Does gender ratio matter?

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thegatorgal
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Does gender ratio matter?

Post by thegatorgal » Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:20 pm

I'm getting my first finches soon, Gouldians. As I'm just getting started I don't have current plans to breed, but I'm not ruling that out for the distant future. Mostly I am just looking to enjoy their beauty. My current plan is to have a large flight with 4-6 adults.

Is there an ideal gender ration in a non-breeding setup? I don't want to set myself up for failure if I end up with more males than females and cause fighting. I don't plan on getting all 4-6 birds at once, but rather adding over time as I feel more comfortable with my success in keeping the finches happy. Any input?

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Finch Mom
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Re: Does gender ratio matter?

Post by Finch Mom » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:49 am

Better to get all same sex...

Gouldians
Stars
Red Face Crimson Wings
Red billed Fire Finches
Zebras
Owl finches
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debbie276
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Re: Does gender ratio matter?

Post by debbie276 » Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:48 am

In my experience gouldians are not aggressive with each other and having same or different sexes together isn't a problem as long as the aviary is large enough that they can get out of each others way. Many times I've had odd numbers of males to females without an issue.

best of luck
Debbie
long time breeder of lady gouldians:
Green
SF Pastel (SF Yellow)
Pastel (Yellow)
Blue
SF Pastel Blue (SF Yellow Blue)
Pastel Blue (Yellow Blue)

GREAT articles on avian lighting:
https://mickaboo.org/confluence/downloa ... ummary.pdf
http://www.naturallighting.com/cart/sto ... sc_page=56

thegatorgal
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Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2014 7:04 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: Does gender ratio matter?

Post by thegatorgal » Sun Jul 13, 2014 5:58 pm

Thanks for the input!

I have found 2 different breeders fairly locally that seem to have healthy, hardy birds. I think I may start off with 2 males from one breeder while I am getting the hang of caring for the beautiful little birds and then if I choose to add more I will get females from the other breeder. That way if the finches do breed I won't have to worry about inbreeding.

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