Gouldian Question

[WeimerHeimer]

How do you know if you are ready to keep Gouldian's?

Let me back up abit ..... my wife & I have started back in keeping Zebra Finches, thanks to "Nagdabit", after being away from it for nearly 20 years. My wife got away from it mainly because of not having time (i.e. having kids, raising a family, career, etc...) Now, the kids are older and one nearly out of the nest, we have time to enjoy them. So long story short, we know about keeping finches, etc....
We've both always admired Gouldians, but have heard things like they are for more experieneced bird keepers, temp/humidity requirements, etc....

So, how does one know they are "ready" to keep Gouldians? Are they that tough to keep? Maybe 20 years ago less was known about them and folks shy'd away from them as it was trickier to keep them, I don't know???

Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on keeping (not breeding) Gouldians.

Thanks!

[CandoAviary]

I keep my gouldians the same way I keep my zebras. They are both australian species with similar conditions being needed. The gouldian is more prone to air sac mites and can be a little more delicate when moulting. However, I find them no harder to keep than my zebras. I also don't find them any harder to breed. They just aren't as prolific as zebras.
I think people should first get successful with cheaper birds like zebras before putting a lot of money into gouldians without any experience.
When first learning finch care it is easier to recover form loosing a $5 bird than it is from a $100 bird.

[Sally]

I'll let the Gouldian people on here give a better answer, but in the 70's, I had some finches. I drooled over Gouldians, but every book and article I read said that only experienced finchkeepers should even try with Gouldians--they were supposed to be so delicate and extremely hard to breed.

You can see from the posts on this forum that many are keeping Gouldians with complete success. I think this species has evolved into such a domesticated bird that as soon as someone has some experience with easier species, like Zebras or Societies, they are ready to keep Gouldians. With all the knowledge available to you on this forum, and at the Finch Information Center, there is no reason to think you could not keep Gouldians. Enjoy them!

[lovemyfinch]

I agree with Sally and Candace. I started with zebras-had babies....then shaftails--had babies.....then gouldians-oh the joy seeing those beautiful colours coming out. They are a little more fussy when it comes to breeding, but not the delicate flowers that some make them out to be.
When I decided to go for it, I knew that I had many friends on this forum who were behind me 100%, now it's your turn.

[WeimerHeimer]

I agree with Sally and Candace. I started with zebras-had babies....then shaftails--had babies.....then gouldians-oh the joy seeing those beautiful colours coming out. They are a little more fussy when it comes to breeding, but not the delicate flowers that some make them out to be.
When I decided to go for it, I knew that I had many friends on this forum who were behind me 100%, now it's your turn.

Thank you Ladies for the info and the vote of confidence!

Well, we'll see. We're planning on enjoying these guys the rest of the year for now. My wife just lost her job 2 weeks ago, so we gotta watch the $$ for awhile til we get her back to work and all, BUT I think at some point Gouldians will happen at our house.

THANKS!!!

[Kathryn]

Good luck with everything to you both! Please keep us posted!

[ac12]

I heard the same as many, and the price was even worse. The local bird shop had a pair for $360. So I started w zebras, as my "training wheels."

Got comfortable w the zebras, then got a trio of societies as a "just in case" I need them when I breed the gouldians (and I did), then I got my gouldians.

The gouldians were just as easy to care for as my zebras and societies. I lost one due to a bad mistake, my fault, but otherwise they have been just fine. The only special care was treating all my birds for air sack mites (ASM) because the gouldians are suseptible to that.

Now as for breeding.
There I have had problems. I had 2 young pairs that never hatched their own eggs. They abandoned the nest or the eggs were infertile. My societies hatched the eggs and raised the 6 chicks (1+1+4). So, if you plan to breed your gouldians, I recommend that you have a pair of male or female societies (same sex so they don't breed), as a "safety net."
If you don't plan to breed them, just get a pair of male gouldians. Then you have all the color of the male bird.