

This can help take some of the pressure off of all the parent birds who may be preparing for another round of chicks. Many believe this makes a stronger pair bond that leads to better breeding.Other birds (juveniles and adults) in the aviary are known to sometimes feed fledged chicks. Anyone who has kept and breed Gouldian finches will know that they are probably more nosy than curious and love to poke their beak in for a look.Ĭolony breeding birds can chose their own mate. Intruder birds are Gouldian finches that just simply can’t resist having a look at what their neighbours are up to in their nest boxes. For more selection of birds cages you may visit online stores like: .Īlthough wild Gouldian finch pairs can occasionally be found up to 10 miles away from other members of a flock, we know that they can also co-exist and breed in our aviaries as a colony.There may however be some fighting between birds protecting the area they consider their nesting territory from any intruder birds. So now you have your birds ready in breeding condition, what’s next? Do you colony breed or cage breed them in selected pairs? This question is probably best answered with a pro’s and con’s style response as there is no clear right way or wrong way to breed your Gouldian finches. The whole process can go on continuously for a couple of minutes and is a pleasure to behold.

If interested, the hen will watch the cock bird intently and she will signal her pleasure by tweeting him on, pointing her tail in his direction, and in some instances she may even shake her head back to the cock bird.Įager hens may even instigate the courtship ritual by shaking their heads toward the desired cock bird. This involves the male pointing his beak toward the ground and shaking his head rapidly from side to side before dancing up and down on the perch whilst singing to the hen. Gouldian finches will go through a courtship ritual to form a pair bond. This makes for a much smoother breeding season as all birds have transitioned into a state of breeding readiness, and their bodies are synchronized with the changes in hormones throughout the courtship, egg sitting, and chick feeding and weaning stages of the breeding cycle. Gouldian finches on a lifecycle diet regime that mimics their natural availability of foods in the wild, (austerity diet, breeding diet, and maintenance diet) then you already know that all your birds will come into breeding condition at the same time, which is a few weeks after beginning their breeding diet. How Do You Know When Your Gouldian Finches Are Ready to Breed? It is currently subject to a conservation program. This was because the viable population size was estimated to be less than 2,500 mature individuals, no permanent subpopulation was known to contain more than 250 mature individuals, and that a continuing decline was observed in the number of mature individuals. In 1992, it was classified as "endangered in the wild" under IUCN's criteria C2ai. If extrapolated to an Australia-wide figure this would result in a total of over 100,000 birds. In the state of South Australia, National Parks & Wildlife Department permit returns in the late 1990s showed that over 13,000 Gouldian finches were being kept by aviculturists. Large numbers are bred in captivity, particularly in Australia. There is strong evidence of a continuing decline, even at the best-known site near Katherine in the Northern Territory.

The Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae), also known as the Lady Gouldian finch, Gould's finch or the rainbow finch, is a colourful passerine bird endemic to Australia.
