Interview with Kristen Reeves

We would like to present an American breeder and business woman  Kristen Reeves that we like to thank for the time she spent to us.

Kristen Reeves: My name is Kristen Reeves. I’m am currently 47 years old. I am a wife and mother of 4 children. I am President and CEO of Meadowlark Farms Avian Supply, Inc., a small aviary and cage & care bird supply company. I have been an actual corporation for 8 years. My customers urged me to go into business and share my experience, so I did! And here I am today!

Kristen Reeves: I have been breeding birds since 1999

Kristen Reeves: I started out with a pair of Canaries, which then turned into MANY species. Don't laugh.  This is a true story!

Back when all the Y2K scare was in high gear and talk of war and biological warfare began to heat the airwaves, my mom and I were having a discussion about how we would know if there was some kind of biological weapon used in our area. Yes, it sounds silly...I agree!

Mom brought up the fact that coal miners used to use canaries in the mines to alert them to accumulating fumes that could potentially kill the working miners.  Birds are very sensitive to fumes of all kinds and will drop dead from the perch if exposed to these toxins.  She thought it made sense to keep a canary to alert us.  I figured we'd know when we dropped dead, but figured a canary would make a good birthday present!

Some months later, while on a trip collecting supplies for my other pets, I stopped in to my local bird and fish store.  There, singing their little hearts out, were two canaries.  They were priced inexpensively because of their ages making them very affordable for me!  I took a leap of faith, in a strange, this-is-really-silly-I-don't-know-anything-about-canaries sort of way because I thought canaries only came in yellow - I purchased the pair.

I came home with Felix, a black and white American Singer cock, and Rusty, a red mosaic Gloster consort cock (no, I had no idea what I had at the time!).  Felix came home with me, and Rusty went to mom's...and the hours of research began - I had no idea there were so many types of canaries.  I had no idea they came in so many colors!  I had no idea there were so many kinds of birds kept in captivity!  That little "click" in my brain was almost audible...I'm a sucker for feathers and I think I like birds! Since 1999, I’ve kept just about every finch and canary species available to us here in the USA. I tend to prefer the more docile species, so any that were overly aggressive were sold off.

Kristen Reeves: I am currently breeding Lady Gouldians, Chestnut Breasted Mannikins, American Singer Canaries, African Silverbills, Bicheno, Shafttails, Star Finches, Bengalese, and Red Billed Firefinches (Senegals) for a current total of 9 species. My flock is currently around 180 birds total.

Kristen Reeves: My breeding facility is very modest. I have a 10’ x 11’ room in my basement that is lined floor to ceiling with cages and storage. I literally hang the cages from brackets on the walls to make sweeping seed hulls much easier. I use 30” x 18” x 18” open wire cages to breed and house my birds, but have several 5’ x 36” x 18” flight cages where the juveniles and resting birds are housed. There are 34 breeding cages, 3 - 5’ flights, and 4 Quarantine cages. Each cage has its own full spectrum lighting, as well as a heat lamp. I also keep several hospital cages in which sick or ailing birds will be kept with heat, or hand fed birds are kept until weaning.

Kristen Reeves: I am extremely selective about how I choose birds for breeding. I MUST know the genes for a minimum of 3 generations back or I will not purchase the bird. I do this in an effort to keep bloodlines fresh. It is very difficult in the USA to find unrelated birds. I have 14 unrelated breeding pair, and have been exceptionally careful not to mix the lines so that I always have unrelated birds to pair. I do not line breed. New sources are far and few between, so I am always searching!

Kristen Reeves: I keep extremely detailed breeding records. I track everything from the day every single egg was laid, to the number of days they took to hatch, what each chick weighed at hatching, how their parents cared for them, when they opened their eyes, pinned, fledged, weaned, began their juvenile molt, finished their juvenile molt, and how much they weigh at each of these milestones. Birds who reach milestones early are always kept as my next year breeders, as long as they fit the conformation I am aiming for. They are much more robust and tend to remain excpetionally healthy. Because I show my birds, I use those records to help me choose which birds to breed. I compare notes for milestones, then look for overall health FIRST, then choose conformation. Color is the last thing I worry about. I prefer to breed to preserve the natural colorations, so rarely produce mutations and choose carefully to avoid doing so. I do, however, keep specific pairs for breeding mutations only.

Kristen Reeves: Pairs will depend on the quality of the birds. I will only pair the absolute best. Birthdates will always affect when the birds come into condition until they’ve been on my nutrition and light schedule for a year or so, so the number of pairs I breed may vary from year to year. For the 2012-2013 breeding season, I put up 14 pair of Gouldians. And several pairs of each of the other species.

Kristen Reeves: I only allow my birds 3 clutches per season. But I don’t always allow them all 3 clutches. I am very observant. If I see anything out of place or that doesn’t look right, I will pull the nest and release the pair into the resting flights. Most birds are allowed 3 clutches, but some will only be allowed 1 or 2. Health is the most important factor for me. I will not do anything that could jeapordize their health.

Kristen Reeves: I’ve never really found any of the species to be especially difficult, but I suppose it’s all in ones perspective. In my aviary, I handle every single one of my birds every single day – or at least every other day – so they are very accustomed to my hands in the cages and nest boxes. On the rare occasion I get a pair that doesn’t handle nest inspections or my presence well, I pair them differently next year with a calmer mate. Personality plays a huge role in the over all calm of the aviary. Good pairings will give you birds you can handle without issue, which leads to more productive birds. If I had to choose, I guess I would say the Firefinches are the most difficult, but only because they are very flighty birds and do not take well to the cat in the bird room!

Kristen Reeves: I am not a Society-as-foster fan. I do keep some here for just in case emergencies, but when necessary, I would much rather foster under another pair of the same species or hand feed a clutch of chicks than put them under another species. Different species feed differently. For instance, Gouldians feed a pure crop milk for the first 3-5 days. By day 5 they start to feed a bit of dark oily seed and millet. By day 7-10, they will start to feed millet and canary grass almost exclusively. Societies on the other hand feed millet almost exclusively right from day 1. Gouldian chicks cannot digest millet as easily right from hatching. Yes, they may survive it, but they will not be as robust because they cannot process their nutrition when fed whole. They will also then feed their chicks what the Societies fed them as chicks. I have found Society raised chicks just do not remain as healthy or live as long as those parent raised. That is only my personal experience. Thankfully, most of my Gouldians are excellent parents. And example of when I may foster would be the death or illness of a parent, poor feeding or the occasional tossing parent. In most cases, I will try to remove the offending parent and leave a single parent to raise chicks. If this does not work and I have the time, I will hand feed the chicks. Only if I will not have time will I surrender the chicks over to Societies.

Kristen Reeves: Yes. ALL food dishes and drinkers are changed completely every single day. Perches and other cage accessories are changed as they become soiled. Cages are scraped and changed a minimum of every other day, but usually daily. Once per month, every cage is taken down and power washed EXCEPT during the breeding season while chicks are in the nest. Walls are washed behind the cage while it is down. During breeding season, cages are scraped then wiped as clean as possible using “Poop-Off” to dissolve fecal matter, then once dry sprayed with Virkon S to kill bacteria. Once per year, the entire aviary is dismantled and all walls are washed and painted. All surfaces are disinfected, and all cages are inspected for wear and painted if necessary. It is a huge undertaking.

Kristen Reeves: Quality in breeding entails everything about keep the birds. First and foremost, nutrition is key. Careful mate selection and genetics are next. Impecable cage hygiene and proper daily care is always important. But never overbreeding, never overcrowding, and producing “quality” not “quantity” are my key components to quality breeding.

Kristen Reeves: I do show my birds. I only started exhibition in 2009. Since that time, I’ve consistently had birds on top bench at every single show I’ve attended – usually 3 or more. In the last two years, I’ve taken first place at the SCFB of Michigan annual Show, with several birds placing in the top 10 as well. I don’t travel to many shows, so now only attend the local shows. In the past I have traveled and have always had birds on top bench. I have more awards than I can count. Three of the walls in my office are covered with ribbons, shelves and shadow boxes full of trophies and medals. I now donate them back to the sponsoring club so they do not have to purchase additional ribbons or trophies. It is really nice to win, but sometimes giving back is better!

Kristen Reeves: Birds I intend to show are kept in 30” cages with no more than two birds to prevent feather damage. They are fed a careful diet so as not to become fat, but to have enough weight to fill them out. Because I handle my birds so frequently, I do not need to show cage train them and can actually place them in the show cage the night before the show. About a week before the show, I take each bird in hand. I trim beaks and give nails a “show clip” which allows their nails to make complete contact with the perch on a smooth angle. Their beaks and legs are oiled daily up until the night before the show, and any stray feathers are plucked. Cock bird tail wires are held under hot water for approximately 3 minutes, then pulled gently through my fingers until they cool to straighten them. Show cages are prepared carefully, and the size is chosen for each specific bird.

Kristen Reeves: In all honesty, standard Zebras and Societies are the easiest birds for a novice breeder to learn the ins and outs of keeping and breeding – and they are relatively inexpensive. They are easy breeders and multiply quickly, which gives the novice confidence. Once they’ve had a few breeding seasons under their belts, I would then move to Gouldians or mutation species. Really, any seed eating species is easy enough. It’s really all in how hard you want it to be! As long as the novice researches the species they wish to keep, and talk to other experienced breeders, there is no reason they can’t start with some of the species considered to be more “troublesome”.