Members of ANY Avicultural Organization ~ Get Your TWFA Offspring for FREE!

When I tell people that I give most of my offspring away for free, they tend to look at me with a cocked head and a furrowed brow. I then explain to them that if/when I do charge people, the profits only go right back into the care of my flock. I spend on average $250-$350 every other month or so not including the medications I keep fresh on hand. When it comes down to it I could really care less if someone is willing to pay $75 for a rarer mutation. The reason I have prices in the first place is to dictate rarity and difficulty to breed. Otherwise I’d have 50 people waiting for Penguins alone at any given time! Can you imagine! They breed only 1-2 times a year, I’d have people waiting for decades. The prices also help deter people who request 100 pairs at a time so they can flip them for a profit.

That being said, in an attempt to help bolster the numbers of our various avian organizations and local clubs I will be giving away any of my offspring for free to any hobbyists who have joined. This can be a national organization devoted to aviculture (breeding birds) like the AFA or ASA, a local hobbyist club like the CCBA, or the NFSS which I always highly recommend. It MUST be an organization that supports aviculture specifically. If you’re a member in good standing (meaning you haven’t been kicked out and have paid all of your dues) then you’re welcome to whatever I have available or will have available soon. Please keep in mind that I do keep a regular waiting list in between clutches and this means those people on that list do have first pick. But other than that I don’t care about the rarity of the mutation or if it’s a specific marking I only see in 3 offspring per year (like my BF males), you can have it if you’re supporting an avicultural organization of any kind.

This is a small bit of help, but I do hope it makes even a tiny difference in the avian community! I know there are some of you out there who have “thought about” joining but haven’t gotten around to it – I used to be the same way! I personally didn’t want to join until I had some experience under my belt so I didn’t sound like an idiot. That was a waste of my time and I should have joined the day I bought my first pair of finches. There are so many helpful and wonderful people in these organizations who are EAGER to help us newbies and set us in the right direction. They have been raising finches for decades and nothing phases them. They don’t judge either, so if you’ve lost a bird or two due to some kind of accident, don’t feel as if that will outcast you. Once you’ve lost dozens over the span of decades something like that doesn’t phase them. So JOIN your local club! It’s probably only something like $20 a year as it is with the CCBA, and you can even attend an event or meeting to join and get started. And don’t forget the AFA is only $40 for one year, the NFSS is $30 per year. NO EXCUSES! Get out there and join now and I’ll send you free TWFA offspring!

New House, New Bird Room, New Finches!

Casper (right) ~ A handsome new addition to the aviary. He is a BH YB PB Gouldian Finch. (TWFA 2014)

Well after a hellacious time with our previous landlord, I’m finally free in a bigger, more beautiful new house! Everything happens for a reason, and after an incredibly negative experience my main goal for the new house was to find a better landlord (and house) altogether which I definitely accomplished. If you’d like to see photos of the new house, visit my Facebook page or add my personal profile here. I won’t be posting specific bird room photos on my public site any more for security reasons. I just couldn’t help myself last time!

I’m absolutely in love with this new house! With very kind landlords to boot, it just makes the whole ordeal perfect. There’s also lots of space and windows, much more so than in the last house. This also means that my Zebra Finch pairs are getting back into their breeding groove, some immediately and some are still getting used to the change. The Gouldians will have to wait until I build them their nest boxes in the next week or two. Continue reading →

“Those Finches with Rainbow Colors”

RH GB male being his goofy self for the camera. (Photo by Randy Hume | TWFA 2014)

The Gouldain Finch flock is doing well in their aviary and have begun to really settle in. They use literally every perch I gave them & are constantly flying around getting exercise. It’s so amusing to see them on the bottom, lower, middle, and upper areas of their large aviary all at once. The constant melodious signing is so beautiful and peaceful to listen to, I find myself watching them for hours at a time!

What kind of mutations do you have?
Well, you know me! I love to “catch ’em all,” and I very nearly do have every Zebra mutation. When acquiring these Gouldians I applied the same philosophy. In this new flock of rainbows I have Red Headed (RH), Yellow or “Orange” or “Tangerine” Headed (YH), Black Headed (BH), Purple Breasted (PB), White Breasted (WB), Yellow Backed (YB), Green Backed (GB), and a single Pastel male. The only color mutations I don’t have right now are the Blue Back (BB) & Silver Back (SB) types. There are ways for specific types of GB & YB to produce BB which I may get into later. Continue reading →

The Gouldians have arrived!!~

A couple of my new Gouldians! Aren’t they lovely? (TWFA 2014)

Here they are pictured at the very tippity top of their aviary under the roof where they no doubt feel safest. They’re so gorgeous! I’ll take more pics tomorrow after they’ve settled in and had time to get used to their new aviary. After I’ve gathered enough in the next few days I’ll post an update with my plans for them.

All they’ve been doing since they arrived is sleep.. eat.. sing.. sleep.. then repeat. 🙂 I can’t stop watching them check out their surroundings and I know between their aviary and the bird room I’ll never get anything done now! So very happy they’re home.~