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 →

A Bevy of Beauties ~ Aviary Offspring Photos

Here are photos of my current aviary offspring, they are all such a diverse range of cuties with outgoing personalities. All pictured Finches are available for adoption now but may not be for long!

 
 

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“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 →

1 Month Bird Blogging Challenge & New Resources

(An updated photo of the brooder babies)

Brooder Babies
3 More babies are in the brooder at the moment! They’re over the 1 week hump now & are almost finished feathering out into some beautiful colors ~ 2 Phaeo & 1 Fawn. They’ll be moving out of the brooder & into a cage soon. Even in the Summer months, my babies love the R-Com. They look like small dinosaurs at this stage of their lives, walking around on top of the nesting materials & stretching their wings. They spend some time each day being active & even clumsily pecking at the new materials in the brooder. They enjoy being pet as you see (right) & human interaction/other forms of affection.

Our other 2 hand-tame Phaeos are nearing their first molt and don’t seem to mind sharing a little hand space with their new “siblings” from the brooder. They hop around the bird room from cage to cage socializing with their favorite pairs during their daily free-fly time and are starting to reluctantly taste their Tonic Seed & Spray Millet. They’re still dependent on hand feedings and it will be a slow process to wean them. I’m really enjoying their company in the mean time.~

31 Day Bird Blogging Challenge
As things shut down here this month and we continue to decorate/construct in preparation for our photo shoot, I will be participating in Students & Birds‘ current Blogging Challenge (I talk more about their awesome blog below). What a fantastic idea for us avian enthusiast authors! 🙂 This will give me a chance to write more about the aviary in a creative way while keeping everyone entertained through our dust. I won’t be writing every day as the challenge implies, but I will be covering all of the 31 topics before the end of the season. Continue reading →

Local Breeder Review ~ Green Forest Aviaries

Breeder Reviews by Chelsea @ LPBA
Often times I will get messages from people asking me where they can find a bird that I don’t have or a mutation I don’t have readily available. I am happy to pass along those people to the best possible options for them based on my experiences with breeders. In the Breeder Review section is where you can read about all of my experiences as a buyer and recommendations to help you in your search to adopt the healthiest and highest of quality feathered friend. All reviews are assigned a general rating with 4 being the highest.

    
Green Forest Aviaries – Wa.
Purchased: Male Red Mosaic Ino Canary
Also Available: Red Factor, Red Mosaic, Ino and other color mutation Canaries
Pecking?: No
Bird Health/Quality: Excellent
Current Status: Breeding & Offspring Available
AFA & CCBA Registered Breeder

My Review: Like everyone else who sees Blake’s gorgeous Canaries, I absolutely had to adopt one for my own! They are incredibly vibrant and nothing short of “gorgeous.” His stock is truly a rainbow of bright colors and very healthy looking and “chunky” as my juveniles @ TWFA are when they wean.

I was slightly concerned that the new voice of a strong young buck like him would overpower the other quieter songs of the Zebra Finches in the bird room, but his voice is very gracious and soft as well. His song and chatter is so beautiful and unique, so pleasant to the ears and not overpowering in the slightest as with some Canaries. I enjoy his voice so much! The other Zebra Finches do as well and are very intrigued by him much like they are with my Society Finches. The more melodious singers have been exchanging songs with him since shortly after he arrived and sung his first few notes.

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New Article ~ To Breed or Not To Breed?

A LOT of people have asked the same question: Can/Should I breed my Finches? I have always had mixed emotions about answering this question from others myself. My first reaction is to shout an excited yes to everyone that asks and welcome them with open arms into the world of breeding. However, I have seen the damage one person can do when hoarding or neglecting Finches and I have learned to be more cautious of people trying to become breeders or supplement their inbred stock. I usually leave the question of whether or not to breed to be answered by the asker, letting people decide for themselves while trying to educate them on just how much responsibility breeding entails when I can.

QUALITY Breeders Welcomed
There are far too few quality Finch breeders presently and there is always room to welcome another or for someone to become well-known for their superior care. This is especially true with every year that passes as long-time breeders retire from keeping Finches. Yet it is not a responsibility to be taken lightly as so many find out.

The difference between quality and craigslist is the difference between a healthy decade of companionship or having dead pets within a year (in some cases). Adopters easily recognize this which is why major pet store chains have phased out a lot of their Finch sections and hobbyist owners with decades of experience are still going strong. Often times even the chain pet stores will blindly buy from craigslist breeders and their inbred or sick stock because they are cheaper than quality stock from certified breeders. I hear all of the time how pet store Finches have died suddenly and this only emphasizes the need for more quality breeders.

“Every Finch Must Go, To Good Home”
Often times people adopt Finches and become so excited with keeping them that they decide to venture into breeding. They always find out just how difficult it can be soon enough and sadly many will then sell or give away all of their Finches altogether. It’s not always fun and easy! Breeding takes years of commitment, knowledge and lots of space, not to mention money for cages and food that need to be bought in advance. All of which need to be gained well before the first egg hatches.

Any breeder must also be able to hand-raise any (and sometimes all!) of the clutches that your birds will lay around the clock for weeks on end until they are weaned. Babies are sometimes abandoned, pushed out of the nest, etc. all of the time (sometimes without any visible reason) and should never be left to die.

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