FINCHforum

Well after having a talk with John....I decided to thin down some of my breeding mutations of zebras and get my toes wet and try gouldians.

I hear they are quieter....are they less messy, can they be bred in a colony of three pairs or is individual cages required.

Is there a site that you can refer me to that has some wonderful info to read on them.

I am still keep my BC CCFW, BC, a few normals, penguins.

Heres a good website that has almost everything you need to know:
http://www.finchworld.com/gouldpage.html

One of the best is right here on the finch information center site.

For general gouldian information:
http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... _finch.php
Housing:
http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/index.php
Nutrition:
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/index.php
Health:
http://www.finchinfo.com/health/index.php
Breeding:
http://www.finchinfo.com/breeding/index.php
Genetics:
http://www.finchinfo.com/genetics/lady_ ... /index.php

That is great, Cindy! I am hoping to have some offspring from my first pairs of gouldians this fall, too.

Gouldians are very sedate compared to other species I've owned -- most people feel they are best bred in pairs in cages.

I would recommend these books for reading... will give you a great understanding of everything from the wild gouldian, to the colore/mutations, genetics, breeding, diet and more
Gouldian Finch by Authors: Stewart Evans, Mike Fidler, Dr Stacy Gelis, Russell Kingston, Dr Debra McDonald, David Myers and Sarah Pryke
Also the book A Guide to Gouldian Finches
and their Mutations by Authors: Milton Lewis, Dr. Rob Marshall, Dr. Terry Martin, and Ron Tristram

You will love gouldians!!!!!... though I still have the zebras, and love them too

I like my gouldians more than my zebras.
In fact I will be thining my zebras to make room for the gouldian chicks.

I breed all my birds in individual cages, this is primarily so I can control who mates with who so I get the color offspring that I want, also to prevent inbreeding.

Yes they are less messy than zebras. Zebra will SHOOT their poop out, and it will travel well out of the cage if you do not have a shield on the cage. My gouldians do not do that.

Zebras poop in their food, my gouldians don't.

I have tried every type of feeder, cup dish method and the zebras love to add their droppings to their food. Females that have been sitting for a while come out and eat and drop their waste into the bowl....yuk!

Gouldians have more class..... they are a bit snotty... but beautiful. I am sure that you will love owning them. What colors are you considering?

Congrats! It's great that you are taking the plunge! I fought it for a few years but I'm glad I got gouldians and you will be too. Felix, near you, has nice ones and most are split to blue.

I believe Felix is one of the breeders I got my owls from. I will check him out at the next show.

I'm sure that in no time, we will be seeing lots of posts from you about gouldian eggs and hatchlings and fledglings!

Luckeeee! Can't wait to see photos of what you will get! have you decided what you'd like to have?

Cindy, I too decided to take the plunge into Gouldians. Brought my first pair home today. Male & Female Normals. From what I've read on here, normals would be a safer, easier, and healthier bird to start out with. The mutuations I've heard can be more finicky and harder to breed.

Cheers!

Brady

Congratulations on your new pair of gouldians!

I really like the RH and BH...I almost got a pair of RH last year while in Naples but I did not have a cage and was staying with family...not that they would have minded but I was tempted. The blue mutations are very pretty.

I have to slim down my zebra collection and work on just a few mutations of zebras. Then I can add a few par of gouldians.