My new boy :)

[kittani79]

Well as some of you suggested I waited for the next bird fair to buy my lonely female gouldian a friend -- and I'm so glad!

I found a beautiful little male for $55 there (normal prices all around my town are more like $125-$145). He's just a normal color variant (red head, black throat, purple breast, yellow belly, green back... but he's gorgeous .

As soon as I put them together the female seemed enormously happier. Where she had been basically sitting in one spot all day, now she hops along the perch towards him, chirps more, and is generally more active and interested in her world.

I have them in the largest cage I can afford for the time being; it's 30" x 20" x 15" ish (an estimate). When my husband finds a job I will be able to think about upgrading. I have seeds in one cup, pellets in another, and oyster shell in a third. Every other day I give them something special, either greens and veggies or a little bit of egg. And they always have a spray of millet available, and a bunch of timothy hay/nesting material tied in a bundle on one side that they are completely ignoring for now.

I did buy a light, it's one of the full spectrum compact flourescent bulbs for reptiles. I'm a little worried about hurting their eyes it's so bright -- but they are sitting right under it happily.

I have the nest that was given to me by the pet store I adopted her from; it's one of the small bamboo nests. She was sleeping in it at night; since I got the male, however, she's sleeping on the perch beside him.

Anyone have any other suggestions for me?

[Sally]

So glad you found what you wanted at the bird fair. I find the bird fairs/marts to be wonderful places to get birds--the vendors are usually hobby breeders with reasonable prices, and with species that I don't find in my local pet shops.

Your cage will be fine for two birds--my breeding cages are either 30x18x18 or 34x18x18--the length is the most important. If the bamboo nest is the really small one, it is too small for Gouldians. They need either the large bamboo nest or a nest box with a half-open front. And they don't need nests for sleeping, just for breeding, so you can leave it with no nest at all right now. I don't know anything about the reptile lights, but if it is full spectrum, that is the main thing--I just use regular 2' or 4' fluorescent tubes in shop light fixtures, but I make sure they are full spectrum lights.

Sounds like everything is going well--just let them have some getting acquainted time for now.

[Hilary]

Congrats! I love all of the gould mutations, but the red head/purple breast combination is still one of my favorites!

[plantsandbirds]

Congratulations on your new bird! It sounds like you are a caring and responsible bird owner!

As some of us chuckle and say, "it all begins with one bird", and then you end up like the rest of us with multiple cages, an aviary and birds everywhere! heh heh

[kittani79]

They are doing well so far. I'm going to get them a larger nest tomorrow.

Something kinda funny; I had thought that they didn't really see Merlin (our cockatiel) as another bird... but....

Last night they were cheeping at each other... Merlin doing his best to imitate their double "cheepcheep", and the gouldian answering, then a few minutes the other way around.... lol.

[kenny]

hi all
i dint know where to post this so i thought it might fit in here,i have had a hecks grasss finch for a couple of years now,and he lost is wife in the first year he had been following one of my fawn coloured society finches around all this year...well i am proud to announce that i caught him feeding these 2 little ones today and they have definately got red beaks which societies do not when they fledge!and this morning both of the parents where feeding them



ken

[kenny]

hi all
while i am at it i have a picture here of the nest of pieds that have fledged with thier parents there is one missing he must have been asleep in his box as there was a fawn pied also

ken