Selling Uncoloured Gouldians

[TomDeGraaff]

In hearing about the Ballarat sale, I have to question selling uncoloured gouldians, especially at this time of year.

I have mentioned this before on the forum. It has always been a no-no to me. In winter, in Ballarat ?????? Hmmmmm...
Am I being over-reactionary ?

[vettepilot_6]

In hearing about the Ballarat sale, I have to question selling uncoloured gouldians, especially at this time of year.

I have mentioned this before on the forum. It has always been a no-no to me. In winter, in Ballarat ?????? Hmmmmm...
Am I being over-reactionary ?

Not at all...not allowed in most sales...I personally dont sell them till fully coloured...pretty much goes for all young...I like to pick the best and flick the rest

[elferoz777]

Depends. I sold over 30 uncoloured last year in September. Thats what I was asked for so I supplied it. I sell what I would be willing to buy.

A sale environment might be different.

[Craig52]

In hearing about the Ballarat sale, I have to question selling uncoloured gouldians, especially at this time of year.

I have mentioned this before on the forum. It has always been a no-no to me. In winter, in Ballarat ?????? Hmmmmm...
Am I being over-reactionary ?

I hear where you are coming from Tom,but there are uncoloured gouldians and there uncoloured gouldians that are really young and still have the blue noduals on their bills,these are the birds that should never be sold at that age.
The misunderstanding is,all young need to be fully coloured and self sufficient but young gouldians all moult out at the end of the year whether they are bred in February or September,any after that usually partially moult to adult colour.So you could be waiting another 12 months to sell them at a sale.
So it's a catch 22,if the birds still have the noduals,the stewards should be policing this and asking the seller to remove them from sight but if they refuse to i don't think they would like to start an aggressive arguement in front of a packed hall of sellers.
I'm on your side,but fully coloured doesn't work for gouldians and a lot of buyers prefer uncoloured gouldians as they know how old they are and take a gamble on their sex if they aren't sexable.As Aurther says,you are dogging a fled horse.
Cheers Craig

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

excuse my ignorance but how long do the nodules take to disappear? (message to self....pay more attention!)
i thought only a week or two.
3-4 weeks out of the nest should assure independence.
winter is the time for most juvenile gouldians to appear and moving them early would seem a great way to stress them unneccessarily.
just my view....i would not buy or sell uncoloured finches of any variety.

[elferoz777]

I sell all young in August only sell those fledges from march to may.

If bred outdoors I dont think winter plus the stress moving is the killer. The killer is drafts and large temp changes. I think spring or late winter is the earliest the birds should be sold.

I sold 40 on the Saturday just gone and I sold young and old. There is no shortage of demand.

[finchbreeder]

I never sell anything that isnt at least 75% coloured. I don;t care if I have to keep them an extra 6 months. My birds are more important than the money. And until coloured you can not see how bright the colouring is. And mine are top colour so waiting makes them easier to sell cause then they are stunning. When buying I apply the same rule, rather buy a better coloured slightly older bird. And know I am going to keep up my colour quality.
LML

[gouldianpaul]

I sell all young in August only sell those fledges from march to may.

If bred outdoors I dont think winter plus the stress moving is the killer. The killer is drafts and large temp changes. I think spring or late winter is the earliest the birds should be sold.

I sold 40 on the Saturday just gone and I sold young and old. There is no shortage of demand.

I've posted strong views on this topic in the past. IMO it is OK to sell uncoloured birds, but to sell young birds still showing their blue nodules is a disgrace. At the Ballarat sale it was the same seller (all Victorian's who regularly attend the sales know who he is.....breeder from Sunbury) selling birds that were obviously less than 3 months old. The only positive to come out of this guys selling habits is that he takes most of his birds home from each sale he attends.

I understand people want to be 100% sure that they are buying young birds and some times uncoloured is the only way to ensure this. Having said this I will not sell uncoloured birds at this time of the year as the moult is stressful enough for them and IMO the relocation to another breeder is an unnecessary stress. If buyers want proof they are young take photos with identification rings and send them to the buyer.

Cheers
Paul