smallfry

[wickedglass]

fry of a different sort
I posted a while ago about our new aviary ... I'm happy to report that one nest of 6 eggs has hatched and the young are going well so far. below is a pic of one of them reaching for the stars ... well, reaching for me, coz I was moving and the movement set it off cheeping very quietly and ripping its gob open. looks like the gouldian finches are happy with their home.
here's a link to an image of a chick close-up
http://www.efinch.com/Gape/gouldgap2.jpg
they have markings around their mouths, and the ones on each side are like bicycle reflectors ... they kind of remind me more of caterpillars than baby birds. all up we have around 35 eggs in various nests and the largest clutch of 15!!! are being solidly sat on now ...

[Merrilyn]

Congratulations Chris. That's awsome. They're not an easy finch to breed.

Please keep us updated.

[scott bowler]

thats awesome wickedglass love those little birds they are the best . bit like the discus of the finch world hehe congrat mate

[Dan]

Hey congrats!

Baby finches are ugly things :)

My gouldians used to breed all year round but i rotated the pairs so they didnt' stress out because some of my females would start laying eggs before their previous batch had left the nest.

and you'd be surprised at how small they are
Herers a pic of one of my babies next to a cashew
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b371/aquariumsrus/My%20Birds/Baby%20Comparisons/Babynexttoacashew.jpg

[the german]

man thats very small :shock: :shock:

[Xtreme]

cootie pies! :)

[wickedglass]

here's an update, the chicks are doing really well, they've stopped looking like worms and actually have feathers now. once they fledge they'll be an olive green ... they still have their landing lights at the corners of their mouth and patterning inside of their beaks.

[wickedglass]

oops, posted one twice ... and I can't edit it out .... here's the other one I meant to post

[nicholas76]

awsum pics!!

Chris what do the adults look like?

[scott bowler]

good stuff i love it well done wickedglass

[Dan]

hey nice babies :)

Cute :)

[Merrilyn]

Chris they're gorgeous !!!!

How many babies did you end up with from all the pairs? And how long before they moult their olive green and take on adult colours.

Nick, gouldians are so pretty, they look like they've been painted. Do a google and you'll see what I mean.

[wickedglass]

hi,
yes they are cute, they've adopted me and open atheir beaks and scream for food every time I hang my noggin in. they have their first molt at about 3 months of age. here's a pic of the adults.

[wickedglass]

there's 6 in this nest and another nest started hatching yesterday ... that's the one with the 15 eggs in it, but as far as I can tell there's only 12 eggs being sat on with the other 3 having gone elsewhere in the nest and built upon with nesting material. a third nest is being sat on in a hollow log, but I don't know what the deal is there as I can't actually check this one. We'll let ourselves be surprised by it I guess. There's another 3 nests with eggs in them ... 1, 1 and 4 ... funny thing is, there's 6 gouldian nests with eggs and we only have 3 girls.
we also have a few other finch species which are intensively looking for suitable nesting sites at the moment ... time will tell.

[Robdog]

They are awesome Chris. Such beautiful colours. Do they breed regardless of the time of year or do they need triggering??
I'm guessing your little aviary is semi open to the elements so how do they go when the weather starts to cool down??

[wickedglass]

I think the breeding season is from about jan/feb till around september. our aviary is closed on 3 sides and half to 3/4 up the fourth side, we'll be putting up perspex for winter. these little gems come from up north, so they're no strangers to how cold it can get at night up there ... the cold's not much of a problem though, it's exposure to wind that's the real killer ... hence the perspex.

[sammigold]

they are just so beautiful!!! they look like little porcelain ornaments....

[wickedglass]

little update, 5 of the 6 little ones are flying, the smallest one's still in the nest. here they are on their sleeping branch, where all (except 1 for some reason) the unoccupied gouldians roost for the night. I'll post more soon ;)

[wickedglass]

didn't think I'd post so soon, did ya?
here they are 5 minutes later! :P

[Dan]

Hey sooooo cute that last pic :)

[Merrilyn]

Please keep giving us updates on those gorgeous little babies.

You've done a fantastic job with them.

[Robdog]

How long til they shed the ugly duckling feathers?

[wickedglass]

as requested, here's a little update :P
all 6 are out and flying now, and perching all together. I gotta try get some pics when I'm home during the day on a weekend, but for cuteness factor I don't think I can't beat them perching together at night. and they're right in the window, too, so we can see them when we're sitting in the lounge!

here they are, introducing the 6 finch-keteers!

[Robdog]

What's happened to Wicked???

[Merrilyn]

Yeah, where are ya mate.

Did you get locked in that great big bird cage ???