some of my bird pictures

[Barry Levitt]

a young red siskin recently fledged it's nest.

and another youngster.

these two youngsters are just starting to show their full colours.

my red siskin breeding room.

red siskin chicks 5 days old.

just one of my gouldian finches that i bred last year.

this red siskin is due to fledge the nest.

[kiwi]

Barry they are all gorgeous - though I have to admit that your Gouldian Finch caught my eye the most, how amazing are those pastel colours!!!

Amazing!

[telmadee]

hiya and welcome to the forum Barry, what stunning birds you have, i love the photo of the chicks with their beaks open.

[Scully]

Beautiful little birds

[judy]

they are all gorgeous barry. love the baby shot.

[phill]

I have to agree with the Gouldian, just gorgeous

[Berserka]

Nice birds Barry!
I think a pair of my Gouldians have gone to nest - only thing is half the time the male is in the box!
Does that normally happen?

[jodi]

beautiful birds!! I too have gouldians but I have the red, puple, and yellow ones. I think they are the most beautiful birds!!!!! LOL

[Barry Levitt]

Nice birds Barry!
I think a pair of my Gouldians have gone to nest - only thing is half the time the male is in the box!
Does that normally happen?

Hi Karen,
this is normal behaviour for most male gouldian finches and often it is the males who do most of the incubating, i have had male gouldian finches who have raised chicks on their own when i have had the misfurtune of lossing the hen birds.
i wish you every success with your breeding and if i can offer you any further help please feel free to ask.
regards,
Barry.

[Barry Levitt]

some more photos of my birds-

another red siskin youngster.

one of my male red siskins.

a clutch of red siskin eggs.

one of my blue gouldian finches.

a recently fledged cuban finch.


a few more of my gouldian finches.

young red siskins begging for food.

[Berserka]

They are so beautiful!
The Red Siskin's, how old are they when you can sex them? or is it a wait for their moult and see? I love how it's feathers are so shiny.

With breeding Gouldians (never done it before - complete novice) do they tolerate the odd look in the box? or should I leave them completely alone until I see fledglings?

I hadn't really expected them to breed this year 07/08 as the nest boxes in the aviary are for the benefit of the Red Rumps & Bourke's. The one this pair are in is unoccupied by the parrots - the parrots have been using the boxes at the top of the aviary, this box is below half way.

[Barry Levitt]

Hi Karen,
the Red siskins can be sexed at a very early age ,any chicks that show black feathers to their heads will always be cock birds as hens have grey coloured heads and lack the dark black feathers of the cock birds, normally i can sex youngsters as young as 3 - 4 weeks of age.
regarding nest box inspections with gouldian finches- in order to increase your chances of succesfull breeding it is very strongly advised NOT to inspect their nests any more than is absolutley neccesary and although it is often tempting to take a peek with my birds i avoid any nest inspections during the first week of eggs hatching as this is the most crital stage when there is a high risk of parent birds deserting their nests.
regards,
Barry.

[Berserka]

Thanks for that Barry, I shall leave them be (hard for me as I always pick baby birds up from about day 3!).
The other pair of Gouldians won't bother them will they?

[Barry Levitt]

Hi Karen,
The other pair of gouldians should be ok providing that you have adequate nesting boxes to enable them to nest without desturbing your pair that are already nesting.
the secret is to provide nesting boxes that are all the same design and size and ensure that they are all positioned at the same height in your flight .
domanant birds will nearly always choose the highest nesting boxes and if all the nest boxes are at the same height from the floor this generaly prevents any birds becoming dominant over the others.
good luck.
Barry.

[Scully]

what a great tip!