Housing Gouldians in Melbourne

[Dmitroid]

Hey guys!

I have some questions about housing gouldians in Melbourne's cooler climate.

I live in the inner suburbs of the city so I don't get frosts or really bad cold spells like the bayside and inland areas do, but it certainly does get chilly and I will definitely worry about them if I am not sure they are comfortable.

The aviary will be a colourbond, sprayed pale eucalypt (I know that metal isn't the best but I have to go with it) facing east (only direction practical), with the north side covered by a fence. It is 2.26m Wide x 2.22m deep. On the south side there will be some wire (not much though) of the aviary exposed to the yard, so I am concerned that cold drafts will come from there and chill the birds. I know the nights can get very cold in some of their native habitats but I am going to cover the wire in clear plastic. I want to know if it should be down all day on really bad days, if 100% of the wire should be covered due to not having a separate area for them to roost, whether or not it will block the UV if its down all day etc I don't really want to hook up a heater or lights because I want them to be tough, unless it is actually necessary of course.

Anyone keep and breed gouldians in Melbourne that can give any advice? Do you know where I can source pure blooded original head colours?

Thanks as always!

[arthur]

I live nowhere near Melbourne, but I can give some advice to all new members . .


Use the 'search' facility to check out your questions

I wish that I had the repository of knowledge and experience that this forum provides when I was a beginner




In fact read the whole 'kit and caboodle' . .

It will take a while, but if you are a keen beginner, it will be time well spent . . and enjoyable

[Dmitroid]

Thanks Arthur!

I am certainly no beginner but I am very rusty! I am also starting to think that I will need to custom build an aviary and that one bought online isn't going to cut it...

This should be my 5th post so I can use the search feature now!

[Spitfire]

I have Gouldians in Melbourne living in an uncovered 10mx6m aviary. The only cover is about 1m around the perimeter where I hang the boxes.
The secret is that the cold winds from the south and the west are covered by a garage and a metal fence. Apart from a few drownings in the pond [3] and a few deaths due to
cold weather in June and July [4] and a few due to the moult [2] I have still got about 25 young on the perch now resting in a holding aviary.
I have never mollycoddled my Gouldians. As far as I know they are all Normals.

[Lonkies]

Thanks for posting this one. I had the same thoughts. I only have 2 Gouldians and really don't want to lose either of them to the Melbourne weather. I haven't got my first 5 posts yet so can't search. But I have mine in our al fresco and covered all exposed walls with cafe blinds. They still covered their toes and seemed cold but it's only summer! Hope I can search soon, but until then, I'm still reading and will appreciate any advice from other Gouldians owners in Melb or even in Tassie.

Ta!

[vettepilot_6]

Thanks for posting this one. I had the same thoughts. I only have 2 Gouldians and really don't want to lose either of them to the Melbourne weather. I haven't got my first 5 posts yet so can't search. But I have mine in our al fresco and covered all exposed walls with cafe blinds. They still covered their toes and seemed cold but it's only summer! Hope I can search soon, but until then, I'm still reading and will appreciate any advice from other Gouldians owners in Melb or even in Tassie.

Ta!

If they are in a cage (all 4 walls and top open) it would be better to cover 3 sides and the top to stop drafts etc.... As Goulds dont have down feathers like normal birds...

[SamDavis]

Searching, reading, researching on here is great but what about doing a few aviary visits in your area? This really is the best way to see how it's actually being done. It doesn't matter how big or small the setup, there is always something new to see and learn. In my experience most people are happy to oblige. No harm asking.

[toothlessjaws]

I find those metal aviaries really horrible. they usually have leaky opaque flat roofs and in the winter the metal is cold and wet from condensation and in the summer so hot to the touch that it burns to the touch. you can forget about nests being built up against them. I replaced the metal sides on mine with marine ply then for the back (which is against a fence so protected from sun), I lined the inside with reed fence screening which is super-cheap from Bunnings. In the summer i have bamboo blinds that I lie flat across the roof which protects it from the sun and heating up too much. It looks much, much nicer also.

Personally, whilst I don't challenge it, I don't subscribe to the "breed em tough" train of thought so much, so I built a heat lamp heater for my birds that I use over the winter. desert or semi arid birds (which most african and australian finch i would catagorise as) are fine with remarkably cold air temps for short periods (such as overnight), but add wind and wet to that for days and nights at a time and that becomes a lethal combination.

That makes Melbourne winters just unsuitable for finches when we deny them the ability to find those scarce patches of sunshine over the course of the day and "recharge" their warmth. I had a 5m square, large brick and timber aviary, fully roofed (plastic sheeting) with the open sides facing a north/east orientation. i covered the open sides with plastic in winter and the birds had ample shrubs in which to roost. I'd still loose a hen or two over a winter during those cold, wet weeks with low day temperatures. I installed a heat lamp that came on for an hr in the morning and an hr before sunset and ran it over the winter. never lost another bird from cold.

[Dmitroid]

Thanks for posting this one. I had the same thoughts. I only have 2 Gouldians and really don't want to lose either of them to the Melbourne weather. I haven't got my first 5 posts yet so can't search. But I have mine in our al fresco and covered all exposed walls with cafe blinds. They still covered their toes and seemed cold but it's only summer! Hope I can search soon, but until then, I'm still reading and will appreciate any advice from other Gouldians owners in Melb or even in Tassie.

Ta!

No worries at all Lonkies good luck with your search!! I used to keep them in cages in Perth when I wanted to separate them for breeding results. As long as they can get in and out of the sun then they will be fine. It's not so much the cold that will kill them but the drafts in combination with the cold weather will finish them off pretty quickly. I would just cover the walls of the cage directly in the winter and leave only the front open. Make sure you use clear plastic for the top of the cage so they still get the Winter sun!

Alternatively, bring them inside on the coldest nights. All your good intentions will all end when it is 1 degree outside and you just bring them into the house anyway just for a good nights sleep lol.

[Dmitroid]

Searching, reading, researching on here is great but what about doing a few aviary visits in your area? This really is the best way to see how it's actually being done. It doesn't matter how big or small the setup, there is always something new to see and learn. In my experience most people are happy to oblige. No harm asking.

Sam a few awesome people have offered, just have to find the time now! ^^