and We masks both of whom are just about to bring out their 2nd lot. Relocating a butcher bird never to be bothered again

Lows would be finding my Pictorella cock bird hung up dead by his leg ring in the brush. A flightless Double bar hen who regularly brought out clutches drowned in a water dish.

2015 moving and setting up my aviary with a new walkway on the back. Thining out and Improving the birds in keep.

[Shane Gowland]

Highs
- Building the new aviary
- Getting the Painted's to raise a clutch of 7
- Getting Plum Head Parrots and Musk Lorikeets

Lows
- Abandoned Cordon Bleu and Tri-color chicks

Goals
- Breed the Plum Head Parrots
- Another aviary (of course!)

[mccabe_07]

Highs:
Getting the new aviaries underway and close to completion, Seeing finches throughout Europe, Breeding W/E Masks, Yellowrumps for a second season, Yellow Siskins which the cock bird had a chasing issue and plenty of normal Masks, picking up some more challenging species.

Lows:
Losing Diamond hens through winter while I was away (had 5 pairs and 2 spare cocks ended up with 1 hen and 7 cocks), mice issues in a few aviaries, not preparing my green seed very well this season, A Yellow Siskin cock I spent a lot of money and time on to get him healthy but he won't be good again.

2015:
Finish the complex, get challenging species settled, increase population of finches kept (same varieties already owned just more numbers), increase friendships among birdo's and help take the Canberra Finch Club in a positive direction forward

[AMCA26]

Highs; Being able to still produce quality Blue and Silver Gouldians.
A Top 3 Place at the Zebra Finch Nationals again.

Lows; White Breasted Gouldians 6pairs 3 clutches with an average of 6 in each clutch 90% fertile with only 6 birds to show for it.
Tried Pied Orange Breast with 100% fertile in the 3 pairs 2 clutches each and would stop feeding after a week.

Challenge; Started breeding Flies/Maggots 3 months ago started slow but now have the hang of it.

2015; To get Pied Orange Breast to the perch currently are building nests.
Will most likely be investing in a few pairs of Purple Grenadiers as a New bird for a Challenge in 2016.

[Red]

Accomplishments;
1) Moving all my birds to Tasmania
2) Building a new birdroom
3) Breeding a record number of White canaries

Challenges;
1) Finding out two of my outcrosses are split cinnamon
2) Keeping canaries in a rural area.
3) Sourcing colour food, maw seed, tonic seed etc in Tasmania.

Goals for 2015;
1) Start other breeders with Australian Plainheads. Establish the breed within Tasmania.
2) Quit keeping canaries.
3) Travel.

[iaos]

Highs:
1. Buying a new house on a bigger block and setting up some slightly bigger aviaries than I previously had;
2. My best breeding season with gouldians so far; and
3. Acquiring masked finches.

Lows
1. Not having the time or money to set up more aviaries;
2. Star finches continually having clear nests; and
3. Finding some mice in the "mouse proof" aviary.

Goals
1. Breed my first YH gouldians;
2. Breed masked finches; and
3. Save for the 2016 expansion.

Cheers Ian

[Dmitroid]

3) Start a decent line of red zebs, I already have good base stock and young on the perch but the real work will start early next year after the first cull.

Guys I see people using this term a lot on this forum and I wanted to ask, are you using it in its literal sense or is there a colloquialism I am missing?

Cull:

Verb 1. The reduction of a population by slaughter.
"animals bred not showing the necessary traits will be culled"

Noun 2. A selective slaughter of animals.

Are you actually killing these birds?!

I don't have many highlights to contribute but will do shortly! Here is what I have so far though.

Highs:

Deciding to get back into birds! Most of my wins this year have been with my marine aquarium

Lows:

Deciding to take a promotion = even less time to do anything

Goals:

This year I am getting new aviaries built, establishing a colony of normal yellow headed goulidians, establishing a couple of pairs of blues and buying a house with as much land as possible.

I should have more to update people on at the end of this year!

Dmitri

[Tiaris]

To cull in breeding birds (or other animals) is to sort out the young birds & decide which are to be kept & which are to be disposed of (alive normally) based on the quality of the birds.

[Dmitroid]

To cull in breeding birds (or other animals) is to sort out the young birds & decide which are to be kept & which are to be disposed of (alive normally) based on the quality of the birds.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Tiaris! I hope everyone else on the forum is of the same volition. I actually find using the term as a colloquial means within a group of people to define the 'sorting and organising' of captive stock to be quite disturbing... Based on the dictionary definition of the word (not wikipedia) when used in reference to anything living, it always ends in the death of the specimen in question... I know of other 'breeders' that will cull their animals in the literal sense...

One can only imagine how many 'waste birds' lose their lives in the venture to produce new mutations.

Cheers!

Dmitri

[elferoz777]

Ill second that.

When I say cull I mean round up all the birds I dont want and sell them or donate them to raffles.

I hope no one ends the life of a bird but id say it happens.

Thanks everyone for posting. Seems like everyone has has a good year and everyone has some great goals.

Keep em coming.