Aussie Finch Forum

Wondering if there is an official show standard for Gouldian finches available?

Or an outline of desired features & faults?

Thanks in advance

Try this link..... http://australiangouldian.com/articles- ... -standard/

The short answer is no for Australia.
There is an accepted Gouldian standard in Europe by which their shows are meant to be judged by & some here have proposed different versions of a standard.
At the end of the day it is very subjective which specific features are desirable and in what order they should be prioritised so the issue has caused some debate with little progress.
I know that Don Crawford in the above link, received hostile criticism for producing the list of features he regarded as desirable on his website.
The truth is that different Gouldian breeders prefer different style of birds in virtually all physical traits. Some are even offended at the idea of a standard however the same people are probably not likely to be interested in ever showing Gouldians.
My personal belief is that until a Gouldian Finch society/club is formed in Australia, a standard for Gouldians in Australia is unlikely to eventuate.

Thanks for your responses, at least I can now stop searching and just enjoy breeding

Leaving the colour aspect of Gouldian mutations aside, if any stance/body shape/feathering standard is accepted it should be based on what is seen in the wild, not what is deemed to be preferred by the breeders.

I dont really think a standard is any good for any species.
Look what happened to budgies. After many years of keepers deeming what is the preferred standard and basing future breeding plans based on what won at the previous years shows you end up with a bird that is overgrown with fluffy feathering and bears no resemblance at all to the ones in the wild.
Even the humble zebra has been altered by a standard.

If you want to see the future with standards, which will inevitably mean shows, prizes and the lure of the prize will mean more people will try for the type that is winning. Just take a look at the problems in the dog world.....and all it will take is one bird with a hidden problem that wins a first prize in a major show.

Tiaris wrote:The truth is that different Gouldian breeders prefer different style of birds in virtually all physical traits.

This is the saving grace of the bird at the moment. They have a wide genetic pool. Start making standards and all this could change. With the laws saying birds cannot be wild caught and no imports allowed, if things go wrong where would replacements come from?

There has been some discussion around this topic here, too
http://www.aussiefinchforum.net/viewtop ... 05&t=13526

There is a standard used by finch exhibitors/judges in NSW.
Here's the Gouldian page.... We've been reproducing the odd page in our FSA magazine. The Gouldian page above was in our May/June 2014 magazine.

So the Fsa has set a standard in judging gouldians,the very thing most forums have apposed,so who are the judges,who sets the standards,these are just my first inquires ,so Sam being the prez you must know the requirements,so please fell free to tell the world the standard you have set in FSA,garyh

garyh wrote:So the Fsa has set a standard in judging gouldians,the very thing most forums have apposed,so who are the judges,who sets the standards,these are just my first inquires ,so Sam being the prez you must know the requirements,so please fell free to tell the world the standard you have set in FSA,garyh

Please be absolutely clear that the formation of this standard has NOTHING to do with The Finch Society of Australia (FSA). The FSA is not a showing club. Of course some of our members do show finches at various shows and there is nothing wrong with that. I too have shown finches on some occasions and will do so at the 2015 Royal Easter Show. If there is to be a show then there are judges and the judges must follow some sort of standard. I guess this is why the exhibitor clubs have developed a standard for each of the Aussie species. Surely you have bird shows in Victoria that include classes for finches?

Even the QFS have a standard to judge the Gouldians in at their annual show.
http://www.qfs.org.au/ClubBreedersAnnua ... le2012.asp
I'm not aware of any national standard