QFS AUG MEETING: Guest Speaker: TONY HANKS OAM

Our speaker, Tony Hanks OAM, has over 50 years experience with Gouldian finches and he has naturally learned many things along the way. While some of these lessons are specific to Gouldians, many others are applicable to finches in general. This presentation will cover two areas.

AREA 1): The use of “Supplements”, which are necessary for birds in captivity because a seed-only diet lacks essential nutrients that are found in the wild. Supplements can help prevent nutritional deficiencies and support overall health, however the issue is how much is enough, or too much? Once the desirable levels have been decided, the challenge is to know which commercial products will best deliver these concentrations of vitamins and minerals? Knowing the desired levels and the components in various supplements is just the beginning; these need to be interpreted after considering the dosage; the average consumption; and the final delivered quantities. Tony will provide practical advice on all of these areas and a simple form that can be used to make these calculations.

AREA 2: Tony will discuss the lessons learned for successful breeding of Gouldian Finches. Having experience with both colony and cabinet breeding, there are steps we can all take to optimise successful results – especially when considering genetics and mutations.

This will be a great presentation with something for everyone. Please join us in person or online:

QFS Aug Meeting: Tony Hanks (7:30pm BNE AU time)
Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/qhi-fdur-odo