Fine here, thanks, hope you and yours are well. Thanks for raising this interesting point. In captivity, some animals maintain the seasonal cycle of their natural habitat via an “internal clock”; for example, Sambar Deer under my care at the Bx Zoo continued to give birth in mid winter despite being many generations removed from the wild…mid winter in NY is spring in s. India.

Other species adjust after a few generations, or immediately. Many from harsh habitats, such as budgies, will reproduce whenever conditions are favorable. Some (many frogs) can be tricked into believing it is spring if you change day length gradually and provide artificial rain storms.

Breeding in most birds is strongly influenced by day length; those from the southern hemisphere, such as Gouldians and other Australian species, will generally breed in the spring when they are kept in the northern hemisphere; i.e. Malta. Even if not outdoors, they tend to sense day length via windows, temperature plays a role also, perhaps barometric pressure. In darker rooms, putting lights on a timer, to mimic local outdoor conditions, helps.

So, Gouldians and many other Australian finches breed during Nov-March in the wild, but could be expected to breed from May through August/Sept in Malta. Malta seems about at the same latitude as Atlanta Georgia, USA (via quick look at map, not exact), so you can use info from that region of the USA, and most everywhere else in the states.

With Gouldians, diet changes are also very important in stimulating reproduction, more so than for many other species, it seems…increases and decreases in certain nutrients play an important role. I can go over that if you wish when you are ready. Malta’s summers will be hotter than most those in the SE USA, but this will not affect breeding season onset/length.

Gouldians can be bred in groups, and this may even be more effective than single pairs. However, large aviaries are typically used. The enclosure you describe could theoretically house 2 pairs, but care would need be taken re aggression. A single pair would be preferable.

Same re the others; owl and star finches might be the best choices if you’d like to try 2 pairs. Extra nest boxes, outside the cage with a door leading into the cage, are helpful. Overcrowding may result if many chicks fledge, as parents may try to drive them off, so you’ll need to plan for new homes ahead of time. Individual birds vary a great deal when it comes to mixing pairs, or different species…if you experiment, it would be best to have additional cages on hand.

Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Thanks for the update; very good point re the boxes, and makes perfect sense. I’ve read some field studies (other species) that have linked chick deaths to a shortage of suitable sites/inability of parents to feed, etc.

Hope all goes well now, look forward to your updates,

A happy and healthy new year to you and yours, Frank Indiviglio.

Thanks for the update; sorry about the lost chick, but you’re gathering a great deal of useful info; I hope you’re recording it.

Captivity changes everything, esp. where breeding, territory is concerned. Many animals that breed easily and are quite common become problematical in captivity…applies from insects to elephants, in my experience. Instinctual urges become frustrated and so on, mates cannot move far enough away to thwart further breeding attempts, etc. I once had 5 white crested laughing jay thrushes co-exist for years in a small aviary; I gave them an adjoining cage also, when it became empty, and next day 2 were dead. Having enough space to est a territory was, in this case, a negative; same happened with Cuban crocs that had lived together for a decade…so there are few general rules.

Territory/space is likely involved in problems you describe – re-introducing the male to the female’s cage is a very good idea, but not always successful.

There seem to be hundreds of possible color variations…I don’t have a good photo source at hand, but this site seems to cover the actual genetics involved, may be of use. I recall several Gouldian Finch books that had extensive photo galleries..I’ll try to come up with names.

A tiny chick is odd, but it does happen; getting enough food, re competition form others, will likely be main concern.

You might enjoy these articles on Gouldian Finch “cheating” and head-color research.

A happy and healthy season to you and yours, Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Here’s an update on things so far.

The canary chick finally died, poor baby never really took to eating seed, didn’t stand a chance

The 6 gouldian chicks were moved successfully and are doing fine. Their parents have 2 new chicks. They were tossed out together with a half hatched chick. I was too late to save the half hatched chick but the others I put back and in went the separator again. But…. it was the hen that was tossing the chicks and not the cock. She tossed one out again and both times I put the chicks back and didn’t use the separator of course. She accepted them and they’re doing just fine now and are 7 days old.

I also changed partners of those pairs that were not doing well so far. I put the couple (cock not fertilising eggs and hen not laying) together and they were fine together but the other 2 pairs have been fighting. One pair has settled down but I’ve split up the other pair because the cock was too aggressive. He kept chasing the hen and wouldn’t let her go on any perch but kept her limited to the bottom of the cage.

I’m thinking this is a territory issue so I’ve removed the cock from the cage completely. My idea is to introduce him to the female rather than vice versa as I just did. Do you think this will help or should I give up on this partnership?

I’ve also discovered that I’ve got a silver chick and am as pleased as can be. I’ve got a cock that I think of as silver but I’m a bit puzzled regarding silver and pastel blue birds as I’ve seen the same colour bird referred to as both silver and pastel blue (a very pale fawn, almost silver body, with a pale fawn head and very pale silvery blue line around his head). Do you know of any link that shows gouldian colours?

Another clutch is fledging and the first 2 chicks have jumped out of the nest today. Another chick also jumped out but was so very tiny and didn’t have all his feathers so I put him back in the nest with the remaining chicks which are much bigger than him. He wasn’t pushed out at all, I actually saw him popping out and he was so keen to jump out and I kept saying to myself ‘go back in, you’re not ready yet’ but he persisted and out he came. He’s so tiny that he almost fell through the wire on the bottom of the cage!! Is it usual for one chick to be that much smaller than the others? They are 23 days old and I know they all hatched on the same day. I’m keeping an eye on this one because he seems too lively for his own good.

Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks,
Sharon

Thanks for the most interesting update and kind words.

Very interesting re the male that had at first tossed the chicks…I’ll keep it in mind for other readers; great job.

On the Cherry finches: during my years at the Bx Zoo, necropsies on various species that died w/o symptoms often revealed developmental abnormalities – heart/circulation problems and such, just as sometimes unpleasantly surprises we people. More common with birds bred from same line/population., but pops up everywhere.

Infertility is a tough one…pl check out this article when you can. Most of it is info that you’ll be familiar with; in Gouldians and other pet trade species, inbreeding is a good guess, but not by any means certain.

Waiting or splitting the other pair are both good options. Finches do not seem to bond in the same ways as do some parrots, geese, raptors, etc., so re-pairing is easier to accomplish and not as stressful as with others.

Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Thanks for the words of encouragement and your help.

I’ve moved the chicks and all’s well. Will be moving my next clutch hopefully next week. I’m having a very successful season, it’s my second year breeding birds so I’m very happy to be doing well. I’ve had 2 other clutches, one of 6 (1 yellow one died so 5 left but all independent) and another of 4 and both sets of parents are in the nest again. I’ve also got another clutch of 5 which I’ve just ringed a couple of days ago and they’re looking good too.

I had a disappointment this week, I had 2 Cherry finch chicks that were doing just fine, flying about happily, parents feeding both, both were beginning to eat on their own and one evening I found one had died. This has me a little bit puzzled because as I said there was absolutely no indication that anything was wrong. Usually you can pick out a weak chick but these seemed to be as healthy as possible. Anyway the remaining chick is doing fine and the parents are also building another nest.

Oh and by the way, the 6 chicks I had asked you about had been tossed by the father but I found them in time to put them back in the nest. He tossed one out again and I put it back but put in a separator so the male couldn’t go near the chicks. I allowed him supervised visits only for a few days as he was frantic to go to them and removed the separator completely when I figured they would be too big to toss…and it worked

I have 2 pairs of gouldians I wanted to ask you about, first is blue male and green female, they’ve laid 3 clutches of 6 each time, incubated properly but they didn’t hatch.

The other pair are blue male and split to blue female and although they are both in and out of the nest and building she has never laid any eggs although she is over a year old. So my question is do I give up on the first male and the second female or is there still a chance for either of them?

If they’re no good for breeding would it be ok to change their partners this season or should I wait till next season? It seems a bit cruel to me to separate them as both pairs have bonded. What do you think?

Thanks and regards,
Sharon

Congrats…6 chicks successfully reared means you have given the adults very good care. You can separate them now…in fact, the parents may start harassing them as nesting progresses, although there’s lots of individual variation in that regard.. In any event, its easier for them to rear the new batch w/o other birds present.

Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Can you tell me how old is it safe to separate gouldian fledgelings from their parents?

I’ve got a clutch of 6 lovelies who are 6 weeks old and their parents are in the nest again. They’re eating alone and I don’t see them begging. I would like to remove them next week just before the next clutch hatch but don’t want to risk moving them too soon.

Re that little canary, he is still not eating seed on his own, he doesn’t fly onto perches but seems happy enough. We hope one day he will realise he’s a little bird and fly up to be near the other canary

Thanks,
Sharon