A special extended episode to visit the stud of the most successful Zebra finch fancier of all time, Peter Harrison. Peter talks through his birds giving advice on what to look for in an exhibition Zebra finch
Another interesting episode! 👍We also have the British type of exhibition zebra finches here in the Netherlands. However, the standard has been adjusted here because the posture of these zebra finches started to get out of hand. Much too heavy in the chest, beaks too short, a belly that was too thick and feathers too long so that the zebra finches got 'slit eyes', for example. During exhibitions, some zebra finches slumped on their perches because they were too heavy. In addition, the breeding results kept getting worse. Moreover, the condition of these birds is not good and they can barely fly normally. That is why a stricter standard has been included in the Netherlands so that the characteristics are more in proportion and the condition of the birds improves. For example, the beak should not be too short and the eyes should be fully visible. The chest should be a smooth line towards the belly and the feathers should be tight together. More of an intermediate form between the British type and the 'normal' type zebra finch. It is very personal what someone likes about a bird, but health and well-being of the bird should always be number 1. Personally, I prefer the small 'normal' zebra finch. Why do you guys there in Great Britain always have such a preference for large long feathered type birds? 😉
I want to thank you for bringing this breeder and his knowledge to us. I hope to hear more from him in the future, particularly more on how he chooses what to breed and why, how he envisions the pairings according to the genetics he knows and how they will display - based on his experience.
Gorgeous birds, and no need to apologize for the condition of the birds, life happens, and they look outstanding. Thank you so much for sharing, and taking the time!
Always great to see another section of the hobby. It gives one a chance to compare the aspects of the various species. Awesome episode. Loved it thanks
Wow what a great video those Zebra finches are something else. Very enjoyable to watch. Will be nice to see what he breeds this season and to see part 2.
Pieds are extremely difficult to breed the correct colour pattern, particularly to get two identical ones in a show pair .The random nature of the variegation is too much of a lottery for me personally. I do love to see them all the same.
Hi Scott, thanks for your comment. The cages in question have considerable depth front to back and are used for breeding purposes, the birds are housed in flights and aviaries outside of the breeding season. It’s also worth remembering that the exhibition zebra finch is very different from the normal wild type bird
What I’d really like to know is…… what do breeders do with sooo many birds??? Where do the thousands of birds bred every year by hundreds of breeders all over the UK end up at? I mean… they don’t keep them all and the ones they DO keep are in the hundreds as it is😮😮😮😮
Sad to see the exhibition type these days. Far too big and bulky. Beak is so wrong. Last thirty years they look like they’re on steroids. Just look at how beautiful the wild type is.
