FINCHforum

Wanted to start sharing some pictures of my flock and thought I would start with the species that got me in all this mess

Mmmmmm nice and colourful! I like the last pic best - it looks like they are perched on top of each other!

Jan they are beautiful. I love the blue back. Why don't you bring your goulds to the fairs?

In the past few years i haven't been able to raise enough of them to have them available... They are gone before they are born The demand for these are so much more then the supply.. My husband keeps trying to tell me focus on just a few species and I just can't do it... I want to raise them all..

Jan wrote:In the past few years i haven't been able to raise enough of them to have them available... They are gone before they are born The demand for these are so much more then the supply.. My husband keeps trying to tell me focus on just a few species and I just can't do it... I want to raise them all..

Me too!

I just love seeing all of the bright vibrant colours

Beautiful...yep, those pretty little birds can get you into a mess

Do you colony breed your gouldians and have you had good success with this method?

Yes & no to the colony breeding.... I always keep a colony of 5-6 pairs together year round & let them nest at their leisure.. My experience is that these are my most happiest Gouldians, they really seem to enjoy this set-up... However, they do not produce as many clutches as my individual cage bred, separated out of season birds. The pairs in the colony are those that are tried and true pairs that raise their babies without any help from my societies... This may not be a popular statement, and may be just my perception, but I think the birds that fledge from the colony are healthier, larger and even the colors are more vibrant. That's not a slam on Societies, several of mine are my most treasured birds, worth their weight in gold..

I mostly cage breed one pair to a cage mainly for purity of genetic records. Fortunately most of them are good and parent raise their own. The tosslings do happen with young pairs sometimes and either I handfeed (most times) or foster with societies or my foster gouldian pairs (old pairs that still love parenting but their fertility has gone with the years), only if they are tossed though.
I did set up 4 pair in a large aviary and had a terrible time with them not feeding fledglings. They would go on to nest again and really neglected the fledglings. I lost more than I care to. I also had a problem with them attacking the young males as soon as they begin to show a little color, even blinding one. I have recently cleared them from the breeding aviary. I may add one pair to each mixed aviary though.
I do think keeping the young in large flights or aviaries make for stronger, bigger, better birds. I believe it is the sunshine and excercise that build them extra strong. Afterall flying will make the breast/chest muscle fill out and the cardio is great for strong, healthy lungs. The young kept in cages can only excercise but so much so I can see why you make that claim.

I love the blue. Your red head GB is also very vibrant. Pretty!