Yes I just realize the "L" was missing and fixed it based on a different post.atarasi wrote:Nixity,
Welcome to the forum. Glad to see someone also interested in the genetics of Gouldians. I viewed your website at work. (the URL is missing an "L" in Gouldian). I stopped by the petstore and stole your idea of putting a lot of Bermuda grass at the bottom of the cage. My only question, is do you find the cocks will continue to add more grasses to the nest even after the hen is incubating?
Also, do you find Gouldians pairs as monogamous in an aviary type setting? I've read they choose different mates every year.
I haven't had a problem with overzealous males - but it may vary based on the experience level of the birds. Most of my cocks stopped adding material once the laying process began.
I don't keep my birds together in my flights - IOW, I separate cocks and hens after breeding ends.
They can be quite monogamous, so sometimes if you just put them in a colony flock after breeding they will remained bonded through to the next season.
Some people prefer it this way and think it's wrong to split the birds up. But it's not a moral decision for me, I just have specific goals in mind - and sometimes I have to split up pairs to achieve these goals.
I have never had a problem re-pairing birds up after separating from a last season mate.