General housing questions on gouldian finches?

[Cazzie]

So, reading up on housing for gouldian finches, it says -
: A pair need at least 20 inches?
: 50% humidity and
: 77 degrees fahrenheit (Though Im not sure what that is in Celsius?)

Does this sound somewhat good? I'd like to hear how other people are looking after their finches? Or even pictures I do love pictures xD And another little extra to add in, accessories people put into the cages if any?

[L in Ontario]

I keep my Gouldians in pairs in breeding cages of 30x18x18" (while breeding). Every cage has tree branches/perches (no plastic ones), a swing or rings and a plucking toy (made out of bamboo or willow that they and peck at) and some greenery.

Juvies and non-breeders are in single or double flights.

[ac12]

I use a 24Wx16Dx16H divided cage for breeding. I would use the larger 30x18x18 cages, but I ran out of floor space. I have 2 stacks of cages; one stack of four 30/32" cages, and one stack of five 24" cages.

Only thing on/in the cage are: outside nest box and perches, no toys. Swings take up valuable flying space.

I have no idea what my humidity level is. But now you have me curious.

My birds get the temp that my house is at. I don't have them in a separate room, so I can't give them special heating. It will go down into the low 60F (maybe even down to 58F when the house heater will kick in) at night during the winter. Day time winter temp is 64-69F.
During the summer the temp gets more comfortable, but I have had indoor temp that hit near 100F during heat waves. Then I have a room fan circulate the air in the room.

[franny]

Mine are in my living room. I usually have the thermostat set to about 20 Celcius, but it gets cooler at night, and my birds are fine. Main thing is not to put the cage in front of an open window where they may get a cold draft at night. Or directly under the air conditioning vent!

I think if the house is comfortable for you, it will be comfortable for the finches. It's more of a concern if you are considering keeping them outdoors.

Humidity in my apartment is pretty high (around 60%) in winter (I live on the west coast of British Columbia, otherwise know as the "wet" coast. I get sick of listening to the dehumidifier so it stays higher than I'd like. But not so high as to encourage mold.

The 20 rule is just a guideline. Actually the more length you can provide, the better. You want them to actually have enough room to have to fly from one end to the other, to keep them healthy and happy.

I tried to keep the cage uncluttered to be sure they would fly. Silk plants give them something to peck at and try to hide in. A good variety of foods in various feeders, and scattered on the bottom of the cage, so they can "forage" for it, is good. Feeders that don't let them poop in them are good, and any food on the cage bottom should be away from perches so they don't poop on it.

Here's a link to the thread about the cage I built for my Goldbreasts. Though now it houses a single pair of Gouldians who are sitting on egg s! (My first pair of gouldians.) Gives you some idea of the thought process I went through in designing it. It's approx. 33 " L X 18" D X 36" tall. http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... i+built+my

[Cazzie]

Interesting thank-you! =D

So heat is general room temp, but away from drafts & cold spots? My rooms rather warm anyway due to the many heat lights in there to heat some of my other pets.

So in the tanks about 30"x18"x18" Would be minimum for a pair? Humidity isn't needed, do you spray them with water sometimes? Or just give them a bird bath?

Could you put live plants in the tank? So long as they weren't toxic for them. But if not just things for them to destroy basically if they really wanted xD

Oooo also you know how rabbits sometimes have those like hay balls? Could you put that in there, half full of hay/staw so they can like make a nest if they wished, or do they only make nest when they are going to lay?

Congratulations on your gouldians sitting an egg =D You must be so excited!

[ac12]

I recommend that you get a dividable breeder cage.
Slide the divider in and it is easy to work on the other side of the cage w/o worrying about them escaping. The divider also reduced the space and makes it easier to catch them when you need to.

All my birds get an outside hanging bird bath.
BUT they don't all take baths, or they may bath once a week.
They don't like getting sprayed with water, even misting the cage gets them upset.

The problem with live plants is the soil, or what is in the soil that might be bad for the birds.

I use outside hung nest boxes, and I premake the nest for them.

[franny]

So in the tanks about 30"x18"x18" Would be minimum for a pair? Humidity isn't needed, do you spray them with water sometimes? Or just give them a bird bath?

The temp and humidity should be fine for finches then. I use a terra cotta plant pot saucer for a bird bath - one that's about 5" in diameter, and fill it to just about 1/2 inch. The birds love to bath, and I offer it to them almost every day (the goldbreasts and societies bathed several times a day - the gouldians only once or twice a week - but I offer it anyway). It does get the cage pretty wet and messing, so I do this just before I plan to wipe perches and replace the paper each day anyway.

Could you put live plants in the tank? So long as they weren't toxic for them. But if not just things for them to destroy basically if they really wanted xD

I use silk plants as they last longer, and are easy to rinse clean. But now and then I'll pull a clump of chickweed, put water in a saucer and then set the chickweed and saucer in the cage. This keeps the chickweed fresh for days... long enough for the finches to pretty much demolish it, as you say. They really enjoy that. But I don't have to worry about potting soil. I have only smallish doors on my cage, so it would be impossible to fit a potted plant in there.

Oooo also you know how rabbits sometimes have those like hay balls? Could you put that in there, half full of hay/staw so they can like make a nest if they wished, or do they only make nest when they are going to lay?

Yes, a few folks have done this, but mostly in aviaries, as it would take up quite a bit of room in a cage. They just poke some holes in the hay with a broom handle, and let the finches do the rest! But in a cage in the house, this would take up valuable flying space, so either a smaller grass/hemp type hooded nest, or an outside nest box would be better. Some finches pretty much ignore nests unless they are in breeding mode (gouldians). Others like to sleep in a nest every night (societies, for example).

Congratulations on your gouldians sitting an egg =D You must be so excited!

The eggs were due to hatch on Christmas so I finally had a look and they were all duds. It's their first try, so I've put a fresh nest back in to see if they get it right this time.