A Gouldian Finch Breeding Facility
by Peggy Dalrymple
Originally published in NCBS Journal.
Bird breeders the world over take great pride in their accomplishments. I have seen Gouldian Finches being bred in living room aviaries, cages housed in small rooms, and beautiful outdoor flights. I have been fortunate that many excellent breeders in a variety of countries have allowed me to tour their breeding facilities, oogle at their stunning birds, and learn from their experiences.
Visiting other bird breeders is often not feasible for Gouldian Finch breeders in the U. S. and many breeders are hesitant to invite strangers into their aviaries. So today, I would like to invite you to come along on a virtual tour of my Gouldian Finch breeding facility.
THE TOUR
Welcome to my home. As you descend the stairs and open the door to my downstairs area, you will be entering a room totally devoted to Gouldian Finches. The only other avian occupants are Society Finches, which are often used as foster parents.
On the right you will see 24, 18in x 12in cages. These house Society Finches in trios. Notice that the nest boxes hang outside the cages to facilitate easy inspection. Also notice that the small cages are impeccably clean. Society Finches are treated with the same care as are Gouldians. My intent with the birds is to offer them the environment they need to reproduce and raise young. The fact that some pairs of Gouldians do not care to feed their young, but are intent on laying eggs, does not mean that those babies from non-feeding parents deserve to die. Therefore Society Finches are an integral part of Gouldian breeding here.
My experience has repeatedly shown that these fostered Gouldians can be excellent parents and that the lack of desire to feed is most probably an environmental issue or an age related problem, rather than an inbred inability to feed, or an imprinting problem.
Directly to your left are 2ft. x 3ft. cages. These are home to young Gouldians just learning the necessities and rigors of life on their own; eating, drinking and flying. Feeding areas are in 2 places in the cage, with spray millet accessible from every perch. Each one of these baby cages has a heat lamp affixed to the side near the perches. It burns day and night. The cages are designed to hold 10 to 12 Gouldian young, and 3 Society Finches as “teacher birds”. Gouldians no longer being fed my the parent birds normally stay in these cages for a couple of months. Water is offered in tube drinkers and in an open dish on the floor as bathing water. It is disinfected and changed daily.
Moving on down the aisle way the Gouldian flights are on both sides. The flights on the left are 10ft. x 3ft. x 6ft. tall. These are used for breeding and normally have 10pr. of birds per flight. Nest boxes and woven wicker nests are hung throughout the flights, and long dried grass is the preferred nesting material. Commercial seed hoppers, made for the wild outdoor birds, hang from the ceilings in all flights, with spray millet available in several large bunches around the flight. Supplemental soft food is offered on a narrow feeding tray directly over the door. Birds are grouped in these flights by color and genetic makeup.
To the right are smaller flights (6ft. x 4ft. x 6ft.) that are holding flights for molting Gouldians. Babies graduate to these flights from the 2x3x2 ft. cages and are grouped together by age. Maximum capacity for each one of these flights is 25 birds. Feeding areas are the same as for the larger flights.
Notice please the cleanliness in all of the flights and cages. Excretement and seed hulls, as well as scattered food and molted feathers accumulate in any captive enclosure. Since Gouldians do not tolerate filth well, cleanliness is crucial to their good health.
Floor covering in the flights and in the cages is newspaper. Clean paper in the enclosures allows for easy visual inspection of droppings, which can be an indicator of numerous potential problems. While paper does require frequent changing, it can eliminate the bacterial buildup associated with more absorbent floor coverings.
On down the aisle are more flights, one being totally devoted to Society Finches, and more Gouldian flights. There is a sink and wash area for the many dishes that need daily washing, and the fresh water that refills all the drinkers daily.
The room is temperature controlled at 78 degrees and humidity is maintained around 50 %. Florescent lighting illuminates every cage and flight to near sunshine quality. The duration of lighting is as important as the intensity so all lights are on timers that allow for 16 hours of daylight during most of the year.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
While the great outdoors may seem the ideal place for a finch aviary, indoor bred Gouldians are equally as likely to be the picture of perfection. There are no mosquitoes indoors to transmit viruses nor are there predators to disrupt or kill breeding birds. Natural temperature fluctuations are not a problem indoors and all of the necessary daily reuirements of the birds can be provided without fear of a weather related disaster.
It has been a pleasure having you on this virtual tour. I hope that it has been both interesting and informative.
