Breeding Pause

Until further notice I’ve suspended all breeding services. Everyone is okay, not to worry! Just that time again for relocating, which puts some stress on everyone, birds included. To ensure a seamless move, I’ll be focusing on their happiness and peace first before I allow any continued breeding. Thank you all for your continued interest and patience! And please continue to email me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Welcome!

Oedipus just waking after a good nap.

As I get more and more into breeding my birds, and gather more species as time goes along, I’ve decided that – while I really do enjoy the one-on-one interaction with inquiries, I should still have a site available that people can visit and find out more about what I’ve got and what I’m all about before they contact me.

So here it is. Check out the pages for pricing, availability, photos, information about me, and more.

How exciting! The new name for my little breeding company [legal papers and whatnot coming soon] is now called “Le Pinson Blanc [Aviary],” French for [& aka:] “The White Finch.” I chose the name because my first pair of Finches, Oedipus and Ophelia, are both Chestnut Flanked White Zebra Finches. That’s the breed that I first fell in love with.

So enjoy your visit to my humble corner of the net, and stay and learn a thing or two about Finches, their care, and the birds that I’m currently breeding.

Thanks for coming!

Babies & eggs, oh my!

Nearly ready to fledge!

So after a week of vacation, I came back to two CFW babies, 3 CCFW eggs & 5 BC eggs.

I just did a nest check, and there is one egg left with the two babies…and it’s moving. C:

The other eggs will be up for hatching in a few days. Here’s hoping they’ll make it to greet this wonderful world!

There’s good news and there’s bad news

The bad news bears is that while I was trying to peacefully move the birds and the rest of my things, they were so distressed that they abandoned their clutches.

The bad news stretches further to the fact that either because of this or because of other unknown reasons, (let’s face it, Finches are finicky) all viable eggs were dead when I checked the nests.

The good news is that everyone has already rebuilt and relaid. Nine eggs as of yesterday, laid sometime since Friday.

As soon as I unpack the list, I’ll post it here. Be sure to let me know ASAP if you’re interested.

- – - – - – - –

UPDATE: I didn’t unpack it, I had to re-create it! I may have gotten a few things wrong so if you see it, let me know. The order is who came first, and who responds to their emails/phone calls.

1. Jini – 1 female
2. Kim – 1 pair
3. Sally – 2 pairs

Others are on hold until some time in the future:

1. Lorraine – 1 pair
2. Diane – 2 females

Eggs in every nest

Draven & Dhalia's

With all babies out of the cages, [and before that for one couple] the Finches are back in the swing of breeding season, with 3 eggs in the Black-Cheeked Zebras’ nest [Draven & Dhalia], 4 in the Continental Chestnut-Flanked White Zebras’ [Al & Aphrodite], and 1 so far in the Regular Chestnut-Flanked White Zebras’ [Oedipus & Ophelia].

Draven & Dhalia's loverly nest. Usually complete with a tunnel entrance...currently down for rennovations.

They’ve blown through an entire 5lb bag of coconut fibers in two months, as you can clearly see. Their nests came out fantastic, yes?

In typical Zebra Finch fashion, each is complete with a small tunnel.

Funny enough, if they were in the wild, their nests would probably be even more outrageous, with more branches around for support beams.

Al & Aphrodite's

Al & Aphrodite's - view from the top. So easy to see what's going on in this nest!

I started everyone on Dr. Rob Marshall’s Duoford Plus & Ioford, since after 6 months the largest number of successful clutches included just 1 chick each. They’ll get more vitamins, and produce a larger number of chicks. With so many inquiries, this will be a perfect way to continue to spread the aviculture love across the Nation’s Capital.

I’ll be calling everyone on the waiting list to find out if they’re still interested first. To ensure that you get a pair, contact me asap! At my new email: whitefinchbreedr@aol.com .

Oedipus & Ophelia's - someone seemed to have accidentally laid an egg in their sleeping nest! No worries, I moved it after I took this photo so it would be safe in their 2bed/2bath mansion - the biggest nest right now.

At the risk of being completely cliche – act now! I am constantly getting requests, and people are constantly falling off the waiting list, so there’s always a great chance to reserve a pair.

Oedipus & Ophelia's mansion. And their guest house.

Update – they flew the coop :)

Two babies were born not too long ago, as you may remember [look down!] and I must say, this is absolutely the weirdest pair of clutches that I’ve ever heard of, or dealt with personally. First of all, the Black-cheeked baby came with a black beak [even after the first molt]. My first ever B-C baby, but I’m pretty sure that’s strange, coming from orange-beaked parents. That baby grew and fledged in no time! It turned out very healthy and pretty. Still hasn’t colored out yet.

It’s spoken for – because I promised a friend if it ever had a black beak – what are the odds I thought when I promised such – that she’d get it.

The second baby was born with bilateral  anophthalmia, which means it was born without eyeballs. I saw it on the floor of the cage just before it was to feather out, and was very disappointed. I tried placing the baby in the nest with the B-C, and that lasted a few days before I found it on the floor in that cage, too. I decided to hand feed it, which is no small task, and noticed it’s blindness.

I found out that when I tried feeding the baby, lightly touching it’s beak with the siringe, it flailed about hopping away from me but still begging to be fed. That might have been why I found it on the floor – twice. So I started feeding it and kept up with the amount of food it might need, and it hopped here or there but no more than that. It also like to sit in my hand and be petted.

But yesterday, it decided that it wanted to fly, and hurt it’s rear in the process. I left to spend time with my family, and when we came back about an hour later, it had a bit of dried blood on it’s tail. It really broke my heart. I knew the day would come when the baby decided that it was time to fledge and fly, I just hoped that since I put it in the center of a large room with nothing around it that it wouldn’t get into anything. The poor baby flew a good distance before hitting a wall, I assume.

In any case, after some wing-clipping by my father – who has done this many a time – the fact still remains that I am out of my element here. I know how to care for a baby bird, but not a blind one. I’ve pooled some breeder friends, but none have dealt with this either.

So if anyone has experience with raising blind birds, and would either like to lend advice, a hand or a home, please email me asap – whitefinchbreedr@aol.com.

Surprisingly enough, I’ve gotten quite a few offers for the little blind one. It seems to be the perfect bird – adorable and fluffy [it's completely white] and calm enough to perch on a finger or sit contently in a hand. But I’m really not here to sell it, I really just want to find the baby a home that would better suit its needs, and to someone who has some kind of experience with blind birds, and Finches.

That being said, the B-C pair is already 2 eggs into their next clutch. And with the new setup, the other cage is teaming with breeding and nesting – eggs should follow very soon.

Be sure to contact me to reserve a pair!

New baby in the nest!

It’s been a little less than a week, but there’s a new baby Chestnut-Flanked White Zebra Finch that is thriving, growing so much each day, and seems to be very healthy in the nest! Al & Aphrodite have been taking great care of it. I wanted to wait to see how things went before I posted the news, and so far it’s been great.

I’ll be posting photos soon.