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

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:38 pm

I'm finished with the flight and it looks great! I had to wrestle the hardware mesh this morning and i have a lot of cuts and my hands are blistered

. It was well worth it though! I am just debating whether or not I should paint it black. I have the paint, I just dont know if I want to keep it silver or go ahead with black, what do you think?

On another note my other gouldian pair has laid 4 eggs, they're sitting steadily now which is good. The only problem is that I didn't really want them to breed again because they haven't proved to be good parents. They have tossed out every chick that's hatched. What should I do? Should I buy a pair of socities to possibly foster them? The babies should be hatching in about 12 days.

My other pair are still sitting on eggs, I haven't checked today but if those babies are going to hatch it should be anytime now. I don't know what kind of parents they are.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:58 pm

FinchezRule
From what other people say I think the black lets the birds really stand out more ,I have two cages that I plan on painting black just as soon as I can.
Getting society for foster seems like good Idea to me, But the Gouldians might do better on the next clutch. But you have to be ready when you need the fosters

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:20 pm

I decided to leave the flight the regular steel color since it's going against a light wall. If it's black it will show too much against the wall and i'm just too lazy to paint it. The flight turned out great, I don't know when i'll actually add birds to it. Both my Gouldian pairs are on eggs right now and the Shafttail pair that I have left i'm not sure whether I want to keep them or not.

Question.....since the flight is so large, Would it be ok to have a branch from outside in there? How can I ensure that it doesn't have any pests on it? Is there a cleaning process? I can't see myself spending more money on manzanite perches....besides they're so small.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:37 pm

Any branches that I have used I just scrubbed them down with a bleach& water solution[ small amount of bleach] then rinsed real good and let it set in the sun and dry until the bleach smell was completely gone before I put in cage. You can also bake the smaller branches in oven to kill any bacteria that might be on the branches

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:28 pm

I'll be branch hunting very soon! Thanks for the advice.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:38 pm

if you dont want to use bleach to clean try vinegar instead, does exactly the same job and is usually cheaper. only time it needs diluting is when the birds are in the cage. I mix mine 5 parts water to 1 part vinegar

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:40 pm

Good News....I see that my little Gouldian chick has hatched

. I think he's going to be an only child but so far the parents seem attentive and they haven't tossed him out like my other pair pitches their little ones. Hopefully they'll keep it up and it'll live

.

My other Gouldian pair has laid a clutch of 5 eggs and those should be hatching probably next weekend...I lost track

.

My Fawn Shafttail pair has laid two eggs which took me by surprise. I guess they want to breed eventhough they haven't built any sort of nest. Should I remove the wicker nest and put some sort of lining in there or let it be?

Thanks!

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:20 pm

Update on the lonesome Gouldian chick, I took a peek this morning and his crop is full of seed

luckily this guy has great parents. I figured from the get-go that this pair will make excellent parents. Especially for a first clutch.

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:12 pm

Update on the little Gould chick, his eyes opened today and he's getting some pin feathers on his wings. He is being fed VERY well by mom and dad and it looks like his crop is going to explode. He or she is a lucky little Gould

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:47 pm

Nice to hear - congratulations!

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:53 pm

Update-

The little Gouldian fledged today he or she is so darn cute! The parents much to my surprise have already laid 4 eggs in the same nestbox....I guess i'll just let them be.

In the flight I have a pair of RCCB's on eggs (not sure how many since they built a nest from scratch and it's impossible to see what's going in there. The male tends to sit most of the day while the female is out front fending away any passer bys.

I also have my stars on eggs and my other Gouldian pair, I have no idea who has what since I can't see into their nests. I'm just going to let nature run it's course. The Gold Breasts have been mating but i'm not sure where they're going to lay the eggs....it should be interesting.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:32 am

Sound like it is very busy around your house.

Good luck with them all. I have my rccb sitting on eggs again also.
I just can't get them to feed for long. Be sure to have lots of mealworms available.]

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:09 pm

good luck with them all. be sure to keep up the crushed egg shell while they are all nesting/laying with plenty of live food and fresh greens.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:49 am

Congrats on the chick fledging and the new eggs!

What are you giving your Stars? My pair laid 12 eggs but did not sit. What am I missing???

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:54 pm

Thanks for the responses. I have to run out and find mealworms somewhere today, I might just order them online. I think that I should have babies bye next week, I lost track of when the pairs started sitting but they all did within days of eachother and it's been at least one week.

I am feeding the adults eggfood and insect food...I have to find the mealworms though, it seems like there's a shortage of them.

I have a feeling the the Stars eggs aren't fertile because of the infrequency of the females laying...but you never know. I haven't candled any of the eggs for any of the pairs so there'll be a lot of surprises

...i'm excited.

My Gouldians have decided to breed again although they still feed their fledgling. It seems like the eggs aren't fertile but i'm letting them continue sitting on them so I can use them as a foster pair for my other Gouldians on eggs who in the past have tossed chicks...hopefully everything will work out.