FINCHforum

I am curious if live food is really necessary? I try to provide a varied diet for my Gouldian boys. They are finishing molting, so I provide eggfood daily. I also provide fruits and veggies daily along with millet and a constant supply of seed and fresh water. My question is if live food is necessary. To be totally honest, it really grosses me out. I am an ER nurse. I do things on a daily basis at work that would make the average person cringe or run screaming out of the room. But for some reason the idea of maggots or meal worm make me want to puke. But I got in this bird rearing for the long haul, and if my boys need live food, I will suck it up and provide it for them...so give me your opinion, is it really necessary? Thanks!

Live food is only necessary during breeding season to help parents raise young. If you only have male gouldians and not intending to breed then in short no. If you consider breeding well live food is one path used by alot of people and egg food or soft food is used by others. When purchasing birds for breeding I always ask the breeder what food do they use to rear young and that will tell me what I have to feed to get young. When birds are purchased through a store they get what my other pairs get due to sales people don't know what the previous breeder has feed, there are a few dealers who may know but on average most won't. You could always try a egg and soft food first as a trial for a few weeks to see if they eat it and if they do you can probably get away without the wriggly little insects.

Many breeders do not feed live food to gouldians and are very successful. Personally I would not consider the gouldian as one of those "must have live food" breeders. Hard boiled egg is an excellent high protein and nutritional food supplement.
Best of luck

I have never fed my gouldians live food and I have a screeching bunch of babies as we speak. They mostly eat egg food and seed before feeding the little ones. They also go wild for hard boiled eggs.

Ditto here on the Gouldians! I've also never fed them live food and have had good breeding success.

My gouldians have never eaten live food either. And.....they have produced too many babies

Ditto with the above.... I didnt feed live food to my Goulds and I have 4 healthy birdlings with crops stuffed full of seed, eggfood and greens

Gouldians do not require live food during the breeding season, When I lived in sydney some of the stock down there took it. Up in Cairns the local stock seem indifferent to it. I have raised many clutches without it and many breeders do not give it to gouldians at all. Whilst I provide it to all my finches I feel I would be just as successful without it for my gouldians.

Like wise. Mine 'steal' worms, but don't need them to breed or be healthy. Mostly I find the Gouldian love canary seed to feed their young, well other than soaked seed. However if your boys are not breeding too much canary seed may make them fat.
You are doing good by your boys just offering them a varied diet with dry seeds and veg plus eggs. They should shine for you.