Just got 28 Gouldian Finches Saturday!

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

I was supposed to only get 6-8 but the guy brought all of them so I could pick the ones I wanted & somehow he talked me into all of them. Well, he gave me a price that I couldn't refuse. They are so beautiful. One of them is a blue male. He looks like a penguin. Black head, white chest / stomach, blue back & wings. He is gorgeous. Everyone I talked to said they are more rare then other colors. I have both males & females. Not real good on telling the males & females apart yet but I can tell some of them apart. I built them a cage & everything but when I was building it I was thinking it was gonna be for 6-8 birds, not 28. So now I have to build another cage or cages. I got them because the guy had to get rid of them due to space issues. They were sitting on 20 eggs or so but the guy threw them out cause he said they wouldn't go back to the eggs once you move them. He did say that they will start laying again in a month or so. Should I seperate them into pairs or will they be fine in one cage? I have Macaws, a sun conure & a pigeon, but I've never had finches. I had done some reading & some say they are fine together & some say break them into 2-3 pairs per cage for breeding. What do you guys think? The guy said there is a pretty equal number of males to females. I bought nesting material (same kind their used to), nesting food, I'm going to built several nest boxes. I have a vet & good friend thats a breeder incase anything goes wrong. I've hand feed before but only macaws. Any info will be great! Thanks, Crystal

[BrookR1]

Holy cow....lots of birds. Great score though. Gouldians in So Cal go for $100-$160 each, depending on color.

As far as housing goes, I would definitely keep an eye out for aggression. I tried to keep 4 in a cage that's 32" wide by 18" deep by 35" tall and got some major aggression from a male and a female. I had to buy another cage the same size for the two that were getting picked on. These birds are reportedly sensitive to temperature. I've read that the temp shouldn't drop below the mid 60s.

With regards to identifying males and females, the females will almost always have black beaks when they are mature. The males will have a tight colored beak tip. The females are also much duller looking. If the colors don't "pop" out, then it's most likely a female. The chest feathers on females tend to blend in more and look a little washed out. Another good way to tell...females don't sing...they chirp.

Gouldians also require a special nesting box...one with a covered porch. Although at one of the pet stores I saw them nesting in an open food dish. So, it seems like the ones that have been bred in captivity for a while are more prolific and hardier.

A site I recommend is ladygouldianfinch.com and finchinfo.com

[Birdsmile]

Ours breed in regular finch nests, But losey parents. We had to get society finches (male) to raise the babies
Jack

[catschair]

Hey Crystal,
Long time no "see" -- you do know how to reappear with a bang. Twenty eight! And I thought I was out of control with a dozen finches. Can't wait to see photos!! I am so excited for you.

[ROYJOY]

when it rains, it pours.

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

Hey Mary. My room mate told me I couldn't count cause I went to get 6 & come home with a 28. LOL BROOK: Thanks for the info. Some of these guys have red tip beaks, like their wearing lip stick. LOL I'll have to go look at the others beaks. G. Finches are about $75 & up here depending on color. I got all 28 for $1000. So thats $35 a bird. I have seen some of the males poking at each other but it only lasts a couple seconds & its over. I have been watching them really close though. I was thinking about making a cage for them thats about 8ft - 10ft long & 4 ft high (6ft if you include the legs). If they seem to fight I will make two 8ft cages & split them up. I'm not worried about temp cause I don't like anything below 70 deg. I'll try to get a pic up soon. Crystal

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

I'm attempting to upload photos. Hope it works. Crystal Yeah, it worked. Click on te photo for bigger view. This is just a few of them. LOL

[catschair]

They are so beautiful! Good thing you are so far away, or I would sneak over and see if you noticed a couple were missing <g>

[Valo's Moirana]

wow, crystal - quite an addition...
they are beautiful though - i also like the set up from what i can see on the pics... other than complimenting, i can't say much since i have no experience with finches...

glad to see you posting again!

[lsaucedo]

Very beautiful birds. Several people have told me that Gouldians are not very easy to breed. I'm curious as to what everybody hear thinks?

I am looking at getting some too, but I have not read up enough about them. Soon though, very soon.

Luis S.