One female Gouldian plus Three males?

[Sitting Duck]

I am finishing the quarantine period but I think the seasonal climate change might be to much for them to be put out in my outdoor aviary. Can I house them all in a 30" x18" indoor cage until spring with 1 female Gouldian and 3 males?

[Ginene]

Sitting Duck
I housed 1 female and 3 male Gouldians together without any issues...but I had them in a large flight. I'm not sure if the 30x18 cage is large enough for all 4 of them. Hopefully one of the experts will have more info for you.

[Martie]

I would think an 18x30 cage would be fine for the four of them. You might want to keep an eye on them in case they come into breeding condition and start to squabble and maybe be prepared with another cage for extra males.

[debbie276]

They probably will be fine in that size cage for the time being but like Martie said watch closely because eventually they are going to want to go to nest.
I would keep the protein levels down till spring and if you feed egg food only offer it a couple times a week.
good luck

[Sitting Duck]

Thank you.
So what I am hearing is, if I do not make it conducive for breeding, nests, nest material, and breeding food, they shouldn't go into breeding mode and the 3 males might not fight over the one female.
Is that right?

[kyubi]

hi all, a quick question for the pro's about this topic....I though that it would b better to house the other way around....more female than male? Dont the male male go into aggressive mode while competing for that 1 female?thanx

[debbie276]

If you put 2 hens with a male both hens will mate with him and start a clutch. Gouldians share the duty of incubating and raising the chicks so generally what will happen is the male will pick one hen and the other is left to incubate and raise any chicks on her own. It's a lot of work for one parent and most likely will not have a good outcome.
Gouldians should be kept in pairs and not as a trio.
I wouldn't say either male or female are more aggressive then the other. Generally gouldians are very passive but either sex can be aggressive when they need to be.