Hi everyone,
I have an unusual hen in with the supposedly 'normal' zebs I bought at the La Trobe Bird Sale in July. She has typical normal colouring, but has a black smudge along her breast; almost like a poorly formed breast bar. She also has brown eyes, rather than the red. Any ideas re: what she could be?
I'll try to get a pic of her, but she's a fiesty little and won't stay still! She's laid two eggs (paired with an actual pure normal cock), so we'll see what we end up with.
Cheers
Breast bars on females?
- finchbreeder
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- Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast
Seems to be more common in those with Charcol blood.
LML
LML
LML
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I'd be cage breeding her and keeping the young clear of the rest of your pure normal flock, your collection is valuable from avicultural point of view if not monetarily.
If she's a mutant split you don't want her in with your pures.
If she's a mutant split you don't want her in with your pures.
- Niki_K
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Already done. All the normals I've bought from breeders (all hens) are being bred in cages as part of a maternal stress experiment. They currently have pure normal male mates, simply because I had more than twice as many pure males as females, and my colony permit only allows a certain number of birds, so I wasn't able to get domestic males. Their offspring will be used for a generational study, so are being kept well away from the completely pure breeding colony. Believe me, I've had to fight tooth and nail to keep it this way- if left to the animal techs, they would have just put the domestics in with the wild stock
I'm planning to sell off the domestics once I'm done with them (gosh, I sound harsh!), as I'm concerned that once I leave the uni, all the birds will be lumped in together and we'll lose those bloodlines.
I'm planning to sell off the domestics once I'm done with them (gosh, I sound harsh!), as I'm concerned that once I leave the uni, all the birds will be lumped in together and we'll lose those bloodlines.
- Niki_K
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Also, I will need to sell off excess pure normal stock in the next few months as I have about 20-odd pairs breeding up a storm! Any suggestions on what I should be charging for them? I know you're familiar with my flock, natamambo, but for those who aren't, this is a collection curated 30-odd years ago from wild populations (with a permit!) and has not ever been bred with domestic zebra finches, and has never thrown a mutant. They have also regularly been 'restocked' with wild birds (again, with a permit) to minimise inbreeding.
- vettepilot_6
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Would love some but freight would be the deal breaker....
The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long after the Sweetness of Cut Price is Forgotten