Gouldian Housing Advice

[Ratrodfink]

Up until this point my Gouldians have been housed in a 32" x 20" x 25" cage. Recently I've acquired a few new birds and now have a total of nine. I decided to buy some new cages for my birds, not just the Goulds, and purchased some 64" x 21" x 30" cages. I was going to separate the male and the female Goulds into their own cages but now I'm starting to second guess myself. Is their a benefit to separating the sexes other than a rest after breeding? Can I just keep both sexes together so I can pay attention to who is courting who? There are birds I am going to try and put together into breeder cages for a desired outcome. Could I even keep nests in the large cage just in case? Thanks in advance for any info.

[debbie276]

I have an aviary and never separated my goulds by sex though there are many that do. I don't separate them and let them pick their own mate. Once they have a bond I wouldn't want to break it. I truly believe a strong bond between mates helps them raise and defend their nests.
I think it's going to depend on what your looking to do with them whether to separate or not.

[lovemyfinch]

I have basically the same system as Debbie
Everyone is placed together in the aviary, and when I notice that a pair has been formed and that they are both in breeding condition I remove them to a breeding cage, so that they can get on with their business in peace. I have even noticed that although they have a lot of choices, when a pair has been formed they stick together.
Never have had to separate them to get them to molt, they just seem to go into their molt within a week of being set into the aviary.

[ac12]

It is for the above reason that I keep my males separated from my females.

I want to determine the pairing, to get specific color offspring. I do NOT want the birds to choose their own mates, because then I have no control over the offspring and likely will not get the color offspring that I want to get.

Example, if I want blue offspring, I want to mate my blue to my /blue. If the blue and green mated, then I would not have any blue offspring only /blue.

[Ratrodfink]

It is for the above reason that I keep my males separated from my females.

I want to determine the pairing, to get specific color offspring. I do NOT want the birds to choose their own mates, because then I have no control over the offspring and likely will not get the color offspring that I want to get.

Example, if I want blue offspring, I want to mate my blue to my /blue. If the blue and green mated, then I would not have any blue offspring only /blue.

That's completely understandable and the reason why I will have certain birds that I will pair off but as far as the other ones are concerned, it just seems like they are much happier when the males and females are together and that's really what I want. I like a "desired effect" pairing for certain color offspring but for the most part I just want healthy and happy birds.