Despite what several books say, we find that Gouldian Finches generally are far easier to breed than many would care to believe- that being said they should ALWAYS have a warm area in which to roost and if housed in outside flights adequate protection should be provided to protect them from the harsh elements of our English weather.

We house our birds in both cages and indoor flights, we prefer these days NOT to use outside accomodation however we do know several breeders in this country who do house their collection of Gouldian Finches in outdoor aviaries but most tend to "bring their birds inside" during the colder weather.

Some Gouldian Finches seem more successfull than others when it comes to breeding - this is one of the challenges of keeping this species as no two birds  will behave excactly the same, one way to improve your chances of success is to ensure that you only buy breeding stock that is known to have come from parent  reared stock,many breeders ( ourselves included ) DO NOT USE FOSTER PARENTS AT ALL and having parent reared their Gouldian Finches for many  generations their stock is generally more reliable when it comes to breeding.

NATURAL BREEDING SEASON:

I n the wild, Gouldian Finches tend to breed from December through to April, where as captive bred stock can breed at any time of the year depending largely on when the birds have completed their molt and come into full breeding condition.

EGGS:

Gouldian Finches can lay anything from a single egg up to seven in one clutch but generally we find that the "average" clutch consists of five eggs.

Both parents take turns in incubating the eggs / rearing their chicks.

The incubation period is normally 12 to 14 days and chicks fledge their nests when they are 21 days old ( this can however vary as some chicks will often take a few days longer to fledge the nest ).

COLOUR AND MUTATIONS:

There are three naturally occuring colour varients within Gouldian Finches.The Black- headed being the dominant formThe other two naturally occuring variations being the Red - headed and Yellow -headed forms.... whilst we refer to them as "Yellow - headed they tend to be more Orrange in colour.

In addition to the "natural" mutations there are hundreds of  domesticated colour variations currently being produced all over vthe world  and a good reference book dealing with some of these is " A Guide To Gouldian Finches-Their Management ,Care & Breeding" by Sammut and Marshalll. ( published by Australian Birdkeeper 1991 ).  

STAGES OF THE MOLT IN GOULDIAN’S

Reproduced by kind permission of the author Judi Liosatos

The Gouldian Finch goes through a moult every year and usually at about the same time each year.  Their first moult is usually the most dramatic as you see the bird change from an all over olive colour to the most beautiful range of colours.  No matter whether its a first moult or consecutive moult it is always very stressful for the bird and they need extra vitamins during this time.

The following photo shows the four different stages of a moult and the description following that.


STAGE 1

The Gouldian juvenile has just come out of the nest and they are a drab olive green.  Some fledglings will already have spots of colour around the head area.  But these will stay unchanged until they reach their true moult. sometimes up to 6 months.  But it is usually a good indication of their head colouring.  As they get older you will see colour starting to form on their chest and abdomen region.

STAGE 2

The juvenile will usually start their true moulting about 4 to 6 months of age, although they have been known to start as young as 4 weeks.  The chest and abdomen colourings are becoming stronger, almost like someone has thrown a tin of paint over them causing a splattered effect.  The head area becomes more dotted with colour and you will see colouring forming around the neck and on the tail region.

STAGE 3

They have most of their colourings now and the head starts to show the pin feathers.  This is what I call the teenager stage as they are quite gawky and not all that pretty.  But like the ugly duckling it isn't long before they turn into the beautiful bird that gouldians are. 

STAGE 4

This is when they have fully completed their moult and now show all their true colours.  This is the colouring they will stay with but will continue to go through yearly moults.

ADULT MOULT

This is very similiar to the Stage 3 of the Juvenile Moult.  They will get a small amount of blotching to the coloured feathers but their head will still show the pin feathers.  Even though this is not as dramatic as the Juvenile Moult it is still a very stressful time for the bird involved.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.

During this very stressful period, the Gouldians need extra vitamins and minerals which can be obtained through natural form such as fruits and cuttlefish and live food.  You can also purchase special moulting supplements that are added to their water. This can be purchased quite freely from any good reputable pet shop.

It is highly advised that you DO NOT buy or transport Gouldians during their moult.  Until they have completed their moult you cannot be sure of their true colouring.  I have experienced receiving birds during their moult and I ended losing one due to the stress and the other was stuck in moult for 4 months.  It was quite a sorrowful sight.  This bird eventually came good but it was quite a worrying time both for us and the bird involved.



And finally here is a photograph showing a collection of juvenile Gouldian Finches that have almost fully completed their first molt.