Gouldians in a mixed aviary

[monotwine]

Hi there all,

I have done searches and read a lot of comments on Gouldians. Ok their genetics are a carnival for the uninformed/someone like me that takes years to finally understand it.
I love their beauty. I hear they have great personality generally (I understand each bird has their own and you will occassionally get a rotten one). I know they need additional shelter and warmth although they are not as fiddly as some would have you believe and I have additional protection and heat sources. I finally found a breeder that consistently produces birds outdoors in similar conditions to mine....

SO the big question is WHAT are they really like in a mixed aviary. Is there any reason I should think twice about adding a few pairs to an aviary with smaller waxbills? Do they poach nests? I have heard they can pull hatchlings and invade timid species. Is this true?
Most of my collection are purely aviary ornaments. The only birds that breed are the Doves, Parrot finches & Firefinches. Once the Owls pair up I will only be keeping 2pairs - maybe three at a push if they are fertile, but they don't really breed for me and I suspect I will replace them with Gouldians if I go that way.

I can alternatevly breed the Goulds seperately and then only allow them into the flight in the off season, but that is not ideal. I wish I could add more aviaries, but that is not a possibility at present. I am in the process of adding breeding cages 1.2m x 0.5m approx.

Currently I have very amiable birds - no serious squabbling and plenty territory for the different pairs / aviary occupants. Am I going to be messing with a good thing?

[spanna]

in all my experiences with gouldians they have been nice quiet birds for the most part. they can get a bit territorial of nest sites (when they have eggs or young) and of the green seed heads i put in each morning, but they don't attack anyone, just chase them away from that site and then settle down again.

only thing i will say though is that you should either have 1 pair or 3, not 2, because 2 pairs will bicker quite a bit at breeding time. by the sounds of it i'd go with one pair to start, and if you get rid of some birds and like the gouldians and have some success with them then maybe think about getting some more.

i've never had them take over any nests or pull any chicks from nests, but thats just my experiences. i DID have one pair (my current pair) hatch and fledge two baby painted firetails... but im not 100% sure if the nest was theirs or the painteds to begin with... i'd guess it was the gouldians first because the painteds had another 5 babies fledge 2 days after the gouldians fledged theirs, suggesting they had their own nest at the time.

[E Orix]

I do not have a problem with Gouldians. As long as you give them enough shelter to get away from wind or any air movement they are fine.
To my knowledge I have never seen them aggressive at all except to their own kind.
Generally I keep them in an all Gouldian colony just to keep control of their quality but there are a few in my big aviary and a few others in another aviary with Weavers and they all seem quite comfortable.

[GregH]

I agree they are generally not agressive to other species but I do have a problem every year with them not so much invading nestsand chucking out the occupants but depositing their eggs into star-finch nests like a nest parasite and leaving them to raise their young. Given that almost everyone in the Philippines uses Society fosters they are a truely parasitic strain. The only other potential problem you might encounter is hybrids with your other parrot-finches but it's not usally a problem if you have established pairs and they aren't desparate and dateless.

[finchbreeder]

I have mine in a mixed avairy(everything from Javas to Ruddys, my mother has hers in Gouldians and Canaries only situation. Her breeding success is much better than mine. Guess who is taking a leaf out of mum;s book next season.
LML

[cranberry]

I too have Canaries with Gouldians and they all breed happily together.

[monotwine]

I don't exactly know what I did earlier today, but I must have gone offline before I submitted. So missing a post reply from earlier today.


So a somewhat to the point reply:
Thanks all for your input. I have now some guidelines and considerations to make, plus need to move on finishing the breeding cages. I will be reducing the flock I currently have to make space and / pairing up loose birds tp prevent un-necessary flirting. If I go with getting the Gouldians it will only be in a few months time once they have coloured out. So time is on my side for now.

I am very glad to hear that they don't have a reputation for anything nasty. Definately edging me closer to definately getting them, besides if they don't work in the aviary it will be a good excuse to move birds into the house!

[Diane]

I have three gouldian pairs with young in the nest in the main aviary with a pair of firefinches, pair of orange breasted waxbills, pair of emblema, and some young gouldians, quail and young too. The ob and the emblema all have young in this aviary too. No problems.
In another aviary I had BFPF pair producing young like an assembly line, with young gouldians going through the moult and three adult males and quail and babies. No problem.
In a cage, waiting for the new aviary to arrive are three gouldian hens and a seagreen parrot finch hen taking a break from breeding.

[monotwine]

Thanks Diane
Oh how I wish I could add on and get more aviaries, that would solve many of my space problems and would make resting hens etc so much easier. I have the space, but its not my land to spread out on.
One day.

On a side note. E orix when you say NO air movement is a snug garden shed that can be closed up in bad weather suitable or would the slightest draft not be a good idea. Its pretty snug, but there are air vents which will never seal 100%. The last thing I want to do is get birds only to kill them.

[E Orix]

Gouldians are an odd bird when it comes to feather structure.
It has evolved in our desert country where it is so hot during the day that keeping cool is a major task, but then at night it can be freezing cold but at night there is very little air movement.
To offset the heat the bird has evolved to the point of not having any secondary down(shirt but no vest) and provided there is no wind at night they hang in there.
Next time when you are watching your birds on a cold day you will notice when a bird lands it fluffs its feather up and then settles them.
This action is simply trapping air amongst its feathers which aides in insulation thus keeping a bird warm.
When a bird is in a cold wind it has to continually get that air in amongst its feathers as the air movement keeps pushing the warmed air out.
Now imagine the Gouldian it has even less feathers to trap the air hence they suffer body heat loss then illness follows and they drop off the perch.
We can have winter frosts here of -3c or more yet the Gouldians thrive because they have areas that they can get to where they are well out of the wind.