FINCHforum

Hello All!
I have a pair of gouldians that had one chick (clutch 1) that had just fledged when they started on another clutch. Not wanting to lose the chick or later on the babies, I moved 5 eggs (clutch 2) and put them under my 2 male societies. One egg hatched and the boys have done a great job - baby fledged and appears to be weaned (I have seen him eating - or looking like he was eating).
Question - how soon do I know if the baby (and societies) are safe to put with my other gouldians? I am asking about the diseases that societies can carry.
Thank you!

I figure once the chick is taken to weaning, and is healthy, the societies are 'clean.' You might take the chick out to 4 weeks, a week beyond the normal 3 week weaning, just to be safe.

But, another concern is to move the chick as soon as you can, because you do not want it to imprint, and think that it is a society. So you need to get the chick in with other gouldians as soon as possible.

I had a zebra that I left with his foster societies too long, and his call and song was that of a society, not a zebra, and none of the zebras would respond to his call or song. This would be a problem when you go to mate the gouldian, and he sounds like a society.

ac12 - thank you! I feel like he should be safe to move - now to catch him!