Male LGF can't sing???

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:18 pm

Has anyone ever heard of this? My new male gouldian tries to sing, he opens his beak and sways a little just like my other male does, but no sound comes out, its SO weird to see...any thoughts? Has anyone else had this happen before?

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:26 pm

How old is he?

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:35 pm

sorry i took so long to reply, the breeder was taking his time texting me. The new male is just around 10 months old.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:40 pm

It's okay, but that was the longest 9 minutes I've ever had to wait!

Most of my Gouldian cocks sound different from each other. One of them doesn't even sound like a Gouldian and he was parent raised. Were you concerned that if you bred him, he wouldn't be able to court the hen if he can't sing to her?

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 8:44 pm

yeah, I am concerned he won't be able to communicate with her. She seems all ready to go though, she is already in the nest fixing the material to her liking...odd but funny.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:59 am

The hen can prepare all she wants, but it's the cock that controls everything! Just be patient.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:35 pm

alas the one thing I am not so good at: patience! I suppose I will have to learn that with these little guys...

Good news though, he found his voice today..purhaps the move scared him speechless? LOL either way, I heard him chatting up a storm, though not as much as my original male.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:00 am

Bonnie, patience is very important and even with the most patient person, Gouldians will still disappoint you. Not being a downer, but that is the second most intriguing part of owning Gouldians....they aren't necessarily easy when it comes to breeding. The first intriguing part is, of course, what colors you're going to get when you mess around with the mutations. One of my recent juveniles is a yellow back and all this time I tagged it as a female. Well, it's not. It's a yellowed headed, purple breasted, DF yellow (DF from what I can tell at this point). Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I still think he'll be pretty.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:20 am

yeah, I look forward to the suprises of them breeding. I dont mind if they dont breed, but I really look forward to having the babies. I was concerned about him not seeming to be able to sing (yes because that would hender his courting ability) but also because he seemed like he really wanted to sing but just couldnt spout out any sounds...today he seemed fine, but sounds NOTHING like my yellow male Devin. (The little green backed male is "Rocky" because he seems to pick random fights, but mainly near the water bowl, so I put a second one in there

!) I still feel a little lost on the genetics and am going to get a book that has more detail on it than the few that I have in my collection already. The "DF" and "SF" confuses me a bit. I think it is just a termenology thing because I understand punnett squares pretty good and get the simple recessive thing, though some finch genetics dont seem as simple as simple recessive!

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:34 am

Glad to hear he's singing. Not all Gouldian cocks are created equal in the singing department. A few of mine have the oddest voices.
As juvenilles, the young males will get really close to an older cock while he is singing to learn. It's rather cute, they will get really close and stand motionless.

Do you have 2 pairs in the same cage?

Genetics can be tricky especially when it comes to head colors. (for me)
Do you have the Genetic Forcaster? It's cool to experiment around and see what you could get from two different parents....whether you own them or not. As far as the SF and DF yellows, look at it as a yellow wash. A single wash of yellow would just dilute the green. A double wash of yellow is sort of like two coats of paint.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:49 am

yes, both of the pairs are in the same cage. at first they fought a bit but they seem to have calmed down. I have seen all four of them on the same perch. It's a pretty big flight cage that I bought at a bird mart a month or so back. I am pretty sure it is an HQ 13221 (21x32x62inches), it looks the same as the one I saw online.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:56 am

You might want to consider breeding them in pairs instead.
You have the control over who breeds with whom if you're breeding for specific colors. Having two pair in a one cage might cause some scawbling. If you do decide to split them up, it's also a good idea that they can't see the other pair. I just put some cardboard inbetween the cages. The larger flight cage can always be used for the juveniles once they are weaned or when the adults are resting and done with breeding for the season.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:02 am

I don't really have space to set up another cage to split them...I didnt think it would be a problem to have them together and they are more pets than breeders so I don't care what colors they turn out to be if they even breed. I just want healthy, beautiful adult birds. Sense they have stopped arguing over the waterer, everything seems okay. But I know that if they start up again, I can return the newest pair to the breeder (though I would hate to have to stress them with another move).