I was advised by a prominent finch breeder here in Adelaide to use:VR1Ton wrote:Make sure your aviary is facing North or at the very least East, Southern & Westen walls should be totally enclosed. They WILL NOT tolerate draughts, the slightest draught & they will drop like flies. This is the most important aspect of Gouldians, & one wich is often overlooked, even by experienced breeders. The other important thing that is essential, they must have food & water available at all times, even during transort if more than about 1/2 hour. They are a tropical bird with no down, so to maintain body heat in cooler climates, they have to expend energy, to do this they need a continual supply of food.
Seed needs to be good quality, so find a petshop or produce/rural store that sell individual seeds or will make up your own mix. Mix should be:
2 parts Red panicum
2 parts Canary
1 part White Millet
1 part Jap Millet
From here you can then maintain them with out too much trouble, & as you gain more experience you can really get some good results out of them.
1 part Canary
1 part French Millet
1 part Jap Millet
This is sold as "Fishers Mix" at Magill Grain Store.
I can vouch for the protection from draughts. It has made a huge difference this year for my birds. I've gone from losing a dozen adults to producing a dozen young and the adults staying alive. Touch wood!
Jay my very limited attention span prevents me from finishing this epic undertaking by yourself ...From what I did read it was an awesome summary on Gouldian keeping .
