Concerened about gouldian behaviour

[gosun]

i am a newbie for this forum and i really appreciate the vibrancy in the forum that people share their knowledge & Expertise..

three weeks before i bought a pair of gouldians ( Male - RH, PB and female - OH, LB). I have kept the pair in 2X2X2 cage with outside nest box.

The female is very active and peeking into the nest. Male is sitting sober but it eats well. sometime the male fall off from the perch since female is approaching it or chesting it.

They tend to sleep side by side and also eat side by side. But male is yet to peek into the nest nor started courting the female.
the Female shrills daily and rarely the male sings but its not followed by courtship dance.
Need your advice on the following:
1. Is my pair compatible?
2. How i can say that my Male is molting?
3. Is there any specific temperature environment required for my gouldian to start breeding?( I am in India and Temperature Min 65 to Max 81 F)
4. Is Egg food mandatory for good health and breeding of GF?

[finchandlovebird]

Welcome to the forum; many experts here will answer your questions. I was born in India (Kerala) & 2 grandsons are from Bangalore & Pune. Where are you???

[flrancho]

While I don't have Gouldians, I can answer a few of your questions.

It should be relatively easy to see if your bird is molting. When you look at it, you will notice "quills" on your bird. These are white casings that contain the feather before it bursts out. You may also notice that your bird is loosing a lot of feathers or maybe missing some feathers (though don't confuse this with plucking). Molting is very stressful for Gouldians, and I've heard they should be kept warm and fed a very good diet during this time. You can see a pic of a couple of moulting Gouldians here:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8aart/site ... lds_lq.jpg

Most finches will need to be brought up to condition to breed. This almost always includes giving them egg food. It is mandatory for breeding most finches, and I'm sure the Gouldian is one of those. Many people here, myself included, will give their birds egg food every day as part of a balanced diet. With Gouldians, you can tell when they are in breeding condition by looking at their beak. In most colorations, the male will have a red-tipped beak when ready to breed, the female will have a purple-blackish tipped beak.

[gosun]

Hi flrancho,
Thanks for your quick response. I am not seeing any molting on my male gouldian as referenced in the picture. Tomorrow i will add a photo of the Male.

finchandlovebird: Good to know fellow Indian(NRI) on the forum. I am from southern part of India ( Chennai).

Forum Members: Kindly clarify on my other queries. Thanks in advance.

[poohbear]

The male will show an interest when he's ready...it might be next week...it might be months.With gouldians you need loads of patience.They may ignore eggfood at first..but keep putting it in for when they do breed.

[L in Ontario]

I say: Hello and welcome to the Finch Forum!

Bill always said: "Welcome to the forum, have you checked out the Finch Information Center? It's linked on the left side of your screen. There is a lot of good info there to read!"