Picking finches

[Ginene]

Corkysgirl...Yes...they are fantastic cages! Very well made too! I have just 1 and tried to reproduce it, by attaching 2 30Wx18Dx36H cages together. The flight space is GREAT for the birds, but I can not get a divider in it because the 2 cages are zip tied together and so its very hard to catch birds when needed. I am tempted to attach a 3rd one too. That would mean 90"W of flight space!!!

[CommaHolly]

I think I might need that cage at some point,,,,,,

my husband, OTOH, is looking horrified that I found this site

[DamonIRB]

Coming in late to this, but sharing my two cents...

Gouldians are docile, quiet finches. In my experience St Helena (or Red Ear) Waxbills fall into that category as well. There are times I have to go check their flight to make sure they're still alive! The little buggers are incredible quiet. I provide all types of greens and various sources of proteins, but the St Helena's eat a mostly seed based diet. They will nibble at the pellets and occasionally eat a little broccoli or cilantro, but they rarely, if ever, eat any of the egg food we put in there. I have no idea why, they just don't eat it. They're appear to be as healthy as they can be though.

I think they would be a good choice to house with Gouldians. Just my opinion though...

D

[Corkysgirl]

Ginene I am not using the divider now, but when I needed it it was great. I know what you mean about trying to catch birds. It takes me so long. They're worn out, I'm worn out! 90 inches. That sounds good. I think I'd have to knock out a wall here though. Running out of space. CommaHolly My husband does not understand my love for birds. He loves me though so he goes with it.

[JeveFinch]

DamonIRB thanks for that. I do like the look of the red ear waxbills. Have you had them in the same cage breeding? If so what was there any issues?
And is it true that the red ear waxbills are hard to breed?

[dutch]

DamonIRB.....you said that gouldians are docile quiet finches

My gouldians are like small hawks......fast ....strong. .....and always active

Could gouldians in america be different from ones in Australia?

If my gouldians were docile and quiet I would be worried and take them to the vet.....

My Goulds are red headed......are the red headed different from other mutations?

[DamonIRB]

DamonIRB thanks for that. I do like the look of the red ear waxbills. Have you had them in the same cage breeding? If so what was there any issues?
And is it true that the red ear waxbills are hard to breed?

We haven't tried to breed the red ears, but they are listed as a 'somewhat difficult' breeder. I don't know if that is based on a privacy/security issue or some other factor. I do know that the pair we purchased (from a very reputable breeder at a local show) were young (less than 1 year) and not bonded when we acquired them. They didn't even roost on the same perches at night for several months. We've had them about 9 months now and they seem to be bonding pretty well (roosting together, preening, etc.). My wife even saw them feeding each other a few weeks ago. They have shown no interest in breeding though (our Owls are constantly trying to make a nest in the fake foliage).

If breeding is your intent, they might not the best choice. But then again, sometimes the challenge of successfully breeding a difficult breeder is very rewarding. It can be heartbreaking at times, too though.

D

[DamonIRB]

DamonIRB.....you said that gouldians are docile quiet finches

My gouldians are like small hawks......fast ....strong. .....and always active

Could gouldians in america be different from ones in Australia?

If my gouldians were docile and quiet I would be worried and take them to the vet.....

My Goulds are red headed......are the red headed different from other mutations?

From the Finch Info Center on this website....

Disposition
Relatively calm, quiet, and independent.

One definition of 'docile' - calm and controlled

Compared to Zebras, Owls, Green Singers, Parrot Finches and other "active" species, Gouldians are pretty docile and quiet. That was my only point.

D

[Sally]

If you want waxbills as companions, yet want something you can breed fairly easily, then I would recommend Goldbreasted Waxbills. They are considered the beginner waxbill, as they are probably the easiest of that group to keep and breed.

I haven't had Red-eared Waxbills, but I've had St. Helenas, very similar, and I loved them. Very quiet little birds, but again, not very easy to breed or sex.

[Ginene]

Well said, DamonIRB .

[Corkysgirl]

dutch We talked about this in another post....I believe it was another post (I didn't go back and read if it was earlier in this one). I really believe there must be a difference in the lineage of the gouldians in Australia vs. America. I'm sure some have been exported from there to here at some point but the group "you" are dealing with you describe the complete opposite from everyone on this forum. The only way this could be so is that there IS a difference and the difference is because of the fact that they are in a different part of the world, different blood line, and even down to the mineral content of the soil and their food...I would think. It's just a theory, but I keep wondering about it.

[Sally]

Australia stopped exporting any of its native birds long ago, so all the Gouldians in the U.S. have been here for a long time. There could be differences due to different climate, diets, bloodlines.

However, I think the difference is due more to different programs than anything else. In the U.S., many if not the majority of Gouldians are kept indoors in cages or flights. My understanding is that in Australia, most Gouldians are kept in outside aviaries.

If you put one pair of Gouldians in a breeding cage, they have no territorial issues. They get the best perch, the nest, all the food--they are quite content to chill out. Take that same pair of Gouldians and put them in a flight cage with 10 other Gouldians, and now they have territorial issues. The most dominant will get first choice of perch, nests, etc. This is true of any species.

Dutch has 20 Gouldians and 120+ Zebras in one aviary. I would think there would be territorial issues. Certainly, I wouldn't expect 140 birds to be sitting around chilling out. The fact that there is lots of activity doesn't surprise me.

[dutch]

Sally........no territorial issues.....all nests have large balconys......no fighting over nests

I have more females than nests.......but still there is no fighting

My breeding racks are custom made to stop birds from fighting

Also nest entances are so small that birds can just squeeze into them......

The breeding rack was designed for lovebirds.....they are extremely agressive during breeding season.....this system gets rid of territorial issues

[Decimus]

Can Gouldians be mixed with Courdon Bleus in a large flight cage? I've completed converting an old armoire into a large flight cage/small aviary - it's about 30"w X 13"d X 54"h. We've got two Gouldians and a single Zebra in there at the moment (if the photo link works they can all be seen in there) but we're a little concerned the Gouldian boy is being chased by the Zebra - they seem okay for now, partly because the Gouldian female is bossing them both around.

However, we've been contemplating if we need to take the Zebra out whether we could place two Cordon Bleus in with the Gouldians.

[Colt]

Regarding mixing species...

I have a lovely pair of Gouldians (currently feeding out four chicks), a pair of Owls (busily sitting on a clutch of eggs), a pair of Societies (also feeding out newly hatched chicks), and one juvenile Star finch the Owls surprised me with.

Now that the birds have settled down and established their pecking order, there is no conflict in the cage whatsoever.

I also have several unpaired Shaft-tails, and a Gouldian hen in another flight with a pair of Diamond Doves and a pair of Societies (also with chicks). These birds get along fine.

Another flight has a pair of Owls, very productive Societies, Orange-cheeked Waxbills, and Gold-breasted Waxbills. The only thing successfully breeding in that flight are the Societies. The Owl hen lays on the bottom of the cage and are too bossy to the Waxbills. And the Societies just fledged five or six chicks that are a whirlwind of activity that keep them all stirred up right now. I'll be separating the Waxbills out into their own cages soon.

If the cage is large enough with my limited experience with the species I have or have had I'd say Gouldians with Owls, Stars, Societies, or Waxbills. I've never tried them with Zebras and I've heard breeding Shaft-tails are pretty bossy/nosy. Mine are in their own breeding cage so I don't see anything but their poor parenting skills...

If breeding is not the goal, and you just want pretty birds then I'd say do your research and combine birds of like temperaments and always have a back-up plan if something doesn't work out. You could always move the breeding birds to their own cage and return them to the main flight for time off.