Aussie Finch Forum

Why does my female gouldian finch always looked puffed up and my male not?
A ny ideas appreciated.

she might be sick, methinks.... is she on the ground or on a perch? inside or outside?

Have they built a nest? She could be struggling to lay an egg. Best course of action is some warmth at this stage.
If they arent nesting she could be coming down with something. That is a whole other catalogue of questions, have they been wormed? Is the aviary/cage free from draughts, are they with any other birds, especially newly introduced birds?

I recently purchased both birds. What I have noticed is that when she is in the sun, she goes back to normal shape. She looks happy chirping and eating with no drafts affecting the cage.

It sounds like your hen is having problems generating enough body heat; birds fluff to decrease the rate of heat lost from their bodies- that's why she looks normal in the sun.
I agree with Jayburd- those are the signs of a sick bird.
Providing heat with a heat lamp or pad may help. You may have to catch her up and place her into a smaller cage inside. Give her some energy supplement in the water such as Spark which you should be able to get from a good bird petshop, vet or on-line.
Then you need to find out what's actually causing the illness- really that's a job for the birdvet but you can try worming and treating coccidia.
The most important thing initially is providing 24 hr heat and making sure that she continues to eat and drink.

Good luck with her.