Aussie Finch Forum

I currently have all the Gouldians on Austere Diet and now looking ahead to pairing them up. As such I thought I might list the birds that I have, aviaries and what I am thinking. Any suggestions to the below would be great ;)

Gouldians

6 RH PB Cocks (2 are 6mths)
3 RH PB Hens

2 BH PB Cocks
5 BH PB Hens (3 are 6 mths and 2 are 7mths)

1 BH WB Cock
1 BH WB Hen

Aviaries

4 that are 2400L x 1200W and 1800H (one of these will be used as a holding cage)

I am thinking

Aviary 1

3 RH PB Cocks with 2 RH PB Hens and 1 BH PB Hen (6mnths)

Aviary 2

1RH PB Cock, 2BH PB Cock and 1RH PB, 2BH PB Hen (7mnths)
The reason for the mix of Colour is the RH Cock is the father of the BH Hens.
I wouldn't mind if they line breed as they are great birds

Aviary 3

1BH WB Cock and 1BH WB Hen

Not sure what comments I might get, but as I am fairly new, any constructive feed back is appreciated ;)

Also are the birds that are 6-7mths too young to breed?

This will leave 2 RH PB Cocks and 2 BH PB Hens as spares.

personly I try not to let any bird under 12 months breed. I know that it would be different in the wild by figure why take a chance at having an egg bound hen when there is no need to. or the disappointment of having the young birds having infertile eggs. I'd put the young ones into seperate aviaries until they are a bit older.
thats just me though, everyone has different ideas

iam with mick on this one, also when pairing try to pair the same head colours together as you may have an imbalance in the young males if you split the colours , and i personally wouldnt line breed unless there is a particular colour trait you want,there are so many gouldians available now there is no real need to line breed (thats my opinion and iam stickin with it) you just have to find a breeder with the same quality of bird as you so no point lowering your gene pool if u dont have to.........pete

I agree with both Mick and Pete.
And will be pairing up accordingly after the worst of this heat is gone, too dam hot for me and them to be chasing arround lately.
LML

Thanks for the feedback, as I said I am pretty new to this

personly I try not to let any bird under 12 months breed

It is hard to hold back birds when they are young, but I thought you might say that and so I will take your advice. I had read that they will breed from 6mths, but are best from 9mths. Still I can understand the reasoning for not doing so.

And will be pairing up accordingly after the worst of this heat is gone, too dam hot for me and them to be chasing arround lately

What time of the year do you start pairing up? In Adelaide even mid Feb can be pretty bad for a while still. We are currently looking at 41 for three days in a row here now

Andre'

guess in some ways luck is on my side when it comes to pairing up my gouldiians, the only time the adults become single is if their partner from the previous year falls off the perch. they are always together. a few of them didnt even moult this year, they were to busy breeding (& still are). they take a month (approx) off between clutches.

Normally I do like Mick and just leave them together.
This year is going to be different cause I have lost a few, and bought a few and am going to try applying the head colour matching.
As for when? Will observe and play it by ear.
LML

As for when? Will observe and play it by ear.

It's going to be 43 degrees here in Adelaide on Sunday and Monday, so I might no do it then

Raises a good point though, how do you keep the birds cool during that type of weather? Can you spray some water on the aviary floor to help??

have a look at this link
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=2839
same question as you just asked

thanks Mick ;)