Have my Gouldians pair-bonded?
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 12:43 pm
I bought a red-headed, purple-breasted normal male and black-headed, purple-breasted normal female gouldian about a couple months back. Unfortunately I was not aware of the moderate genetic incompatibility between red- and black-headed gouldians, but there's not a whole lot I can do about it. They are the only gouldians in their flight, along with six society finches (though I have separated two society finches because one of them eats eggs and babies).
The gouldians stay pretty close to one another and roost within a few inches of each other at night, and call back and forth during the day. They are more tolerant of each other than they are of the society finches, only hissing at each other occasionally (I'm in the room for about two hours a day, and have only heard them hiss at each other every few days). They regularly hiss at the society finches if they come within a couple of inches, and occasionally chase them off. (Only the female truely hisses, while the male makes a slightly lower-pitched skreee call.) None of the society finches seem too bothered by the goldians, and vice vesa. It seems that the hissing is usually more of a personal (birdal?) space thing than territoriality.
The male has spent the last few days stuffing grass into the nestbox, but the female has not gone in it, though she has stuck her head in a few times. The male also sings and follows the female around with grass quite a lot, but doesn't dance for her. He was in perfect condition when I bought him, and currently seems very healthy. He was sleeping frequently for a little while, but recovered in about two days with some heat. He continued singing about a week and a half later and has since acted fine.
The female is generally more aggressive, which is odd considering she is the one with a black head. She occasionally chases the society finches while hissing, while the male only chases the societies when they get close to his nestbox while he is calling to the female. The female doesn't seem fully in breeding condition and has a few missing head feathers (barely noticable) and some broken/missing tail feathers. She was not in good condition when I bought her (of course she had to hide it until I got home), and often sat somewhat fluffed with her eyes closed. I treated everyone with Ivermectin and put the heater on for several mornings, and she seems a lot better now. She did not have breathing issues, but may have a minor scaly face mite infestation resticted to the middle sides of her beak. She is a much better flier now (but still not that great) and is no longer fluffed up. She occasionally sits with her eyes shut, but not nearly as often.
And now for some not-so-great photos:
The gouldians stay pretty close to one another and roost within a few inches of each other at night, and call back and forth during the day. They are more tolerant of each other than they are of the society finches, only hissing at each other occasionally (I'm in the room for about two hours a day, and have only heard them hiss at each other every few days). They regularly hiss at the society finches if they come within a couple of inches, and occasionally chase them off. (Only the female truely hisses, while the male makes a slightly lower-pitched skreee call.) None of the society finches seem too bothered by the goldians, and vice vesa. It seems that the hissing is usually more of a personal (birdal?) space thing than territoriality.
The male has spent the last few days stuffing grass into the nestbox, but the female has not gone in it, though she has stuck her head in a few times. The male also sings and follows the female around with grass quite a lot, but doesn't dance for her. He was in perfect condition when I bought him, and currently seems very healthy. He was sleeping frequently for a little while, but recovered in about two days with some heat. He continued singing about a week and a half later and has since acted fine.
The female is generally more aggressive, which is odd considering she is the one with a black head. She occasionally chases the society finches while hissing, while the male only chases the societies when they get close to his nestbox while he is calling to the female. The female doesn't seem fully in breeding condition and has a few missing head feathers (barely noticable) and some broken/missing tail feathers. She was not in good condition when I bought her (of course she had to hide it until I got home), and often sat somewhat fluffed with her eyes closed. I treated everyone with Ivermectin and put the heater on for several mornings, and she seems a lot better now. She did not have breathing issues, but may have a minor scaly face mite infestation resticted to the middle sides of her beak. She is a much better flier now (but still not that great) and is no longer fluffed up. She occasionally sits with her eyes shut, but not nearly as often.
And now for some not-so-great photos: