Gouldian Finch diet questions

[Ebichua]

In the past, when I kept my gouldians in 2011, I simply fed them an "Enriched Finch Mix" from my feed store, hardboiled eggs (egg white, yolk and shell in a grinder) and some miscellaneous veggies/fruits. I had to sell off all my birds in late 2011/early 2012 due to a move and now that I'm back in the finch hobby, I'm restarting my ways from scratch but this time, I want to do it better than before.

I understand that there are folks out there who follow the seasonal diet.
I've read this article: http://www.fabulousfinch.com/feeding-la ... inches.htm
as well as Tiffany's website: http://www.gouldiansgalore.com//diet.html

Both have been very helpful, although it's rather specific in which seed brand I should use per season. And each season has a different % in its nutrition, which makes me wonder, are all of you (successful) breeders out there following this regime? Change seeds as seasons go by or do you stick to a staple seed mix and use it throughout the year?
I have access to a Finch seed mix at my feed store, there's an enriched one and a regular one. Unfortunately, neither of them have a nutrition analysis, however, I did feed my finches the enriched mix as a staple in the past with no ill effects (or maybe no ill effects, YET?). I am a little wary about using the enriched mix however, because it has some food colored pieces in there that are definitely not seeds. They look like pellets to me, but it is unlike zupreem pellets.

I was hoping to do something simple like this:
Maint/Rest season diet:
-Regular finch mix from feed store
-STGF softfood concentrate
-Grit (Oyster shell, charcoal, sand)
-Fruits/veggies - once or twice a week
-Water - no additives

Pre-breeding Austere diet:
-Regular finch mix from feed store
-Water - no additives

Breeding season diet:
-Regular finch mix from feed store
-STGF softfood concentrate
-Grit (Oyster shell, charcoal, sand)
-Fruits/veggies - three or four times a week
-Seed sprouts from Regular finch mix from feed store
-Water - no additives

Molting season diet: (Same as Breeding diet)
-Regular finch mix from feed store
-STGF softfood concentrate
-Grit (Oyster shell, charcoal, sand)
-Fruits/veggies - three or four times a week
-Seed sprouts from Regular finch mix from feed store
-Water - no additives

Does this look okay? In Tiffany's page, it states that I should put the birds in separate sexed cages and give them an Austere diet for 2 weeks. However, I plan on keeping only one pair of blue back gouldians and on top of that, I don't think I'll be separating them up into their individual cages. Will this be a problem? Can I skip the 2 weeks of changing their diets or should I add that in between the breeding/molting phase?
Also, note that I plan to use the finch mix from my feed store all year long. I don't plan on switching it up, anyone keep the same staple finch mix all year? Any problems with doing so or is the change a necessity?

Are there other alternatives to this seasonal diet? What are YOU using, as a gouldian finch breeder/keeper?


Share your experiences, I'd love to hear from all of you.

Thanks in advance!

[debbie276]

I could never figure out how to get my birds on that seasonal diet, especially when to fit in the austere diet.
Mine molt in the spring when the temperatures rise and then breed from right after the molt till the end of December, then rest till the warm weather in spring again. I feed a basic seed mix with none of those colorful pellets in it (they don't eat them anyway). I also offer hard boiled eggs with hand feeding formula in it to dry it out a bit, offered 2 or 3 times a week, shells included. When they are molting and have chicks they get the egg food every day. Other miscellaneous foods would be greens from the yard, mostly home grown millet and grass seed, leaves and seed heads. Dandelions are also a favorite as well as chickweed and sprouted seed.
My "grit" is a mix of oyster shells, egg shells, charcoal and a pinch of salt. I would leave out sand, they don't need it because they hull their seeds.
I keep my gouldians inside and outside in aviaries so never remove the nests or separate by sex. When they are not in breeding mode they just ignore the nests.

I see no reason why any fresh seed you have readily available to you would not work.
Welcome back into the hobby

[Ebichua]

I see no reason why any fresh seed you have readily available to you would not work.

Wooo, thank you! Your schedule seems very simple, I love it. Thank you!
I'm actually really glad you were the first to post! Prior to making this thread, I was actually going to PM you and ask you about your finch's diet (seeing as you're quite experienced). But then I decided against it and made it an open forum instead. I was being shy

[nelloyello11]

I was being shy

In my experience, there is no need to be shy around here! We are a big family, and everyone is SO willing to help everyone else, no matter how large or small the problem or question. That's why this forum is so wonderful!
Welcome back into finching!!

[ac12]

I don't give sand, as I don't know what good it does.

I put out a dish of crushed egg shell + charcoal.
One warning, some of my goldians will "PIG OUT" on the charcoal, just sitting on the dish and eating the charcoal. Why they do that, I don't know. So they will eat food, I don't keep the charcoal filled. I will refill the dish (1 teaspoon) maybe once a week.

[finchandlovebird]

As always, Debbie's advice is right on the button