Gouldians breeding (My first post...Pretty long sorry!)

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:00 pm

Hello Everyone,

Some Background Information:

I'm so glad I found this forum. I absolutely love finchs and I've had them for a very long time (since I was 7 or so starting with Zebras). I currently only have 4 gouldians and 5 shaft-tails. I'm very partial to the Gouldians as they are my favorite finch. The Shaft-tails are loud and annoying! I have the birds in a 36"x36"x24" flight. I know this isn't the ideal size cage for them, but until I figure out what I can do in my small Chicago Condo that's all I have. (I'm thinking of building some sort of structure in the corner of the dining room window area).

My first pair of Gouldians attempted breeding twice. The first time only one egg out of 6 was fertile. That chick hatched and was continuously tossed, and with no fosters that chick didn't make it. The parents then laid an additional 6 eggs of which 5 hatched and all the babies were tossed out. I attempted to hand feed but unfortunately the babies only lived a couple of days.

I was thinking that I need a pair of Socities to foster the chicks if breeding was to be reatempted but before having that chance my other pair of Gouldians laid an egg in the nest box. I noticed that the other pair was randomly laying eggs in the other two nests so I took those eggs (5) and moved them to the nest box with the one egg. I went on a mini vacation and came home to a nest box with 11 eggs! I now have my second pair on a nest of 11 eggs....I know this sounds crazy but the second pair wasn't laying eggs in a typical fashion. Several days went by before additional eggs were laid so i thought it would only be their one egg plus the five. These are first time breeders to my knowledge. They are totally unrelated and have a great bond. It took them about 5 months to actually check out a nest box although the male has been courting her for months. I haven't candeled any of the eggs as I dont want to disturb the pair. Hopefully some babies hatch and they'll prove to be more reliable parents then the other pair.

Wow that was a rant, for a first post I sure did have a lot to say. I know it's not a complete "thought" but I just wanted to share my current situation. I am estimating that the chicks will be hatching later this week. I am a very knowledgable with finches as i've had many species over the years. I have successfuly raised parent raised Gouldians and i'm hoping that this pair proves reliable as well.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:32 pm

Well I don't have much to add to that ,sometimes the first time they just haven't got it all figured out.but good luck with this batch of eggs.
Have you checked out the link to the left the finch info center there is a lot of good reading there. Welcome to the forum

jamezyboo21 · Post by **jamezyboo21** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:54 pm

Welcome to the Forum!

I have a totsl of 8 goulds now and my 1st male has finally mated with one of the newer females and they have a nest. I think there are eggs in the nest but dont want to look.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:02 pm

So you have all these finches in the one cage? Shaft-tails can be very pushy around other finches. I have them and will agree they are annoying!

I would either remove the STs or Gouldians or remove one pair of Gouldians in their separate cage for them to breed. I would also remove all the nests you have in the community cage. There is a lot going on in there with passive and pushy species with nests in a small cage.

If you plan on separating the STs and Gouldians, and allowing the Gouldians to breed, you'll need another pair. Two pairs might be asking for trouble. I breed mine in their own separate cages because I like breeding the different colors and mutations.

Good luck.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 2:58 am

Sounds like the old story of too many birds in a small cage..Gouldians will soon stress in crowded conditions, and really need their own space to be successful parents.Why don't you move your other birds on and concentrate on the Gouldians? If they breed ok you are gonna soon fill up the cage with young 'uns.
Paul.

yu016 · Post by **yu016** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 5:36 pm

IMHO you have too many birds in that size cage. Gouldians are very reliable parents once they get a hang of it. I've been breeding Gouldians for 6 years now and have never used foster parenst. I usually setup 3 pairs in a 7'x3' flight and let them do their thing. First time parents some time toss chicks out or won't feed them but usually by second clutch they are fine. However, If they still wont parent raise by second year than they usually never will.

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:41 pm

Thanks for all the advice,

I figured that my cage was too small and that i'm asking for trouble. I plan on completely rehoming the Shaft-Tails they are just too hyper for my taste and they're bad birds! They've been fighting lately, I don't know what's gotten into them. If I make changes in the cage right now with the Gouldian pair sitting on eggs couldn't that cause them to neglect the eggs?

I plan on either buying a larger flight or having some sort of Aviary built in the very near future. I just have to make the cage or aviary look like a piece of furniture in the dining room. Do you guys know of any ways to accomplish this?

I guess i'm not as knowledgable as I originally though......

Thanks

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:46 am

I guess i'm not as knowledgable as I originally though......

none of us are. we are all learning through trial & error and also by asking lots of questions here.

I agree with the others to many birds in the cage. if it were me I would get rid of the shaft tails and the cat

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:21 pm

mickp wrote:
I guess i'm not as knowledgable as I originally though......
none of us are. we are all learning through trial & error and also by asking lots of questions here.

I agree with the others to many birds in the cage. if it were me I would get rid of the shaft tails and the cat

I went ahead and put the Shaft-Tails on Craigslist....as for the Cat he's staying he never really bothers them. He sits and watches the birds all day long, I jokingly say that "they're his pets!"

I am looking into either building some sort of large cage or buying one. I just need to incorporate it as a piece of furniture so that my place doesn't look "cluttered". Does anyone have any suggestions about building their own large flight cage?

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:44 pm

I think there are a few in the gallery section

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:17 pm

If you are building your own flight cage from scratch do try and make it with a divider down the middle...a pain I know but makes life much easier.

If you have to catch a bird up you can seperate it from the others,and when cleaning out the cage it's so much easier to put the birds up one end while you see to the other.And no chance of escapes.

With no divider you have to panic all the birds every time you go in.The cage in my pic is a ready made one...not what you are looking for maybe...but I've put it on to show how a divided cage can make life much easier.
It's not hard to fit a slotted piece of wood top and bottom,and make a simple divider out of a piece of thin ply.
Instead of one big tray in the bottom you make two smaller ones to go either side of the divider rail.

These are some of the breeder cages available in the UK.It's a shame that nobody in the States makes them.They are much better than an all wire cage,giving the birds more privacy when breeding and a feeling of security,plus less mess scattered from the cage.They are usually painted white on the inside before use.

Now there's a business opportunity for someone over there...A small joinery shop could set up making these and I'm sure would sell loads once breeders over there knew they were available....Cage fronts could be shipped inexpensively from the UK where many different types are made for the Do it Yourself market.Fronts are available complete with openings for feeders and doors fitted in a top corner where a nestbox can be fitted on the outside,giving the birds more room.And ease of checking the nest without unduly disturbing the birds.(Pic2)
Fronts can be obtained in black too,showing the birds off better.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:14 pm

Paul, the Euro style box breeding cages are a good idea especially when you have birds that need a lot of privacy. Birds2Grow made similar cages here in the US. You could also purchase just the wire front and build your own. I have 3 of these cages and no one wants to buy them.

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:53 pm

Wow Paul thanks for the post. I think i'm going to tackle the project of building my own flight and i'll incorporate some aspects of the "closed" breeding box in it and i'll also try to have some sort of partition built in too. I have a long weekend coming up so I'll hit up home depot and see what I can come up with. I tend to be pretty handy, however, I just don't have that much room to work in. I live on the 21st floor in a 1 bedroom condo so space is limited! Sometimes I really wish I had a garage or backyard. My ultimate dream is to build a HUGE aviary in my backyard

.

I appreciate the help! The chicks should begin hatching this weekend so i'm excited to hopefully hear little peeps come out of the nestbox (I haven't candled this clutch so hopefully they're fertile!)

Lloyd · Post by **Lloyd** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:54 pm

Have a look at this site. www.finchaviary.com

They show how they built an indoor aviary in their living room step by step. Complete with plans and photos. Being in a condo you probably don't have that much space but it'll at least give you some ideas. I'm currently building one above my garage (8' x 15') based one some ideas I got from this site.

Lloyd

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:21 am

atarasi wrote:Paul, the Euro style box breeding cages are a good idea especially when you have birds that need a lot of privacy. Birds2Grow made similar cages here in the US. You could also purchase just the wire front and build your own. I have 3 of these cages and no one wants to buy them.

Can't sell them? I'm amazed.
Every post I've put on a US site I've had loads asking where they can get them.
I suppose it depends how many out there are into breeding,and how many just want to keep finches in a pretty cage in the house.
Serious breeders throughout Europe wouldn't dream of using all wire cages.