New Gouldians--need info

[Gracie85]

I unexpectedly got an unbelievable opportunity to get gouldians, so I did. (someone very close needed to downsize rapidly for personal reasons. well kept, beautiful birds.) Long ago when I started with finches, I knew so much about gouldians, but never got any because of the price and being in an area where any finches, are rare. Now I have them, and am struggling to remember what to do with them.

I now have 8 beautiful gouldians, 4 males, 4 females, mostly unrelated. One proven breeding pair, and one son and daughter of them, the rest completely unrelated to anyone else.

Right now, they are in separate 30x18x18" cages for quarantine, one of the males, one of the females, as she had them separated when we went to pick, so we took them home that way. But I was picturing one large, 5'x3'x2' flight of gouldians, I have one of these empty.

Can I just put all of them together, with no nests, and will they live peacefully? If/when I want to breed, I would pull the pair and put them in their own cage.

If it's really NOT a good idea to let them all live together, we can rig up a divider in the cage, horizontally, so each gender gets 5'x18"x2', one gender above the other gender. But I'd truly prefer one big cage with everybody free inside it.

Will they go into breeding mode on their own? Or do we feed/light/whatever them to do so?

We generally cover our other finches in early evening, to make sure they have long nights, to prevent breeding urges, fighting, egg laying (mostly zebras and societies). Is this okay to do for gouldians, or do they need the natural light cycles? I'm up north, above New York City , so there are huge differences between winter and summer day lengths (like 9hrs vs 15 hrs.)

Special dietary needs? Stuff they really must have? Started reading about iodine, got conflicting views on what kind & how much.

I know I have a lot of reading and research to do now that I have these birds, but if anyone can help with the quick start info so I do right by them now, while I learn the rest, I'd really appreciate it.

[paul-inAZ]

Lucky you.
All 8 should live together very happily in the big flight cage.
Gouldians are not frantically driven to breed like your zebs or societies so I wouldn't worry about that until you are ready. When you choose to breed, pull the pair out into a separate cage and give them extra egg food and veg [if they take the veg at all]. Mine respond to diet and show no day-length seasonal influence on breeding but I am a lot further south than you with much less day length change.
No need to cover the flight at night.
Careful with the supplements. Easy to over medicate.

[lovezebs]

Gracie85

Hi Gracie,

Congratulations! Sounds like you were at the right place at the right time .

Some people seperate their males and females. Personally I don't. I like to allow them to choose their own mates and form a bond, and I enjoy watching them interact with one another.

Because you're up north (I'm even further north - Canada... ). I have lights on the flights, both for warmth and to offer longer day light hours, especially in the dark gloomy days of our winters. They get turned on at around 8am, and turned off around 8pm. I know that some people like to keep to natural day light hours, but I find that our days in the Winter are just too short and dark, so this works for me.

Regarding diet....
A good quality Finch seed mix, spray millet, hard boiled eggs twice a week (when not breeding) everyday (when molting, breeding and raising young), greens and other veggies, crushed egg shells, grated cuttle bone, grated iodine block, vitamin block.

Here is some information that you may find interesting and helpful...

https://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_faq.php

[Gracie85]

thanks, paul-inAZ and lovezebs .

I think we will try them all together. I like to watch my birds just being birds, in their flocks, together.

I have lights for the cages. Been upgrading to better quality lights over time, almost all are newer. Birds are in our family room, so human lighting hours are really long, and it has huge windows facing east, so sunrise gets reeeeeaaaally early during the warmer months. That's why we cover, to keep things more regulated. Otherwise, it could be 5am to midnight between sun, lights, tv.

Diet you recommend is pretty much what I do anyway, don't have iodine block or other source, will have to get that.

oh yeah--medicating. Previous owner did mites and worms every three months. Just did a round last month. But if I do not bring in any new birds, and they are indoors, is it really necessary to do this so often? if there is no source of contamination, why would they need constant treatments? I haven't brought in any new finches in over a year and a half, and don't plan to. Did get some new budgies about 3 months ago, same room but separate cage, of course. Would they be any threat in terms of carrying some disease/mites? Everyone seems healthy.

Also, once they get settled, I have a pair of black and white mannikins in their own little 30x18x18" cage, do you think they'd live peacefully with the gouldians? I would love for them to have a bigger space.

[lovezebs]

Gracie85

A definite NO to the Black and Whites with the Gouldians.

Gouldians, are peaceful gentle creatures. The Black and Whites, are dominant, pushy, and aggressive.... they do best on their own.

[Australian finch]

I have my 8 gouldians (4 males, 4 females) in a large outdoor aviary. 3.6mx 1.5m x 2.2m. It has a covered roof raised about 30 to 40 centimeters above the top of the aviary to give shelter from the rain and also the sun. It gives them a lovely long flight.
I brought them from different breeders who all had outdoor aviaries so the birds were acclimatised to being outside. I live in Western Australia and although the winters can be cool it never gets down to freezing where I live in Perth.
All my birds have been together since I brought them last year and most of them have naturally coupled up by themselves. I wanted them to breed so I have placed 6 nests in the aviary to give them options and so they could spread out a bit. They like to have a bit of space between nests. I now have three pairs that are raising chicks or sitting on eggs. There has been almost no fighting and I have no intention of separating them as they all get on well together they are very sociable,

[Gracie85]

That sounds wonderful, Australian Finch.
I am far north United States, where it can dip below freezing as early as September, definitely by the end of October, and then on until mid-May before we are considered safe from frosts. Winters are usually several months of below freezing, sometimes below zero farenheit (-18 C), snow, ice, the whole bit. So, my birds live in the house with us. I have several flights that are 5 feet wide, 3 feet tall, and nearly 2 feet deep (1.5m x 0.9m x 0.6m). I dream of combining flights into a giant aviary, or building one, but kids and hubby aren't as enthusiastic.

So, when I do want someone to breed, I pull them and give them their own private cage, either 30x18x18" or 30x36x18" (76cmx45cmx45cm or 76cmx90cmx45cm). I can't let them just breed whenever they want, we'd be overrun in no time. Finch keepers are rare in my region, so I don't know what I'd do with them, though with gouldians now, I would probably be able to find buyers without problem.

If there is a proven pair among the 8 that I have, who have raised 3 clutches together in the past (when pulled and put into a private cage), are they likely to stay together now, and not choose new mates? Each of this pair are split to blue, and have produced a blue female chick in each clutch. I would really love to end up with more blues, as I only took one when choosing, so that I could get the rest unrelated to have more options when pairing them up.