The Birds of Daruka

2008-01-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Gittonomics - quotes of note

p208 - "Some of us find the fast pace of life exhilarating. Cities move faster than country towns and those who prefer the faster-paced life tend to congregate in cities. Why are we like this? Because the human species is innately competitive, and many of us are addicted to racing. But even if some of us don't consciously seek out the rapid life, we've gone along with it."

p209 - On why are we all so busy and in such a hurry. "As well as glittering careers, we want to take art courses, work out at the gym, read the newspaper and every book on the bestseller list, eat out with friends, go clubbing, watch hours of television, listen to music, spend time with the family, buy all the newest fashions and gadgets, go to the cinema, enjoy intimacy and great sex with our partners, holiday in far-flung locations and maybe even do some meaningful volunteer work."

Frank Bettger quote

"Oh Lord, help me to keep my big mouth shut, until I know what I am talking about.....Amen"

p94, How I raised my self from failure to success in selling

2007-08-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

The God Delusion

Currently reading the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. It has some good quotes, the following is from George Bernard Shaw:

"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one."

The second quote comes from Albert Einstein:

"Strange is our situation here on Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men - above all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends."

From Sam Harris' website: www.samharris.org

“The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive.” [Sam Harris]

Stephen Henry Roberts (1901-71) once said [to a Christian]: “I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”

2007-07-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

The Case against Genetic Modification

I have struggled in my own mind to clarify the risks of genetically modified plants and animals, apart from the obvious base case that usually human inteference in natural processes results in unanticipated outcomes.

I read the following paragraph on the weekend which provides a good explanation of what could go wrong.

"Organic farmers rely on healthy soil, careful observation, and controllable levels of pests to raise their crops. In the organic ecosystem-based view, the complete eradication of pests is a tactical blunder, because a healthy system needs enough pests to provide enough food to support predators so they can hang around and keep the pests in balance. Some organic farmers also use biologically derived substances to cope with their pest problems. But the best known of these compounds, the insect-specific family of natural Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, may become ineffective because agrichemical companies are putting Bt making genes into common crops for universal use. This may appear to be a sound strategy - genes instead of pesticides, information instead of mass. But over time, and maybe sooner than expected, the prevalence of Bt in the ecosystem will select for insects resistant to it and make the compound useless, or worse begin to affect nontarget species. By 1997, eight insect pests in the United States had become resistant to Bt, for the same reason that penicillin is now impotent against 90% of the staphylococcus infections and many of the other germs that it used to control."

Natural Capitalism (1999, p.197), Hawken, A & L Lovins,

The Need for Useful Feedback to obtain Rational outcomes from Markets

Later in the book the authors tackle the problems with distortions in markets and within companies that lead to poor outcomes for the long term success of the human species. The best way to get good outcomes is for appropriate feedback loops to be established so that behaviours are improved. They continue.....

"Systems without feedback are, by definition, stupid. But systems with feedback of even the most rudimentary sort can grow smarter in a hurry. How clean a car would you buy if its exhaust pipe, instead of being aimed at pedestrians, fed directly into the passenger compartment?" (p.283)

2007-06-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Utopia

"Utopia is a charming old house built to modern standards, on a sunny but shaded five-acre lot, surrounded by miles of protected parkland and yet only a short walk from world-class entertainment. The house is right on the beach but high enough on the mountain for magnificent views. Closely sheltered from cold winter winds but open to summer breezes. Absolute privacy but lots of friendly neighbours nearby."

Charles Long, Life After the City

Below: Utopia in Daruka, our backyard in spring. Now if only we could do something about pushing back the friendly, but noisy neighbours.

2007-04-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

Marcus Aurelius - 180 AD

"Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours. At the same time, however, beware lest delight in them leads you to cherish them so dearly that their loss would destroy your peace of mind".

"...Or look at the characters of your own associates: even the most agreeable of them are difficult to put up with, and for the matter of that, it is difficult enough to put up with one's own self."

Cicero - 44 BC

"Today on the other hand, our whole moral attitude is degraded and corrupted by the worship of wealth. Yet what does it really matter how rich someone is? Perhaps it is of advantage to himself at least. Sometimes it may not even be that: all the same, let us assume that it is. In other words, he will have more to spend. But does that make him in anyway a better man?"

This is Keeta.

2007-03-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

By the Power of Apricus

We installed an Apricus solar hot water heating system in October 2006. The main goal being to reduce our electricity consumption rather than save money. Our total electricity cost for hot water heating being only $120 a year. But hot water heating represented nearly 50% of our electricity usage through the course of the year.

This is what our system looked like after it was installed.

It is an evacuated tube system that is widely used in Europe and China because it is frost and snow proof.

The impact of solar hotwater on our electricity consumption can be seen in our latest electricity bill with our usage falling to less than 50% of the year before from 13.8kw a day to 6.2kw a day. Once we install the solar electricity panels we hope to get it to zero.

In other news Kerstin bought her self some cute little Belgian D'Uccle bantams at the Tamworth Show last week (17th March).

2006-07-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Backyard Chooky Characters

I no longer remember why I decided I wanted to keep chooks when I was 12, however, there are photos of me at half that age wandering around chook pens; in one I am prophetically snuggling up to a Silkie hen.

In 1988 we lived in the Melbourne suburb of East Malvern, 20 minutes from the city centre on a quarter-acre block. We already had a dog and an aviary full of finches but my father, the general opposition to the increasing numbers of feathered members of the family, agreed to collect two eight-week-old Silkie pullets from a breeder in Kew on the way home one night.

We chose Silkies as they met the three key requirements of suburban chooks. First priority was that they would not be able to fly over the fence; second, they must have calm natures so they could be easily picked up and, finally, sufficient eggs would be nice. Well, Silkies meet the first two requirements superbly, but are not so sharp on the last one, being rather too keen on going broody.

We had inherited an old guinea pig hutch from friends, a homemade one and quite large, about 1.5m x 1m, but only about 40cm high. The entire lid lifted up and there was a little side door as well. This rustic accommodation was set aside for the new charges, whose first act was to make themselves very sick overeating on grass. It had not occurred to me that free range would cause such a shock. As our retired Schnauzer was wandering the yard it was safe for the Silkies to be loose for the whole of every day.

Shortly, one of the pullets turned into a rooster. We were concerned when "Bobby" started exercising his crowing, but we questioned all the neighbours and were surprised that even those that found the dog's barking irritating were quite accommodating about having a crowing rooster next door!

Soon the hen "Wilkie" decided to go broody on a grand total of two eggs, of which one hatched. Tornadoe was born and had a traumatic childhood with her father dying early on in her life. It is hard to value the experience of life and death for young animal keepers, but I certainly feel that it has strongly influenced my perspective on life.

In 1990 we moved to Maitland in NSW. As we traveled north, at every halt our car unloaded a variety of birds, dogs and the Silkies. As they were very tame, we let them graze in the park or nature strip where we stopped, to the great curiosity of the locals.

Our house in Maitland was on a very large block, so the Silkies had a generous roaming area. They, of course, had other ideas and were rather fond of the back door mat, presumably so they could keep an eye on us and any scraps that may appear.

Wilkie died in 1994 and Tornadoe was left alone. She actually seemed to fall into a depression and we were afraid she might die. I though some new company might help and so I bought 3 week-old Pekin bantam chicks from the Loxford Hobby Hatchery near Kurri Kurri.

These little hens, Buffy, Mango and Cedar, adopted me as their new mum and probably found me more interesting that the light globe that had served the purpose previously! As they grew there were allowed out in the garden and they got into the habit of running and flying towards me whenever I came out the back door.

This led to one of my most enduring chook memories. I came out the back door one day when the Pekins were scratching around the far end of the pool garden. As they saw me they scrambled and leapt into flight, straight over the pool. Well, they weren't that good at flying and down they came in the middle of the water. Fortunately they stayed afloat long enough for me to save them all.

Tornadoe was delighted with her 3 new charges and perked up right away, they were just the right size to be pecked and bullied. The Pekins fell into the role of providing a few eggs (certainly more than the Silkies ever did) and in addition became regular broodies. I took advantage of this latter habit to raise several batches of chicks under them, Pekins and full size Australorps.

In 1999 I spent 9 months living in Germany with my wife-to-be and missed my friendly little personalities. However, I did learn something I would never have believed possible. In Germany, the majority of people live in units, as is happening in Sydney today. So it is to be expected that suburban chook ownership rates would not be very high. However, one day as I was watching TV, I came across a report on a family keeping four full-size chooks (Barnevelders or similar) in their unit. They were allowed free range of the unit on the one condition that they used the bathtub as their toilet. And there was footage of one of the chooks rushing down the hallway and jumping on the edge of the bath to do just that.

On returning to Australia in 2000 we bought a house in the Maitland area, and Tornadoe and the two surviving Pekins (Buffy and Mango) joined us. In the spring Buffy hatched out a batch of bantam Leghorns. These were not the best behaved backyard specimens as they were determined to jump all the fences to have close encounters with neighbouring dogs. Fortunately, none died this way. A bizarre outcome of this fresh crop of baby chickens was that Tornadoe was inspired to lay again after a six year break.

In 2001 work took us to Sydney. We reluctantly reduced our chook numbers back to the three originals. For accommodation we sourced a large custom-built rabbit hutch from some neighbours. it was very heavy and had strong mesh, making it secure from any stray dogs. It comfortably housed the three bantams and they were allowed out most evenings and on weekends. When we went away on holidays they were able to live in this pen for a few weeks without problems. We didn't put feed outside the cage and as the only entry was through the roof, we had to pick them up to put them in or out, which made them aware that they were dependent on us and better behave well!

In November 2001 Tornadoe decided that she had done enough city living and died at the age of 13. I am not sure what the average life expectancy of a chook is, but we were certainly glad to have her for what was an extraordinarily long and healthy life.

In autumn this year Buffy hatched out a brood of bantam Australorps and we have kept one young hen who is hopefully going to continue the family in spirit, if not the exact genes or breed.

Being an Urban Chook Keeper

Since 1994 I have bought no outside chickens, instead buying or bartering fertile eggs from breeders. All the new chickens hatched have not been vaccinated or given medication except for the occasional dose of raw garlic mixed with bread and milk. It is obvious that the raw garlic tastes about as appealing to chooks as it does to us.

Regarding the various breeds, I found Pekins and Silkies were the calmest and never tried flying over fences. At one time a fence of 45cm high was sufficient to keep them confined over a period of months and was also sufficient to keep them out of vegetable and flower garden beds. They are very easy to pick up, make great pets and are generally very tolerant of children. Our remaining Pekins, often jump into our laps when we are sitting on the verandah. Sometimes it is because they are feeling broody and want me to build them a nest, other times it is for food, and sometimes just to say hello. Neither breed is very good at egg production, however, and the Pekin's overly feathered feet can get very muddy and smelly.

If one of the Pekin hens was being aggressive I would place her in solitary confinement. In this situation "protest eggs" would often be laid. These are about the size of a cockatiel egg (1.5cm long). I had to wonder if this was a method of passive resistance to such treatment, as advocated by Gandhi chook.

The full size Australorps were also good backyard chooks; they never flew over our fences (which were only 1.2m high) and just two of them laid enough eggs to keep a family of five supplied for most of the year. However, they were very destructive in the garden. Bantam Australorps seem to be quite calm. I am optimistic that they may prove to be a good balance between calmness, broodiness, egg production and garden respect. We will find out in the coming year.

For nest boxes I have often used cardboard boxes with a ledge taped in place on one side to stop eggs rolling out. When the box is worn out it is either burnt or composted.

Recently on my morning runs I have heard a rooster crowing, so in Sydney the backyard chook is still hanging on.

As published in Australasian Poultry Volume 13 No 3, August/September 2002.
Copyright remains with the author.

2006-06-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Difficulty of breeding Little Green Singers

I read May's article on Little Green Singers (Singers) in Queensland Finch Society "Finch News" with some bemusement because I have certainly not found them "a very easy finch to breed". Let me recount my experiences which to date have still not led to a successful breeding event.

In the late 1980's I first saw a pair of Singers in a cage at Jock Hobb's bird shop in Burwood, Melbourne. At $350 a pair they were a little out of my price range as a 13 year old. But I added them to the "To Get List" for one day in the distant future.

I first acquired a pair in Brisbane in 1992 for $140. Healthy birds and both great singers, this is because they both turned out to be males. Subsequent efforts to acquire hens resulted in 2 more necklaced birds that moulted slowly into males. Finally I was left with just one male who used to sing beautifully. He finally built a nest on his own but that was as close as I got to breeding Singers over a 3 year period. The Singers lived in a planted aviary of 4.5m x 2.7m in a mixed collection of small finches.

I purchased a new pair of Singers while living in Sydney in January 2003. Bought in the Hunter Valley for $80. Their accommodation consisted of a large indoor cage. This pair got on well and even laid eggs but unfortunately both died on the same night in August 2003 for no obvious reason.

My current pair of Singers were purchased in February 2005 in Tamworth. A definite pair they got on well from the start. Living outside in an aviary measuring 4.5m x 1.8m again in a mixed collection of finches. However the male Singer and male Cordon Bleu took such an intense dislike to each other that the Singers were moved to a small aviary of 2.7m x 0.9m of which they are the sole occupants. The Singer and Cordon Bleu have continued to fight through the wire at times!

Over the last 15 months this pair of Singers have made 3 nesting attempts. The first nest of 3 eggs saw the young disappear on the day that they hatched. The 2nd nest saw 1 egg of 2 hatch. This chick survived for about a week before dying in the nest. It seems that the it was not being properly fed. The 3rd nest is underway at present with 3 chicks hatching from 3 eggs, once again however I fear that the young are not being fed properly. It is also chilling down in Tamworth with this morning (9th May) coming in at a very frosty minus 3ºC.

On all occasions I have fed greenfood, mealworms and eggfood in quantity. Now that I have a true pair they are at least attempting to nest on a regular basis - although by no means with the enthusiasm or regularity of Australian finches. However breeding success remains elusive although I continue to hope that this time will be the time they get it right!

Photo shows the pair of Little Green Singers in their inside cage in Sydney in 2003.

As printed in Queensland Finch Society - Finch News, June 2006 Copyright remains with the author.

2006-04-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

Finch Reflections from a City Perspective - March 2003

There are armchair sportsmen and then there are armchair aviculturists. In the past few years due to constant changing addresses I have been unable to keep large numbers of birds. At present my holdings are at an all time low consisting of just Charlie the Galah, and Mango, an 8 year old Pekin bantam.

Currently I am living in Sydney. It is a worthwhile experience living in the human centre of Australia. The thoughtlines of the Sydney populace have far reaching impacts across the country because this is where the politicians must win the votes and the most powerful business interests reside.
Most importantly from an avicultural point of view, many of the animal welfare and licensing programs emanate from the emotional tides that sway Sydneysiders. If the UK experience is any guide the trend is likely to be for increasing levels of regulation of animal keeping even as the average citizen is completely removed from any interaction with the realities of the animal world.

For me it has been a time of reflection on my birdkeeping past and how I will do things differently when I return to more serious birdkeeping in the future.

In the 1990’s I lived in the Hunter Valley for the most part. A terrific place to live for anyone interested in finches. I was lucky enough to visit the finch collections of Tom Gibson, Les Milton and John Butler as well as many others. In a way it was too tempting as it was nearly impossible to return home without a new pair of birds. This led to a crash in my quarantine standards which were never good at the best of times.

In 1994 I lost numerous birds to inexplicable causes whereas in previous years I had only lost the occasional bird or two. With the benefit of hindsight I can now see the cause clearly. Too many new birds and no strict quarantine process. Interestingly I have always been very careful with our bantams and only ever brought in fertile eggs rather than live birds. In the future I will apply the same discipline to finches which are not only more delicate but much more expensive than chooks!

Another though that arose unbidden in recent weeks was prompted by an article in Australian Birdkeeper about bird smuggling. I acquired a pair of Crimson Finches in 1992 from a pet shop ($100pr). I was 17 at the time and did not consider how strange it was that the dealer had about 100 Crimson Finches in a cage. Unusual to say the least! I am not sure whether the birds were taken from the wild but I have hardly seen a Crimson Finch for sale since this date.

I kept the pair I bought in a half open flight of 3.6m x 2.7m x 2.1m high with a medium level of plantings (photo on right). Also living in the aviary were Plum Headed Finches, Orange Breasts, Doublebars and Blue Faced Parrot Finches. In total about 10 pairs of birds. There was a level of bickering but the Crimson Finches diligently raised 2 chicks to maturity in a nest located directly above the entry door. Would wild caught birds be sufficiently calm to have achieved this?

Over the years I had a couple of mice break-ins. Perhaps next time I should try 6mm wire and the much vaunted concrete rat wall. The rat wall generally being held off because we always anticipated moving and the thought of digging up a few hundred kilos of concrete was not too appealing. Given the amount of bird seed that accumulated on the floor it is probably surprising that I didn’t have more problems with mice. I think that it is very likely if I had had some sort of waste seed catcher that I would not have ever had mice in the aviary. The issue then is how to feed quail, a small separate seed dish?

I was fortunate to have great success with Gouldian Finches. In my second season I had one pair that produced 6 young, then 6 again before finishing off with a final 5. All these young succesfully made it through to adulthood. Although the Gouldians seemed happy enough through the year (the aviaries faced north but were half open flights) in future I think that providing a glassed in area for winter would be more appropriate for their needs. Even without it I lost very few young going through the winter. The Gouldians experienced several bouts of air sac mite which were cured by placing each bird in a box after a puff of Mortein had been sprayed in first. Doing this once and then again a few days later seemed to cure the problem. For a year or so anyway. Whether the Gouldians caught the mites from wild birds again or still had them in lesser amounts I am not sure. Perhaps fully roofed aviaries would be a succesful preventative.

Fully roofed aviaries will also be in order the next time I keep Red Hooded Siskins. I only had one short unfortunate experience with these birds. Their persistence in sleeping hanging off the wire was qutie frustrating and as our area had a number of butcherbirds this may have been associated with their short lives, the female living for two weeks and the male about eight months.

Many of the breeders in the area achieved their breeding success through the use of termites. However, they were finding it harder and harder to obtain termites as aviculturists scoured the Hunter Valley ever more frequently. Although it is unlikely that there will ever be a powerful termite preservation lobby I think that aviculturists like all people must think about the sustainability of their activities. I used mealworms with success for Orange Breasts, Cordon Bleus and Red Faced Parrot Finches but failed with Aurora Finches and Blue Faced Parrot Finches who always threw their young out at about 1 week old. I would be happy to use termites if some enterprising person could provide them commerically at the right price, perhaps this is the way of the future.

Another topic that I have been reflecting on is that of mutations. When I was breeding birds it never seemed that there were any ethical dilemmas associated with mutuations. If a baby popped out with an odd feather or two it was exciting, something new! Perhaps worth a lot of money! Maybe I am not the only one who has this thought sequence because mutations seem to have become an unhealthy obsession in recent years. Particularly among parrot breeders where the prices gained for a new mutation can be quite ridiculous. However, the trend seems to be developing amongst finch breeders too with Gouldians and Red Faced Parrot Finches two of the targets. What may seem harmless becomes damaging not only to the image of aviculturists but also the genetic base of rare sepcies. I am yet to see a Gouldian mutuation that has half the beauty of the original. Yet the wild bird is likely to be extinct soon, will be able to provide Gouldians of a pure strain that can be re-established in the wild?

Would we be able to do this for Zebra Finches? Those who think it unlikely that Zebra Finches would become extinct in the wild should note that the English are becoming concerned about the common House Sparrow whose populations are declining not only in England but around the world for reasons that remain obscure.

There needs to be some sort of self imposed agreement that mutations are restricted to common species such as Zebra Finches, Budgies and Canaries. In particular species that are rare in the wild should be maintained in the the pure form in aviculture.

The final thought that I have had in recent weeks is related to the previous theme. I believe that there is a strong possibility that there could be a boom in bird prices over the coming decades. The ugly laws of supply and demand dictate that as exploding human populations force many species into extinction the remaining birds in captivity will become extremely valuable. As more species follow Spix’s Macaw there will be desperate searches to capture the final few birds so that aviculturists become the source of doom rather than survival for species.

Australian aviculturists have been decades ahead of other countries in bird breeding ability due to our climate, spacious country and not least because of the ban on imported birds. If we can show that our commitment to conservation is genuine possibly even coming before profit then we have the potential to be involved by government bodies in assisting in establishing captive populations of endangered species. As our exclusion from assistance in the recovery of the Orange Bellied Parrot has shown our motives at present are regarded with scepticism by government bodies. It is only by reflecting on our behaviour and its impact upon the future that we can become better at what we do and lead to an improvement in bird keeping practices.

Scarlet Chested Parrot male and Crimson Finch male in photo on right.

As printed in Queensland Finch Society - Finch News, March 2003
Copyright remains with the author.

2006-03-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Finch Species Preservation in Australian Aviaries and the Importation Dilemma - July 2004

It is interesting comparing the Queensland Finch Society price guide from 1990 to 2003. Disappointingly a number of finch species have disappeared in what has been a period of fairly enlightened aviculture. Of even more concern is the appearance of a number of new foreign species. It is also clear that the mutation craze is a thing of recent times with most not existing 13 years ago.

As members of one of Australia’s premier finch societies we must consider what the appearance of new finch species means rather than just accepting it as a pleasant surprise. It is possible some are reappearances are due to the diligence of finch breeders returning some species from the brink of oblivion in Australia. We must hope this is the case because the alternative is that these species are making their way to Australia from overseas.

Has the Queensland Finch Society outlined an official policy in this regard? If the QFS does not condemn the illegal importation of finches and expel those members who have a history of unusual finches appearing in their aviaries then it implicitly condones this behaviour.

It is particularly relevant at present due to the recent outbreak of bird flu in South East Asia. What if an illegal importation were to result in one of these terrible diseases spreading around Australia and the source turned out to be an acquisitive finch breeder who took his hobby a bit too far? The media, animal rights lobby groups and more importantly the chicken industry would be rightfully furious. The chicken industry has a very powerful lobby group and could force onerous restrictions upon finch breeders if they were financially devastated due to our carelessness.

However, there are always two sides to any story. The current Federal Government policy of blanket banning imports of birds into Australia in a world where virtually anything can be ordered by internet is no longer the smart way to do things. I am not recommending an importation free-for-all, rather a disciplined system whereby each year a limited number of finch species are imported under strict controls (perhaps just the eggs are brought in for incubation and fostering in Australia). The species to be brought in could be agreed upon as voted for by club members. The numbers would need to be restricted in any case so that high prices prevailed to allow the cost of the importation to be recovered.

Australian zoos already have systems in place to import species that they need, perhaps they could add a new source of income and undertake to do the importations for aviculturists?

However, it is important to remember that the import restrictions are one of the reasons why Australian aviculturists have focused on breeding as opposed to collecting. The expense required to breed some species requires high sale prices for the young to assist in recovering the costs. If there was to be free importation of these species it is unlikely that viable breeding populations would be established as successfully. So we should not wish for the removal of the broad import ban as the result may well be crashing finch prices and dramatic changes in the level of effort devoted to breeding.

An aside to all this is that there may be a limit to the number of finch species that Australian aviculturists can support. I say this because in years gone by some species have been lost that were not terribly difficult to breed, the one that jumps to mind is the Bronze-winged Mannikin. It seems that people weren’t that interested in breeding it until the price tag began to soar and by then it was too late (this is the version I have heard, aviculturists of the time would be able to tell the story correctly). The point is that importing vast arrays of finches may only result in less interesting (less valuable) species disappearing as the interests of breeders change, with the total number of species available not increasing much. It is unlikely that there will be more bird breeders around to support an increasing number of finches in the future as the current trend in new suburbia is for the McMansions to be almost the same size as the block they are built on, all but ruling aviculture out as a hobby.

The Queensland Finch Society could also hold regular surveys of its members’ finch holdings to try and assist in preventing any more “Green Avadavat” disasters. Only 10 years ago this finch was not difficult to purchase. I bought a pair then for $150, they were rather plain personality wise and the hen died (of course) before they had a chance to breed. But rarity brings its own appeal and they are now highly sought after. With their decline in the wild we may have missed an opportunity to show the value of our hobby.

If other finch societies around Australia did the survey at the same time, let’s say every 5 years, a snapshot could be built of the status of each species. With today’s computer technology and the ability of many members to enter the data directly online the accumulation of information would probably not be that expensive or difficult (Birds Australia already does this in a similar fashion for all 800 species of Australian birds in the wild). The resulting data would be useful to the QFS and breeders in setting prices according to scarcity and in identifying species that are struggling in their numbers.

As a group we need to consider the issue of illegal importation, if disease does break out and we are seen to have failed in considering the national interest as well as our own specific needs the consequences could be unpleasant.

As printed in Queensland Finch Society - Finch News, July 2004
Copyright remains with the author.

2006-01-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

Twelve months in a Mixed Aviary

It is now 12 months since my main aviary was resurrected in January 2005 after nearly 3 years in storage. It is 4.5m x 1.8m with a 2.7m x 0.9m flight on one side which can be connected or kept separate depending on the time of year and if there is a need to isolate either young or aggressive birds. The height is 2.1m and 3/5 of the roof is covered with gal iron. It is of timber construction with cement sheet sides. It was designed for a nomadic existence and is made of sections that are easily bolted together (see photo).

The wire is 12mm square and bricks are used as the footing. For the extension currently in progess I am using 6mm wire in combination with a concrete/brick rat wall to see if this results in complete mouse exclusion. At present I have a mouse trap continually set in the walkway. The mice seem to come and go according to the status of feed in the paddocks around us. After catching 8 or so in quick succession, I haven’t caught any mice since August 2005.

With the aviary established and staked to the ground against high winds it was time to decide what birds to get. I already had a travel weary pair of Orange Breasts who were glad to see the sun again after 2 years of living indoors. Unfortunately the experience seems to have traumatised the male and he has become a habitual wife beater. Alternatively his violent nature is due to the failure of their one and only nest while living indoors. Despite living in a high human traffic location they successfully hatched one chick but then (she?) threw it out on the first or second day. Until that point they were a sweet loving couple without issues, since then he has been a tyrant of the worst sort. Draw your own conclusions!

The bird selection process consisted of the usual array of carefully planned choices and impulse buys which has a necessary overlay of what is locally available. As Tamworth has a very frosty winter (below zero every night for 3 weeks in a row in 2005 with a minus 5 being recorded once) it is best to try and source birds from west of the mountains that are adapted to similar conditions.

I wanted a pair of Green Singers as these finches have been one of my favourites since I first saw a pair for $350 in Jock Hobbs pet shop in Melbourne in about 1988. These were sourced for me by a local breeder, Phil Davies, who also had a range of finches on offer and as a result I got pairs of Painteds (unintented but purchased due to availability), Red Checked Cordon Bleus (impulse) and Red Faced Parrot Finches (as intended). Talking to another breeder a few weeks later saw me end up with a pair of Scarlet Chested Parrots which I had kept before but been unable to breed successfully. I also have a pair of Brown Quail, the male is a hand raised pet and the hen is a mad flighty thing.

So how have they all interacted over the ensuing period? For the first 6 months (February to August) there were no serious fights – apart from the male Orange Breast’s continuing assaults on the hen. The Painteds and Cordons built several nests without any outcome. The Painted Finch male would however become quite aggressive during the nest building phase for about a week (photo of female Painted Finch on left). During this period he would chase the other finches quite a bit, in particular the parrot finches. 5 pairs of finches and the parrots seemed about the right level of occupants and frequently looking at the aviary it would appear all but empty.

Spring saw a whole new level of warfare breakout. In particular the male Singer and male Cordon Blue seemed to be playing a series of escalating death matches. I therefore isolated the Singers in the small flight on their own. They promptly went to nest but did not succeed in hatching the eggs.

The Painted Finch increased his aggression to the point of lunging at the male Scarlet Chested Parrot at times. On the ground the hen Brown Quail remained as feral as ever and in fact became a hazard to finch nesting attempts as she panicked and flew into the brush on a number of times (despite a severe wing clipping).

The Singers were released back into the main flight after finishing their nesting attempt and were subsequently placid, non-aggressive and non-singing members of the group once more.

Another issue to deal with has been the different feeding requirements of the various birds. Eggfood and greenfood are not an issue as they are supplied in quantity and I am not aware of any over-eating issues with regard to these feedstuffs. I am for the first time feeding mealworms in substantial quantities – probably 30/40 every morning and every evening. The Painteds eat these almost exclusively with young in the nest. While the Cordons also eat a lot they balance them with plenty of eggfood. My concern is that the Parrot Finches will eat too many which I have heard can be a problem.

I started feeding the mealworms in the evening after the Painteds and Cordons both had about 3 nesting attempts without feeding the chicks beyond a day or two. I also made certain that I fed at exactly the same time each morning and afternoon. This seems to have done the trick as each of the pairs then succeeded in raising 4 young (photo on left shows baby Cordon Bleu on first day out of nest). As an encore the Painteds went on to feed the next lot of chicks on seed and water for the first 10 days while I was away over the Christmas break .

Interestingly I read on a German finch website recently that a breeder there who has Blue Capped Cordon Bleus has never had young thrown out. He feeds them an unlimited supply of mealworms and estimates that some pairs eat several hundred mealworms a day. I look forward to testing this theory out soon.

In November 2005 I decided to try and introduce another pair of Orange Breasts to balance the aggression factor of the existing male. In addition looking back at my records I only really had any success with the Orange Breasts when running two pairs together. This has been the case with the old male now chasing the young one on a regular basis. At the same time I often see the four of them hopping around on the floor together as a peaceful group. It will be interesting to see whether the group dynamics on the whole work out. (Update: it didn’t the original male became more and more aggressive so the new pair were removed)

At the same time I added a pair of Fire Finches (impulse buy). The difference in personality with Orange Breasts is quite stark with the Fire Finches being a dramatically more placid bird when caged. In the aviary they have been quite innocuous and seem to find quiet corners to disappear in to.

In summary the spring of 2005 resulted in 4 young Cordons, 4 Painted Finches, 1 Scarlet Chested Parrot and 5 Brown Quail (photo shows the January batch of 7 Brown Quail chicks). With the young removed the aviary now is back to 6 pairs of finches along with the Scarlet Chested Parrots and Brown Quail. As everyone is taking a break over the summer (except the Painteds who are finishing off their second clutch) there is no virtually no conflict at all at present.

All of the finches attempted to nest in the Spring except the Fire Finches who were only a late stage introduction. The Singers threw their young out the day they hatched, the Orange Breast’s young disappeared somewhere in the 3rd week (I was away) and the Red Faced Parrot Finches built a beautiful nest and forgot to lay eggs.