Will Single Gouldian Share Cage w/other Birds?

[D-Man]

All,

Regretfully, lost my male Gouldian this afternoon. He recently displayed the signs of illness so took him to the Vet last Saturday. I was giving him some prescribed anti-biotics and highly nutritious food the vet gave me - he seemed to be recovering nicely - and then found him dead after returing home from work today.

My female Gouldian seems OK and I believe is of a healthier genetic stock than he was. That being said, I am somewhat reluctant to buy another Gouldian because the winter weather in Korea seems to take its toll. My bird got sick depsite the fact that it was kept in a room with a temperature of around 24 Celsius and I wrapped up three sides and the top of the bird cage to guard against drafts. One merchant in Seoul's central bird market told me they have problems keeping Gouldians in winter as well.

I was hoping members of the forum could provide comments on two questions.

First, is it advisable to keep a single Gouldian on its own, or are they socialable birds that require the presence of another of its kind?

And second, if I do buy other birds, I was thinking of buying a species more robust such as Zebras or Societys. I think Zebras and Societys can better weather the cold dry winter here in Korea. If I do buy Zebras or Societys, can they amicably share a cage with my female Gouldian? Will it work, even after the Zebras begin to lay eggs? I should add that the cage is an indoor model - not a large aviary.

Would greatly appreciate any thoughts and comments folks might have.

Thanks.

[tinysparrow]

Hi D-Man,
I'm sorry to hear that you lost your male . I recently lost one of my male goulds so I know how it feels. Its never easy.

I would say that if I had to pick cage mates for your female gouldian, I would go for the societies over the zebras. They are generally very social and kind birds and love to be around other birds. Zebras on the other hand can be bossy and territorial and may pick on your female gould (I have about 30 zebras, and I love them to death... but they are always getting into trouble!)

Any birds that are nesting may become territorial about their nest. Would it be possible to house the pair in a different cage when they are breeding so your female gould doesn't get chased away or hurt? Another thing that you can do is move the female gould to her own cage during breeding time for the other pair, and then put her cage near the other cage, so that she doesn't feel so alone

[paul-inAZ]

I speak from limited experience with finches so take this as anecdotal.
I got my first gouldian hen from a lady who had only the one for sale but she sold me some zebras 'to keep her company'. That turned out to be a disaster. The zebras seemed to intimidate and chase [but not harm] the Gouldian constantly. I finally had to separate them. Zebras are usually described as "pushy" and that was certainly my experience. I don't know about societies.
I have since acquired 3 more gouldians and they are serene.

[ac12]

24C is perfectly fine for gouldians. I wish I could afford to keep my house at that temp. In the winter, the temp in my house will sometimes drop down to 16C, until the heater turns on. I do not heat the house 24hrs a day. I do have a heat lamp that turns on during the day, that the birds can go under to warm up, which they sometimes do.

I think that in the winter, houses tend to be more closed, because of the outside cold, that the inside environment becomes a bigger factor in keeping birds well. I would check for and eliminate environmental factors; candles, incense, cooking with tefflon/non-stick pans, insect poison, etc. My guideline is, if I can smell something, it could be bad for the birds.

NO on the zebras.
Zebras are too pushy and some can get VERY aggressive and would dominate a calm bird like a gouldian.

The societies would work OK. I have a male society in my male gouldian community cage. I don't know how that F gouldian would feel in a cage of societies. I would get a F society for her as a companion. A M society will try to mate with her.

[debbie276]

First, is it advisable to keep a single Gouldian on its own, or are they socialable birds that require the presence of another of its kind?

Gouldians seem to be much happier with a cage mate, which could also be two males or two females.

And second, if I do buy other birds, I was thinking of buying a species more robust such as Zebras or Societys.

In the winter here in NJ I keep my gouldians in temperatures as low as 55F which would be about 13C. 24C (75F) is not cold at all for them and you should do fine at that temperature.
As long as your not breeding them the gouldians should be fine with other passive birds. I had a canary in with mine without any problem. On the Finch Information Centers species pages there is a good list of compatible birds you might want to consider.
http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... /index.php

Before you put a society in with the gouldian you might want to consider that the society MAY be a carrier of Campylobacter and Cochlosoma which would be deadly to gouldians.

Best of luck

[D-Man]

24C is perfectly fine for gouldians. I wish I could afford to keep my house at that temp. In the winter, the temp in my house will sometimes drop down to 16C, until the heater turns on. I do not heat the house 24hrs a day. I do have a heat lamp that turns on during the day, that the birds can go under to warm up, which they sometimes do.

Thanks for the comments. In Korea, we have individual floor heating for each room, so I keep the bird room at 24 C; the rest of the apartment is colder. I have now placed the cage on the floor - the floor heating will warm the plastic bottom of the cage, hopefully making it more comfortable for my Gouldian. Forecasts are very frigid weather over the next few weeks.

I think that in the winter, houses tend to be more closed, because of the outside cold, that the inside environment becomes a bigger factor in keeping birds well. I would check for and eliminate environmental factors; candles, incense, cooking with tefflon/non-stick pans, insect poison, etc. My guideline is, if I can smell something, it could be bad for the birds.

NO on the zebras.
Zebras are too pushy and some can get VERY aggressive and would dominate a calm bird like a gouldian.

The societies would work OK. I have a male society in my male gouldian community cage. I don't know how that F gouldian would feel in a cage of societies. I would get a F society for her as a companion. A M society will try to mate with her.

[D-Man]

[quote="ac12"]24C is perfectly fine for gouldians. I wish I could afford to keep my house at that temp. In the winter, the temp in my house will sometimes drop down to 16C, until the heater turns on. I do not heat the house 24hrs a day. I do have a heat lamp that turns on during the day, that the birds can go under to warm up, which they sometimes do.

Thanks for the comments. In Korea, we have individual floor heating for each room, so I keep the bird room at 24 C; the rest of the apartment is colder. I have now placed the cage on the floor - the floor heating will warm the plastic bottom of the cage, hopefully making it more comfortable for my Gouldian. Forecasts are very frigid weather over the next few weeks.

[D-Man]

First, is it advisable to keep a single Gouldian on its own, or are they socialable birds that require the presence of another of its kind?

Gouldians seem to be much happier with a cage mate, which could also be two males or two females.

And second, if I do buy other birds, I was thinking of buying a species more robust such as Zebras or Societys.

In the winter here in NJ I keep my gouldians in temperatures as low as 55F which would be about 13C. 24C (75F) is not cold at all for them and you should do fine at that temperature.
As long as your not breeding them the gouldians should be fine with other passive birds. I had a canary in with mine without any problem. On the Finch Information Centers species pages there is a good list of compatible birds you might want to consider.
http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... /index.php

Before you put a society in with the gouldian you might want to consider that the society MAY be a carrier of Campylobacter and Cochlosoma which would be deadly to gouldians.

Best of luck

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I thought 24C would be fine. Thus, kind of perplexed why he came ill - I wonder if he came from weaker genetic stock. Thanks for the link on compatible species - based upon everyones comments above, Societys seem the way to go.

[DanteD716]

So sorry about your male. I did not read the other answers, but gouldians are normally solitaire birds when not breeding.. Though I do have my male with a grassquit and society hens. They get along, and I'd rather him with other than alone.