Bengalese
Fostered VS Parent Raised
There has been much hype that there is no difference between a gouldian raised under bengalese and a gouldian raised under gouldians.
I decided to see if this were true.
I removed 1 gouldian egg and placed it in a bengalese nest.
I then fed the bengalese exactly the same diet that the gouldians were getting from their parents.
The chicks were keeping pace with each other until at 2 weeks after fledging the bengies stopped feeding and the fostered gouldian chick seemed to brood and get no where begging so after it realized this it started pecking at the food. Unlike many factory breeders I did not step in and hand feed the gouldian that was fostered and so it lost a potion of it's weight in the lean two days it was not eating, calling on it's reserves to keep it going.
The parent raised gouldian chick that was weaned at the 3 1/2 week ( 1 1/2 weeks later then his sibling) after fledgling ( common in gouldians) was not broody nor did it have a hard time feeding itself once it was weaned as it was already eating off and on and begging from mom and dad a few days before it was cut off completely.
At 2 1/2 months after fledging the parent raised gouldian was already starting to get his chest and back feathers
At 4 months and 6 days this same bird was completely moulted out.
His foster raised sibling hadn't even started.
Once the foster gouldian did start to colour it's weight dropped dramatically compared to his sibling brother in with the gouldians.
3 months after the parent raised bird was coloured out his foster raised sibling started to colour.
Now we are 8 months and 4 days later and the gouldian that was raised under his parents is fully coloured with nice silky feathers.
The foster raised bird is still colouring out and in fact may be stuck in the moult.
It's feathers are all choppy and brittle ( keep in mind these two gouldians share all the same genes, eat all the same foods, and the only difference is in the rearing).
These shocking pictures illustrate the difference.
The only difference between this foster raised gouldian and any other foster raised gouldian you will see for sale on the market is that this one was not given a barrage of drugs and hand fed to make it plump and presentable enough for sale.
This is the bird you are buying from these breeders minus all the smoke and mirrors.
This bird is not suitable for breeding or placing with other gouldians as it lacks immunities that were passed on to it's sibling from the gouldian parents during it's first two days of life.
So vital to protect it from illnesses normally very harmless to the gouldian finch.
Facts are:
-Gouldians need gouldian immunities ( these they can only get from their parents or other gouldians)
-Bengalese harbour many diseases not fatal to themselves which gouldians are susceptible too.
-factory bird breeders dose their gouldians with everything and anything to make them strong enough to breed and sell.
-many enhance their "healthy appearance" with hand feedings ( force feedings to increase bulk, much like goose farmers do to "fatten up their gouldians" again before sale.
-place immature hens in with immature cocks and once the two copulate take the eggs and rear them under bengies disregarding the problems of egg binding in young hens.
-breed more then the recommended 2-3 rounds of clutches per year.
Read just recently one breeder stating his hen had 5 clutches in one year.
-wear the hens to exhaustion and death.
Want to know where the "soft gouldians" are? They are in the nests of these foster bengalese breeders, in bird factories across N America and Europe.
Growing danger is there are more of these factory bred gouldians on the market then parent raised so the likelihood of someone ending up with some is very high. The likelihood these birds will be "soft" is almost guaranteed. What dopes this mean to the hobby , more and more "soft" gouldians for all of us to be plagued with.
These are the factory breeders main excuses:
-I just want to increase my flock from 2-4 gouldians to 30 pairs and I am not hurting anyone ( do not mind inbreeding, or other problems associated with closely related genetic gouldians inc. vitamin production deficiencies etc...)
-I just want to breed and need results now ( it takes breeder's years to see "results" when tackling new species)
-There is no difference between the two and if it saves me time ..why not? Their my gouldians after all.
( why because they are not going to be an isolated flock , once they sell them they are another person's problem, and one that should not of been in the first place. This is now a problem as "soft birds" enter the market)
-I will do what I want with my gouldians, it's no one's business but mine ( wrong in fact it is all our business as we are getting more and more of these "dressed up" shoddy gouldians on the market, in fact there are saturations of them everywhere because people are complacent enough to buy them at a lower cost, and also because no one will boycott these factory breeders as they should. Once they realize there is no more money to be made they will move on to another species, and the gouldian can start to recuperate and gain it's virility and strength).
Main shame is that the gouldian community permits these "bird fair" charlatans to run amuck with impunity.
If you are interested in signing my petition to have bird organizations tackle this before it becomes an epidemic please e-mail me at:
ron@ladygouldianfinch-ca.com
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!
Please sign our petition.
Why this page?
I have heard enough about how great fostering under bengies is ( esp on Yahoo) and how it is a must to do, and as I have never done it before wanted to see the attraction. Was not impressed by the outcome.
I have also read so many people's regimes that because they foster they use regular dosing of: antibiotics, antifunglas, antibacterial, etc... for all their gouldians, and wanted to see if this was just because they had bad genes in their flocks or what. Found out a different answer then expected.
I realized it was simply to "dress up the gouldian" for sale and keep it's parents laying until they could lay no more.
So I decided to see if a good genetically sound gouldian could in fact be produced. Truth is not without all the medications and attentions I mentioned as their immunities are severely weakened. These weakened immunities are passed on to their future offspring as they did not get the proper immunities to begin with.
The experiment is to illustrate that even though these gouldians are genetically identical (in parentage and colouration) the gouldian does need the immunities found in it's parent's crop milk.
The fostered gouldian was not prophylactically treated nor fed any special "supplements" nor was it's parent raised sibling.
Myth:
You are getting a deal when purchasing these factory gouldians.
reality: you pay on average 45% more to keep your "bargain gouldian" healthy enough to live an average 4-5 year life span. You will have more opportunistic illnesses infect your gouldian ( esp if it is in with other gouldians that were parent raised).
In figure 1 you will see: the foster raised gouldian at 8 months and 4 days
In figure 2 you will see: the parent raised gouldian at this same age.
In figure 3 you will see: the foster raised gouldian's choppy brittle back feathers
In figure 4 you will see: the smooth lustrous feathers of his gouldian raised sibling
click
on thumbnails to enlarge.
Figure
#1 8 months 4 days |
Figure#2 8 months 4 days |
Figure#3 8 months 4 days |
Figure#4 8 months 4 days |
Please feel free to link back here from any of your pages or gouldian/bird group so that all your members/visitors can finally see the truth behind the foster raised gouldian.
Only with your help can we end this travesty and make gouldian breeding better for all of us.