Zeb-a-Deb-a-Doo 1 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 Hi, I'd like to get some size into my penguins, I've just got normal size @ the minute, just wondered if anyone could give me any advice as to how to do it(not just buying big penguins but trying to breed it in if you can) cheers for any help. Gareth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee Pycroft 155 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 Good question, I can't answer it but it's still a good question lol..... It's something that has puzzled me for months, at the show on Sunday the difference in sizes of some of the Zebbies was vast... Now, local to me are some pet shops who sell Zebra's, but most are what most people regard as "pet shop size" ie small or standard size... Now most of my birds are "Exhibition sized" but I've had to buy them from breeders as I've never come across "Exhibition" sized Zebra's in pet shops, so the question is.... How do you get them so big? Foods? Breeding? If you mate a big bird with a small bird what size will you get? If you have Exhibition sized birds and they breed with fellow Exhibition sized Zebra's will they always be big? Are the "pet shop" small birds a product of continuous over breeding or are Standard Zebra small and it's the breeders who have made them bigger over time? ... ps sorry to Hi-Jack your thread, but it's just something that has had me thinking for a while! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb-a-Deb-a-Doo 1 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 Not a problem Lee & they're questions I would be asking too lol I've been told to breed a penguin cock to a exhibition NG hen x4 pairs(or more if you have the space) which would give you big ng/split then breed them back to penguins to give you the big birds?? No doubting the info I got(also @ Stafford) just want to make sure its right before I start the process!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee Pycroft 155 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 so feeding them on Meat Pies, crisps and Iron Bru is not the answer? lol 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmy 528 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 so feeding them on Meat Pies, crisps and Iron Bru is not the answer? lol Had to laugh at that Lee because I was thinking along a similar line Being serious here: If they were constantly fed the conditioning food, egg food etc etc. would you get an obese zebra finch that would look 'large' but it wouldn't be healthy? Emmy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssteves 51 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 Not a problem Lee & they're questions I would be asking too lol I've been told to breed a penguin cock to a exhibition NG hen x4 pairs(or more if you have the space) which would give you big ng/split then breed them back to penguins to give you the big birds?? No doubting the info I got(also @ Stafford) just want to make sure its right before I start the process!! i will let you no i have 2 pairs where i have used a nice size ng/penquin and a penquin which have chicks about to leave the nest gareth are you craig and carl's brother i had some fawn hecks of them steve 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulm 119 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 Hi Well i can give you my opinion on size if it helps. Size is gained though selective breeding over a period of time, to put it as simply as possible, breeding some pairs of birds together keeping the bigger resulting chicks and then once mature breeding these larger birds together and repeating the process, the only down side to doing this with pet shop type birds is the length of time needed to get from A) pet shop size too,B exhibition size. As for pairing Pet shop type birds to big birds and what might result well i would expect offspring resulting from such a breeding as being better than the lesser of the pair but not as good as the greater and the result to vary pair to pair as it also depend who is dominant in the pair and their size. I did hear in the past that penguins Have a tendency to breed backwards over time but have not bred many so i'm not sure on this. Paul. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulm 119 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 Hi Found this photo its a couple of year old now but it shows the difference 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dave huntington 94 Report post Posted October 14, 2014 As Paul says you would need some bigger birds first you would be very highly unlikely to breed large birds from two small birds pair your best birds together best cock to best hen 2nd best to 2nd best ect... then by selecting only the best birds and releasing others in your stud after a couple of years you should start to see a uniformity in your birds by pairing your best birds to lesser birds you will dilute the quality i would add by choosing penguins you have chosen a colour that tends to be smaller than others so judge them against other penguins although they have improved a bit over last few years dave 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb-a-Deb-a-Doo 1 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 Hi Steve yes Craig & Carl are my brothers, thanks for all your advice(I'll keep them off the pies lol) I've already got exhibition ng's to pair them with & 2 or 3 big penguins so I'm on the right track, may pop to Newark to have a look for some & see how we go, cheers all. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broughy 12 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 Hi Gaz Hope the birds have settled in nicely all three normals are spilt for penguin so this will be a bit of a head start for you. These are my Adult Penguins which were second in there class at Stafford my current year birds were Third in there class unfortunately I didn't get any pic on the day The below birds are from the champion Class and won Best Penguins If you need any help mate just give me a shout Good luck Ryan 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ssteves 51 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 they are nice ryan,all my hen's are a decent size it's just the cock birds are smaller than the hen's steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb-a-Deb-a-Doo 1 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 Cheers Ryan & I will definitely be in touch too, the birds are doing well & settling in nicely & will be getting them ready for a round in a couple of weeks, your birds look great & hopefully won't be wrong before I'm showing next to you lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeb-a-Deb-a-Doo 1 Report post Posted October 15, 2014 *long Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broughy 12 Report post Posted October 16, 2014 Hi gaz Sound like a good plan. Hope to see the birds on tbe show bench soon Ryan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites