Picking finches

[dutch]

Sally.....every member on here thinks its a miracle how well my Goulds and zebs get along.....you said it yourself...that im the only person on here that keeps goulds with zebs together successfully

I don't think it's a miracle....I just have strong healthy gouldians........my goulds don't need heaters or separate cages......

[dutch]

Hilary.....the gouldian breeders that I've met say to never let societies near goulds.....I've been told societies carry diseases that kill gouldians

[Sally]

Hilary.....the gouldian breeders that I've met say to never let societies near goulds.....I've been told societies carry diseases that kill gouldians

A half-truth. Some Societies CAN be carriers of Campylobacter and Cochlosoma, diseases that adversely affect Gouldians. However, you only have to worry about this if you are using the Societies to foster Gouldian babies. And Societies that are not carriers can very successfully foster Gouldian babies.

Societies and Gouldians can be housed together without any worry at all. I have a friend who raises both species, among many others, and she will have flight cages full of Society and Gouldian juveniles.

[JeveFinch]

How does zebras and gouldians get along normally without any breeding involved? Like would it be alright if I had the pairs in the same cage but put a divider in the middle during breeding season or is it still not a good idea?
And also, if I were to get owl finches, would they foster the gouldian young if the gouldians start tossing chicks?
... Again thankyou so much for your replies.

[Sally]

JeveFinch If you put a pair of Zebras and a pair of Gouldians in a cage, there is no way to prevent them coming into breeding mode, especially with the Zebras, the hard part would be discouraging breeding. The only way to prevent breeding completely would be to separate the males from the females, preferably in another room so they couldn't even see each other. And I don't think you would be happy with that solution.

Far better to have two cages, each pair in their own cage. As far as putting in a divider, how large a cage are you using? The typical 30x18x18 with a divider would leave each pair in a 15x18x18 space, far too small.

If you have Gouldians and Owls, my preference would still be two cages, one for each pair. And if you do have any babies, you will need even more cages. As far as the Owls fostering, I've heard of it, but I have no experience with it. Just about any foster has to be prepped (in other words, already sitting on eggs, either real or fake), to get them to take over the babies of another species.

[JeveFinch]

Sally is there any finch types that would be fine to keep with the gouldians in the same cage? As I would really like to have two pairs(I originally wanted zebras because a website said that zebras and societies are good foster parents for gouldian babies but I didn't want societies because they aren't sexually dimorphic, and I didn't want two pairs of gouldians because I've heard they can be bad parents and I wanted another species that would take in the chicks).
... And I was just wondering what kind of finch is the one in your photo? Thanks

[Sally]

What size cage do you have? I rarely put more than one pair in a breeding cage, as then I have no territorial issues. Gouldians have gotten a bad rap on the parenting issue IMO. I know of many people who are breeding Gouldians just fine. Granted a young pair may take a clutch or two to figure out what they are supposed to do, but that can happen with other species too.

Most of the time, when we have breeding problems, it can be traced to something we aren't doing right, not the birds' fault. The secret to breeding is getting a bonded pair set up in a proper-sized cage, providing them with a diet that will stimulate their breeding instincts, and then letting them do what comes naturally.

The bird in my avatar is a Purple Grenadier hen, and you talk about hard to breed--they are extremely difficult!

[JeveFinch]

Sally I don't have a cage yet, I am still looking but I would never try and put heaps of birds in a small cage. So do you think that if I did have two pairs of gouldians that they would get along and learn how to raise chicks successfully?
I've also just come across the pintail parrot finch and I was wondering if you knew if they would share a cage with gouldians without the issues you stated with gouldians and zebras?

[Sally]

As I've said, I rarely put more than one pair in a breeding cage, so I can't really say if they will get along. Usually in a cage, the best numbers are either 2 or 6+. You often get territorial issues with 3, 4, and 5 birds in a cage. And I have no experience with Pin-tailed Parrot finches.

[wilkifam]

the gouldian breeders that I've met say to never let societies near goulds.....I've been told societies carry diseases that kill gouldians

I have societies and goulds mixed with no problems. I prefer to let my goulds raise their own babies, but my Societies foster my goulds in emergency cases.

[Toddmin]

I never put more than one pair in a breeding cage. The cages are not that large to begin with, and it would get too crowded.

[wilkifam]

but I didn't want societies because they aren't sexually dimorphic

If you get your societies from a breeder, they will know what sex they are, it really is not too hard to figure out which societies are male pretty quickly because they sing all the time. Also, you don't need a Pair of societies, as same sex societies will also pair up and foster for you. My males are the best parents.

[Sally]

wilkifam Good point on the Societies. If Societies are only wanted as possible fosters, it is best to have two males anyway, as then you don't have to worry about any surprise Society babies.

[Ginene]

JeveFinch...I have a large double flight that has mixed species housed in it. The flight is 64"W x 21"D x 36"H and houses 8 finches; 1 M/F pair of Owls, 1 M/F pair of Green Singers, 2 male Star Finches and 2 male Gouldians. They are all doing very well in this cage. You can find it on many websites, including amazon, Wayfair and Drs. Foster & Smith. Google it for a look and for the best price too. I purchased mine for $45 off of ebay! But it ranges in price from $250-$390. The nice thing about this cage is the option to use the divider (maybe when breeding) or not! I have mine out and breed my finches in a separate breeding cage. But if your only looking for 2 pairs, you can put the divider in when you decide to breed your guys. Best of luck to you!
Its an A&E Double Flight Cage
http://www.wayfair.com/AandE-Cage-Co.-D ... C1033.html

[Corkysgirl]

Ginene, those are great cages. I have two of those. They're very roomy and I love that they can be divided.