Aviculture

I have very definite views on how I like to practice aviculture and how I like to see it carried out by other breeders. In very general terms I like to breed good quality finches allowing pairs to rear their own young on a natural diet in large outdoor aviaries which at least partly simulate natural habitat elements for the species kept. It follows that given my firm views on avicultural best practice, certain aspects of finch aviculture which contradict my own approach really erk me. This isn't because I have a holier than thou attitude when it comes to aviculture, my views are based on sound reason which I'll try to explain.

Totally relying on fully climate-controlled heated indoor cages and aviaries where the local climate allows other options, repetitive fostering of eggs and young of any species, and overproduction of weak recessive mutations are examples of adverse practices which when used by only a handful of breeders pose a serious threat to the health, quality, genetic strength, breeding ability and overall vigour of any species so produced. Within Australia we have a finite genetic resource in all species we keep and breed.

We also have in most parts of the country a comparatively mild climate which gives us an advantage over aviculturists in other parts of the world in allowing us to breed and enjoy our birds in large outdoor aviaries under as natural conditions as we can reasonably provide. When our breeding methods significantly deviate away from this, they make it very difficult for other breeders who buy our stock to have confidence that the birds they are acquiring will adapt to their own conditions.

Using large outdoor aviaries to house and breed finches is not without its challenges. However, most of these challenges can generally be overcome or largely diminished by appropriate aviary design, sound aviary construction and an aviary management routine which takes into account predictable climatic adversities.

At the other end of the scale, if we completely remove the normal seasonal temperature ranges experienced by our birds by placing them into temperature-controlled indoor environments, any offspring so produced and later sold cannot be reasonably expected to adapt well to the typical backyard aviary of most prospective buyers. The buyers of such "woosified" birds are forced into a vicious cycle of having to mimic the controlled conditions to ensure that their new birds survive and breed. Thus we can see how easy it is for whole species to be weakened. With rarer species it only takes a small number of breeders to use these techniques and we then have the species' future in serious jeopardy.

Our annual routine can accommodate outdoor aviary breeding in most climatic zones in Australia. Aviculturists in cooler regions would be best to concentrate breeding from Spring to Autumn, spelling their breeding pairs for the coldest months. Conversely those of us who experience relatively mild winters and severe summer heat are best suited to concentrating on an Autumn to Spring breeding season. Either way I believe Autumn and Spring are the most productive breeding peaks for almost all finch species. I fit into the latter category so I use March to November as my main breeding period for most species using the hottest Summer period to clean out the aviaries while the breeding birds take a break and the last of the young birds colour up.

Regular fostering of eggs and young of any species has a noticeable adverse effect on the breeding ability of the fostered species. The reason for this is simple - when a breeder regularly fosters he/she is selecting against parenting ability. This trait is absolutely essential for the future survival of any species. An obvious example of a species which exhibits the effects of widespread fostering in Australia is the Red Siskin. I am among a core of Red Siskin breeders who steadfastly continue to breed parent-reared birds in outdoor aviaries. Generally, the parenting ability of most pairs of Red Siskins is not great. This is a very direct consequence of widespread fostering in the species.

Certain other breeders continue the practice of using canaries to rear most if not all of their Red Siskin progeny. This situation also exists with the breeding of Gouldian mutations, Parrotfinches and others where some breeders rely very heavily on fostering under Bengalese.

Apart from the effects on the species' ability to self-rear their own young, there are also health concerns with the fostered progeny as the highly domesticated foster parents are very robust species capable of masking symptoms of disease and parasitic infestations allowing these to be passed on to the more delicate fostered young before the breeder realises there is a possible problem.

I believe this exascerbates the weakness of many of the recessive mutations which are overproduced. Examples such as Blue Gouldians, Lutino Blue-faced Parrotfinches and White Heck's Longtails all exhibit inherent weakness which I attribute to three combined causes in their establishment phase - excessive use of recessive to recessive matings to produce more coloured birds, excessive use of Bengalese foster parents to rapidly breed up larger numbers, and excessive use of indoor heated "habitat" to ensure that even the weak survive to the point of sale. It will take many years of remedial work by responsible committed breeders using vigorous normal birds as out-crossings, parent-rearing and acclimatisation away from laboratory conditions if these mutations are ever to become robust, quality strains of birds worth buying.

When purchasing young birds I never buy any finch which I believe could be fostered or bred in cabinets. I recommend to beginners to do likewise and if possible have a good look at the conditions under which your new birds were bred. Does the breeder have any canaries or bengalese if selling species which could possibly be fostered? If so be very suspicious. At least those of us who breed our birds parent-reared in more natural conditions can have a clear conscience that we are producing vigorous strains of birds more capable of adapting and breeding well in a variety of climatic zones and aviary situations.