TIPS FOR ACQUIRING NEW STOCK
© Eddie’s Aviary - do not reproduce without permission please
It is fun and exciting (and often terrifying) to buy new breeding stock. It is very tempting to buy a pair of “proven” or older birds to get started with right away, but it is often very hard to find someone that wants to sell a good pair. Usually “proven” pairs up for resale are laying infertile eggs, poor parents, eating eggs, burying young, not feeding young, have low hatch rates, or are just outside of the age of the best results. There are exceptions, but many times even when you hear that people are “ill”, or “getting out of the business”, they in fact are not. Here is a set of guidelines to help you make purchasing your new birds a good experience. The hard part… not letting your need to get a bird quickly cloud your judgement. Stick to these rules and you will be more apt to find success.
Always buy CLOSED banded, year marked YOUNG birds (they mature very quickly, so by the time they settle, and you condition them properly, they will be close to ready if you start with babies). Be sure to specify when asking about banding, “Are they CLOSED banded, with what size band (should be lovebird size), are they banded with this year’s date?” (some use old bands and forget to mention). When looking at the photos, make sure you see the band on the proper place on the bird’s feet.
Request lots of pictures of the birds for sale. Photos that highlight the bird from the side, sitting naturally on a straight perch will always give you the best view of marking and conformation quality. Ask for each side view as sometimes a bird with perfect markings on one side, have poor ones on the other. Be sure to check that the birds have two toes facing forward on the perch, and two back. Do not buy birds for breeding that have any toes out of place. Click here to read about the Linnie Toe Defect in greater detail. Don’t be afraid to politely tell the breeder you aren’t any longer interested in the bird, and you can even kindly tell them why if they seem interested to learn. This helps education for all. It is good manners to let the breeder know you are passing on the offer as many are holding off on advertising, or letting new buyers know they have something available until they hear back from you.
Ask for records. At a MINIMUM, the breeder should have information on who bred both of the parents. Ask if the parents are banded and get those numbers, as well as their mutation (color), this would help to identify most splits as well as identify if they used proper pairing techniques. If they didn’t use a good pairing, politely walk away. Although breeding a poorly bred bird back to a green may help offspring quality, you lose time in improving. You could be 3 generations away from where you could be if you started with a higher quality bird. Sometimes a poor-quality bird throws young much better than itself, but to waste time on that gamble can be frustrating. You want to obtain the BEST starting stock that you can.
Although some breeders have developed a skill for visually sexing, it can often be wrong. Hens generally do not have strong barring and markings as cocks do. When a male has poor quality markings, it can fool the eye into thinking it is a hen. ALWAYS DNA test when it matters. Any breeder worth their salt will happily do this for you at your expense (usually $20-30). It is believed that blood from a toenail is the most accurate test. All DNA companies are not the same. The most satisfied customer base seems to be with Avian Biotech in Florida. Many use Health Gene in Canada with less accuracy, but the cost is less. IQ testing in FL is a scant $10 but is untested for long time accuracy. A single test from Avian Biotech is 19.50 – after a certain number of tests for the year, the price goes down. Health Gene is 12.00 and is a Canadian company. Health Gene offers relatedness testing, and both offer disease tests as well.
Last and MOST IMPORTANT!!!! Assume every bird you purchase is diseased and you will be safe. The ONLY thing that ensures a bird is free of disease is testing. Many birds can clear 90 days of Quarantine symptom free but go on to pass the disease as carriers to others. Quarantine ALL new birds regardless of who you get them from. The word quarantine originates from the Italian word for FORTY. It is believed it takes a MINIMUM of 40 days for an illness to cure (the ones that are curable), or one incubating to present. Since most fatal diseases are symptom-less, this step is moot without the lab work. As technology and competition advances, the cost for the test processing if you can take the blood samples yourself (from toenail blood) is cost effective and quick. This is a corner that cannot be cut, or you risk your entire flock and even family from some diseases that pass to humans (such as psittacosis). Birds in quarantine must be kept in separate air space. You should always care for your existing birds first, then the quarantine birds, then change your clothes and/or shower before visiting the existing birds again. Use a new pair of footwear as well. Quarantine is always a pain in the neck, but pales in comparison to what can happen if you fail to do it.
GOOD TESTS TO PERFORM: Psittacosis (cloacal swab), Polyoma (blood from a toenail), Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) (blood from a toenail). Avian Borna virus requires a glass straw vial sample. Avian Biotech (www.avianbiotech.com) is a very accurate, professional, and fast genetics company that will do a DNA sexing sample along with 4 disease tests for $65 - that is very reasonable. They supply the blood cards, swabs and glass vials for free. Buying from a breeder that tests all their stock for disease upon entry to their aviary increases your chances that you won’t get a positive test and need to euthanize those expensive birds you just purchased.
If you enjoy this Forum, or the Content found here helpful.... consider buying the author a coffee. Helps with website costs, and keeps motivation levels up for more late night work. Thank you
CLICK HERE to Buy Me A Coffee
© Eddie’s Aviary - do not reproduce without permission please
It is fun and exciting (and often terrifying) to buy new breeding stock. It is very tempting to buy a pair of “proven” or older birds to get started with right away, but it is often very hard to find someone that wants to sell a good pair. Usually “proven” pairs up for resale are laying infertile eggs, poor parents, eating eggs, burying young, not feeding young, have low hatch rates, or are just outside of the age of the best results. There are exceptions, but many times even when you hear that people are “ill”, or “getting out of the business”, they in fact are not. Here is a set of guidelines to help you make purchasing your new birds a good experience. The hard part… not letting your need to get a bird quickly cloud your judgement. Stick to these rules and you will be more apt to find success.
Always buy CLOSED banded, year marked YOUNG birds (they mature very quickly, so by the time they settle, and you condition them properly, they will be close to ready if you start with babies). Be sure to specify when asking about banding, “Are they CLOSED banded, with what size band (should be lovebird size), are they banded with this year’s date?” (some use old bands and forget to mention). When looking at the photos, make sure you see the band on the proper place on the bird’s feet.
Request lots of pictures of the birds for sale. Photos that highlight the bird from the side, sitting naturally on a straight perch will always give you the best view of marking and conformation quality. Ask for each side view as sometimes a bird with perfect markings on one side, have poor ones on the other. Be sure to check that the birds have two toes facing forward on the perch, and two back. Do not buy birds for breeding that have any toes out of place. Click here to read about the Linnie Toe Defect in greater detail. Don’t be afraid to politely tell the breeder you aren’t any longer interested in the bird, and you can even kindly tell them why if they seem interested to learn. This helps education for all. It is good manners to let the breeder know you are passing on the offer as many are holding off on advertising, or letting new buyers know they have something available until they hear back from you.
Ask for records. At a MINIMUM, the breeder should have information on who bred both of the parents. Ask if the parents are banded and get those numbers, as well as their mutation (color), this would help to identify most splits as well as identify if they used proper pairing techniques. If they didn’t use a good pairing, politely walk away. Although breeding a poorly bred bird back to a green may help offspring quality, you lose time in improving. You could be 3 generations away from where you could be if you started with a higher quality bird. Sometimes a poor-quality bird throws young much better than itself, but to waste time on that gamble can be frustrating. You want to obtain the BEST starting stock that you can.
Although some breeders have developed a skill for visually sexing, it can often be wrong. Hens generally do not have strong barring and markings as cocks do. When a male has poor quality markings, it can fool the eye into thinking it is a hen. ALWAYS DNA test when it matters. Any breeder worth their salt will happily do this for you at your expense (usually $20-30). It is believed that blood from a toenail is the most accurate test. All DNA companies are not the same. The most satisfied customer base seems to be with Avian Biotech in Florida. Many use Health Gene in Canada with less accuracy, but the cost is less. IQ testing in FL is a scant $10 but is untested for long time accuracy. A single test from Avian Biotech is 19.50 – after a certain number of tests for the year, the price goes down. Health Gene is 12.00 and is a Canadian company. Health Gene offers relatedness testing, and both offer disease tests as well.
Last and MOST IMPORTANT!!!! Assume every bird you purchase is diseased and you will be safe. The ONLY thing that ensures a bird is free of disease is testing. Many birds can clear 90 days of Quarantine symptom free but go on to pass the disease as carriers to others. Quarantine ALL new birds regardless of who you get them from. The word quarantine originates from the Italian word for FORTY. It is believed it takes a MINIMUM of 40 days for an illness to cure (the ones that are curable), or one incubating to present. Since most fatal diseases are symptom-less, this step is moot without the lab work. As technology and competition advances, the cost for the test processing if you can take the blood samples yourself (from toenail blood) is cost effective and quick. This is a corner that cannot be cut, or you risk your entire flock and even family from some diseases that pass to humans (such as psittacosis). Birds in quarantine must be kept in separate air space. You should always care for your existing birds first, then the quarantine birds, then change your clothes and/or shower before visiting the existing birds again. Use a new pair of footwear as well. Quarantine is always a pain in the neck, but pales in comparison to what can happen if you fail to do it.
GOOD TESTS TO PERFORM: Psittacosis (cloacal swab), Polyoma (blood from a toenail), Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) (blood from a toenail). Avian Borna virus requires a glass straw vial sample. Avian Biotech (www.avianbiotech.com) is a very accurate, professional, and fast genetics company that will do a DNA sexing sample along with 4 disease tests for $65 - that is very reasonable. They supply the blood cards, swabs and glass vials for free. Buying from a breeder that tests all their stock for disease upon entry to their aviary increases your chances that you won’t get a positive test and need to euthanize those expensive birds you just purchased.
If you enjoy this Forum, or the Content found here helpful.... consider buying the author a coffee. Helps with website costs, and keeps motivation levels up for more late night work. Thank you
CLICK HERE to Buy Me A Coffee
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