hehay1984 1 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 Hi all I've been given some zebras by a colleague (we have an animal unit for teaching land-based GCSEs at the secondary school I work at and I'm the lucky person that gets to spend my days in there, I love it!) and have posted a Q about pairing them up in the colours section. This was the first place that popped up when I started searching the internet having read the book I was given from cover to cover in an hour or so, and what a good find it turned out to be ! My grandad was really into keeping canaries so as a kid I did get a bit an insight into keeping caged birds, he used to have people come from abroad to buy and used to help at the local shows so luckily when my colleague offered us these zebras I wasn't completely in at the deep end (we do have a pair of budgies that needed a home, but not quite the same as these little guys!) The other really useful thing is that our local society holds their annual show actually at the school itself (may be a bit of a giveaway as to which school it is, but not to worry!)-I haven't managed to be free to attend the last few years but I'm sure I and some of the keen kids will be hoping to see how it all works. I have got one or two of my students who I know keep birds of various sorts, and one who breeds them, so hopefully helping the next generation of bird keepers through as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dave huntington 94 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 hello and welcome to the forum any questions and someone on here should be able to help Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulm 119 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 Hello and welcome to the forum. Paul. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zebraman 267 Report post Posted October 17, 2012 Welcome to the forum, it's really good to see you starting a school project with children. The hobby needs this type of enthusiasm and we will support you every step of the way. Please don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you feel necessary as I'm sure all our members will be more than happy to assist. Gary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmy 528 Report post Posted October 17, 2012 A BIG Welcome to the forum. If you could get this book from the library Breeding and Keeping Zebra Finches by Chris Blackwell It has a section at the end of the book on genetics relating to finches. Very easy to understand so it would be good for your students. The other thing that may interest you is that St Andrews Univesity's Scotland (sure it is the biology dept) has carried out research relating to DNA with zebra finches and from the results they hope by taking dna samples from young birds and comparing this to the results of the dna project to be able to forecast which birds would be likely to live longer. I think they still have the finches. From my own past experience I agree with you that even the most disruptive children respond to 'hands on' education. Not only biology but all aspects of the curriculm can be involved, what makes that more rewarding the children dont seem to realise that they are learning not only science but also English, Maths, Art, Geography etc etc and believe me they dont forget what they learn in that way. Wishing you every success with your project - be really good if more schools would take this approach. Emmy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mark1e 67 Report post Posted October 17, 2012 Hello and welcome to the forum, mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alancampbell22003 6 Report post Posted October 17, 2012 hello and welcome Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
