Aussie Finch Forum

brooksy wrote:It is seeming very hard to source pure normals especially Zebras!! Tintola what you said about yellow tips on the black heads, Are they rare? are they usually normally red?

This a quote from ABK A Guide to Gouldian Finches:

A red headed gouldian has a red tipped beak
A black headed gouldian can have a red tipped beak or a yellow tipped beak
A yellow headed has a yellow tipped beak
The normal black headed gouldian has a red tipped beak, however when a gouldian inherits both the characteristics for black and yellow headedness, the black will mask the yellow. That is to say it is a yellow headed bird with a black head and not simply a black headed split to yellow headed. Therefore because it is a yellow headed bird it has a yellow tipped beak. A black headed gouldian split to yellow will have a red tipped beak.

Sheesh and this is just part of the genetic makeup of the normal wild birds. Any wonder I stick to non mutations. My aim is to produce black headed birds that produce only produce young with red tipped beaks.

SamDavis wrote:Tintola, how many pairs do you keep? I'm always concerned about infertility and other issues emerging if I don't introduce new blood.

At the beginning of the season I try to set up 3 to 4 pairs of each head colour and have not had any infertility problems so far. I'm not game to introduce new blood as I don't know what I'm getting. I've seen too many friends end up with white fronteds. I've also had similar issues with non mutation Zebs and now have a colony that only produce wild strain normals that are somewhat smaller than mutation Zebs.

Tintola,
Non mutation zebra finches sound very good I wouldn't mind getting some pure normal ones.

Thanks Nathan

Nathan Morleyy wrote:vettepilot_6 ,
My flock of gouldians are pure normals.

Thanks Nathan

Nathan did I read somewhere you were 14yrs old?? if that is true you started at 4yrs of age?? Well done ...If your older well beg my parden, and wondered if you have added more stock over those years....(I had a mate who was breeding normals on a different lineage so we used to swap...sadly he has passed away)

They would have to be kept in a separate aviary to keep the strain pure and normal.

Tintola wrote:They would have to be kept in a separate aviary to keep the strain pure and normal.

Yes exactly Tintola....At that stage I had anything up to 30pairs breeding in 6 separate Aviarys ...only picked best colour, stance, brightest coloured hens etc...

Tintola,
They are the only gouldians in the aviary.

Thanks Nathan

Thanks for the genetics Tintola, very informative.

Nathan Morleyy wrote:Tintola,
They are the only gouldians in the aviary.

Thanks Nathan

This from a teenager who supposedly being breeding Gouldians for 10yrs

The wording in the ABK guide re yellow beaked blackheads is very convoluted & confusing. The easiest way to explain this bird is that it is both a yellowhead and a blackhead in the same bird (genetically).

RH, BH & YH Gouldians are all in the wild, so technically any bird with any combination of these traits is "normal" provided it is PC/GB. So much for people who want to nit pick about what is normal. Do you actually mean pure type?
LML