MY EXPERIENCE

I started breeding birds forty odd years ago with a pair of Gloster canary’s that my brother gave my kids a present, they were kept in a wire cage in the front window of my lounge.

Before long I had my first bird room an eight by six pent shed which I filled with wooden cages, I remember one cage was purchased at the National show which at the time was held at the NCC in Birmingham.

I had success with the Glosters as well as other breeds of canary’s before moving into finches which were kept in a six by three outdoor aviary.

I started with Zebra’s, Bengalese and Strawberry finches. Also tried my hand with a few waxbills.

Now well into aviculture I tried my hand with British finches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches and bullfinches

Other the years I have kept numerous varieties of birds including Lovebirds, Conures, Turks and sill keep Splendid Parakeets, Red rumps and a pair of Barrabands.

GOULDIANS
I fell in love with Gouldian’s about twenty years ago and started with a pain in a four-foot flight cage kept in the bird room. My first experiences were not good, and I almost gave them up because of their reluctance to nest, I tried all sorts including different  food, and nest boxes,  but again nothing to write home about.

I decided to have a change and changed the shed into flight cages for parakeets and obtained a few pairs of Splendid parakeets. I also had some outdoor aviary’s in which I kept parakeets,

BUT I was still smitten by the Gouldian finch, so decided to give them another try,

I dismantled the outdoor aviary’s and replaced them a large shed for my Splendids, the old shed was then fitted with homemade cages two foot long with dividers to give six foot cages for outside the breeding season.

I also started breeding the Gouldian’s earlier in the year, pairing up in late December in the two foot cages. The shed has a total of eighteen of the cages.

This combination of new cages and starting earlier seems to have worked resulting in my best every season, with several nest of at least four chicks.

TO BE CONTINUED