for gouldians....

29 Jul 2010, 22:51

hi..I have decided to get a pair of gouldians , is a breeding cage of 80cm long big enough? and should it be divided ? pet guy says to get them to breed you keep them apart till you want chicks,im not keen on that as finchs are so social,will a pair breed if always together? and finaly is it ok that the female is a bit bald? he said males harrassed her!!!! but shes fine now...

30 Jul 2010, 17:49

The cage should be fine, but bigger is better. I never use to seperate the sexes when I had them. Feathers missing from the head & face could be caused by any number of things, but it is fairly common thing for Gouldians to have.

30 Jul 2010, 20:17

ok thanks..ordered cage today and birds.im getting 2 hens and 1 boy is this correct? guy said its better to have 2 hens.what will happen if a pair get together will the 2nd hen be ok to stay with them?will they let her share the nest ?

31 Jul 2010, 21:21

Only reason for getting 2 hens is. If one dies it is almost certainly going to be a hen. So you will still have a hen. And the hens are harder to replace. And he succeeded in selling you 3 birds instead of 2.
LML

15 Aug 2010, 21:44

amalan11 wrote:hi..I have decided to get a pair of gouldians , is a breeding cage of 80cm long big enough? and should it be divided ? pet guy says to get them to breed you keep them apart till you want chicks,im not keen on that as finchs are so social,will a pair breed if always together? and finaly is it ok that the female is a bit bald? he said males harrassed her!!!! but shes fine now...

Cage size ok but I never seperate the sexes. I leave them together all year. When I breed goulds I I have 3 cocks to two hens and never mix the head colours as yellow-red and blacks have very different temperaments.However in your situation 1 cock to 2 hens is fine. The boys can be wearing on the heads of females but this generally settles down. I just had 8 babies come out in the latest 2 hatchings. I keep the babies with the parents till just after the next lot of eggs are due to be laid. Cairns doesn't get cold but at this time of year the reduced temp will kill the gould chicks-not zebs, which I also have.I find goulds very social, liking lots of company. Hope this helps