FINCHforum

Hi everyone (especially those who live in the UK)

I currently have 2 pairs of Gouldians who are in two seperate large cages in my living room (open plan to dining room). I'm new to finches and during my research I read that they should be kept at a temperature of 70 - 75 degrees F. Does everyine keep them at this temp or can you lower the temp over time? Just wondered as I have a heater on constantly whihc makes it sometimes uncomfortabel to sit and watch tv etc.

Cheers

How cold is your house without the heater? I let my birdroom get anywhere from 60-80F

Hey Dante,
I haven't tried yet to see how they get on One pair is still moulting so thought I might start lowering the temperature in the house as it gets warmer outside - summer is coming apparently though with all the wind and rain lately you wouldn't think it.

Hopefully it will get nicer!

I will say my house is pretty chilly in winter....60-65f, mine do fine...but half way thru winter I added a small heat lamp on the gould cage and they really perked up, so now I keep one on one side of flight, they seem to like it.

During the winter here my outside aviary is heated enough to keep the temperature above 60F and they do fine.

Thanks guys! I reduced the thermostat on the heating very slightly this morning but wont change it very much as I now have my very first egg so want to leave things as they are for a while.

It is my experience that Goudians are way more hearty than folks give them credit for. They do not do well with drafts, however they (healthy birds) can take 30-40 degrees with no ill effects. This cooling must come gradually however.

In California, we've had one of the coolest winters this past year and I have 20+ Gouldians outside. I do have heat lamps in the aviary, and only a few of the birds sit under them at night.

As I make contact with more and more local breeders, I have found there are many folks with outdoor aviaries with Gouldians in SoCal.

My last few clutches hatched during the coolest part of this past winter and I did not loose any birds. My aviary is on concrete and all of the fledglings that spent their first few days on the cold floor are doing well.

I'm in Australia (pretty much in the same area where gouldians live in the wild) and over winter here it gets down to about 50 overnight then back up to 70 -75 during the day. My aviary is outside and I just have a canvas sheet that I pull over the front during the night to keep the chill out.