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The Gouldian House |
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Welcome to my site. |
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I've been breeding Gouldian for many years and; I found them to be very reliable and easy to breed. Some people might not agree with the way I keep my birds, but this is what makes it interesting .By sharing informations and ideas we can learn new things all the time. In most books dedicated to Gouldian finch they recommend not to expose the bird to lengthy periods of time at below 10 degrees. As you can see my aviary is open with a fully closed roof. Here in Sydney, during winter, the temperature occasionally drops to minus 2 but I dont loose many birds. I always try to keep my birds as close to nature as possible. The floor of the aviary is normal soil with small trees planted where they can find shelter. This keeps it cooler in summer(where temperature can reach into the high 90') and warmer in winter, helped also by the roof that is timber with polycarbonate sheeting on top. |
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Diet: |
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The diet is very simple. I give my birds a mix of 2 parts of good finch mix with one part of canary mix. Also,in different glass containers,I give the three basic Millets, French, Hungarian and Japanese. Because I also breed Siskins they have access to a mix of tonic mix with Niger and lettuce seed (black or white or both) .During the breeding season I prepare my own soft mixture that consist of 2 cups of seed mix boiled in a microwave oven for 10 minutes, 4 hard boiled eggs (of witch I give only the yolk) and 4 eggbiscuits. I also give to all my birds vitamins, which I dilute in water. |
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Social Structure |
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I found the Gouldian finch to be very outgoing, inquisitive and tolerant. That is the reason why I like them so much. My birds start their breeding in late December and I usually take the nesting boxes away in late June. The Gouldian finch is an ideal bird to keep in a mix collection of small to medium seed eaters. In order to obtain the best result in breeding, is important to keep the Gouldian in single pair or as a colony with a minimum of four pair(depending on the size of the aviary). Nest inspection is a must to remove any young chicks that might have died and also to ring them that I do at the sixth or seventh day. I found my birds to be very good parents. They lay an average of five to seven eggs with a fertility strike of 80%. I have had clutches of ten eggs (three times) with all eggs etching and twice all birds reaching maturity. |
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;Native Habitat and Colour Mutations |
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The Gouldian finch is native of Northern Australia. In the wild there are two colour mutations: Normal and White breasted. Both come in three head colours: Black, red and Yellow (eg. when a black headed bird is crossed with a red headed bird ). In the domesticated form there are many mutations. I have being able to develop a few mutations myself. |
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photos |
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My email address: pbasto@bigpond.net.au |
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www.bb.com.au/johnq |
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