Animal-World > Birds > Types of Finches > Gouldian Finch

Gouldian Finch

Lady Gouldian

Family: EstrildidaeGouldian Finch, Lady GouldianPoephila gouldiaePhoto: Roy Beckham, eFinch.com

  The Gouldian Finches or Lady Gouldians are thought by many to be one of the most beautiful of the finches and are some of the most colorful birds.

   Though the Gouldian Finches are not extremely difficult birds to keep, they are rather expensive and are generally kept by more experienced bird keepers. Gouldian Finches are also not too difficult to breed and will breed well in colonies or as pairs in cages.

   To learn to care for this bird, a beginner could start with the Zebra Finch. They are much less expensive and have very similar environment requirements and many of the same behaviors.

For more information about the care of Finches see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Finch

Scientific name:Chloebia gouldiae, Poephila gouldian Learn more about the Gouldian "Family", the Estrildidae Finches here: Finch Families

Description:    Gouldian Finches are 5.5" - 6"(14 -15 cm) with the females being a bit smaller. The males are the more colorful. The females are a bit duller, especially less intense in the breast color. Normal males have purple breasts, yellow bellies, and green bodies. The black-headed Gouldian is the most common in the wild, but about one out of four will have a red head and on a rare occasion, a yellow head. Breeders have developed a variety of color mutations including the white breasted, yellow-headed, rose breasted, blue breasted, blue bodied, and white bodied. The variations continue to grow.

Distribution:    Gouldian Finches are found in Queensland and Northern and Northwest Australia.

Care and Feeding:    Fresh food and water must be provided daily.
   A good finch seed mix will provide their everyday need of grass seeds and millets and is readily available at a pet store.
   They will need a good supply of protein, especially when they are molting or egg laying. In a treat cup you can occasionally offer supplements of diced hard boiled eggs, other egg foods, and mealworms. Seed moistened with cod liver oil and powdered with yeast will provide a high fat protein and vitamin D.
   In a separate cup supply green foods such as lettuce, spinach, celery tops, and chickweed. Finch treats of seed with honey, fruits and vegetables are fun for your bird too, as well as nutritious!
   Grit with charcoal is essential to aid in digestion and it contains valuable minerals and trace elements. Grit should be provided in a special cup or sprinkled over the bottom of the cage floor. Provide a cuttlebone because the calcium it provides will give your bird a firm beak, strong eggshells when breeding, and will help prevent egg binding. The lime in the cuttlebone also aids in digestion.
  Give your Gouldian Finch a bath daily or as often as possible. A bath dish that is 1" deep with a 1/2" of water, or a clip on bath house is very important as they love to bathe.
   Their nails may occasionally need to be trimmed, but be careful never to clip into the vein as the bird can quickly bleed to death. Bird nail trimmers and styptic powder to stop the bleeding are available at pet shops.

Housing:    Gouldian Finches have a great need for movement. A cage with a good height as well as horizontal space is important. A minimum of 24" (60 cm) in height (necessary because they fly up when first taking off) and at least 28" (70 cm) long. Gouldians must to be kept in a heated area as they cannot tolerate cold, any dampness or drafts. Always keep the bird area above 55° F, though they will do much better if the temperature is kept at 77° F or warmer. Place the cage where it is well ventilated and against a wall at eye level. The cage should have good lighting but be away from doors and windows where direct exposure to sunlight can make it overly warm.
   Provide two or three good softwood perches about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter. Tree branches of a similar size also make good perches and will help to wear the claws down naturally. Provide separate dishes for food, water, treats, and grit. Place paper on the cage bottom that can be sprinkled with grit, or use a grit paper.
   Gouldian Finches also do very well in aviaries or bird rooms. In an outdoor aviary they need protection from wind and rain, a covered flight is best. The screening should be 3/8" square mesh. Dishes for food, water, grit and bathing water must be included along with perches and a wide variety of nests. Gouldian Finches may roost in nest boxes even when they are not breeding. Plants that are not poisonous, such as fruit trees, privet, forsythia, and honeysuckle bushes will make the space more enjoyable for the finches.

Maintenance:    Although finches require very little time, a clean environment as well as fresh food and water daily is a must to prevent disease and illness. The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Every two to three days change the paper on the bottom of the cage and sprinkle it with about 1/8" of fresh grit. Weekly wash and dry the entire cage, including the perches.

Social Behaviors:    Gouldian Finches are social and live in large groups all year long in the wild. They are friendly with other finches and do well when kept in groups. If you wish to mix bird types, they do very well in aviaries with Zebra Finches and Society Finches.

Handling/Training:    Finches are simply enjoyed for their antics and play rather than training. When you need to handle your finch to examine it or clip it's nails, place your palm on it's back and wrap your fingers around the bird with your thumb and forefinger on either side of it's head.

Activities:    Gouldian Finches are active and very energetic breeders. They must be kept active to remain healthy.

Breeding/Reproduction:    Gouldian Finches breed readily both in colonies and as a pair in a cage. Provide them with either open or covered nests. Nest boxes, larger than those used for Zebra or Society Finches, should be about 6"x 6"x 6" (15 x 15 x 15 cm) and mounted as high as possible. Both birds will build the nest and they will need nesting materials such as soft hay, sisal, and coconut fiber. Incandescent lighting tends to produce mostly males, while full-spectrum lighting helps produce a more equal number of males to females.
  Provide soaked seed, egg foods and spray millet when breeding. Gouldian Finches need more protein than other finches to stay healthy and it is especially important when the female is laying eggs.
   Females are prone to egg binding. This is thought to be caused by breeding too young, temperatures too low, or not in good shape. Some pairs will often keep breeding to exhaustion. They must be prevented from constant breeding in order to keep them healthy.
   The female will lay a clutch of 4 to 8 eggs and they will hatch in 14 to 15 days. The young leave the nest about 18 to 21 days after they hatch and in 6 to 8 weeks will be on their own, after their first molt. Their adult plumage comes in between 6 and 12 months.

Potential Problems:    Gouldian Finches, though not to hard to keep, are difficult to acclimate and will sometimes die for no apparent reason. They will suffer from metabolic problems if they don't get enough exercise, and can become ill after even a very short exposure to cold. Finches are fairly hardy birds and almost all illnesses can be traced to improper diet, dirty cages, and drafts. A balanced diet, being kept warm, and plenty of exercise will prevent most illnesses. Know your birds and watch for any changes as indications of illness.
   Some signs of illness to be aware of are droppings that are not black and white, feathers that are fluffed and the bird tucks it's head under it's wing, lack of appetite, wheezing, and acting feeble and run down.
   Some of the common illnesses and injuries your finch could contract are broken wings or legs, cuts and open wounds, overgrown beaks and nails, ingrown feathers, feather picking, metabolic problems from lack of exercise, weight loss, heat stroke, shock, concussion, egg binding, diarrhea, mites, colds, baldness, scaly legs, sore eyes, tumors, constipation, and diarrhea.
   First you can try and isolate the bird in a hospital cage where you cover all but the front of the cage and add a light bulb or heating pad to keep the interior of the cage at a constant temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove all perches and put food and water dishes on the floor. If you don't see improvements within a few hours, take the bird to an avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

Availability:    Gouldian Finches have been quite expensive due to a high demand and the fact that they are captive bred. However, there are indications that there are now larger quantities being bred and that prices are reducing. The white-breasted and blue mutations are probably in the highest demand.

Author: Clarice Brough, CAS

Lastest Comments on Gouldian Finch View all 17 comments on Gouldian Finch Add Your Comment

Alex - 2011-12-17 Hi I just wanted to give some information on what finches love to eat , Their fav/ is Romain green lettuce but only give them the one with no hearts . Reply

winston - 2011-09-29 I have a couple gouldian finches and it happend twice that the female finch lay eggs and she was sitting there and the male once in a while wants to get in, through them out or just break them or expulse the female or fight in the nest and crack the eggs. The eggs were not fertilized, right now I took the nest away. What should I do ? Change the male and get another one? Click For Replies (1) Charlie Roche - 2011-09-29 Many times - much of the time - when a young pair or inexperienced pair get together, they have no idea what it is they are supposed to do. Many times the male will play hockey with the eggs or break them - even sometimes the female. The first couple of clutches are usually for free - called free learning for the parrots and a challenge for their human. Both the male and female gouldian will share in sitting the eggs so maybe he has a little of the right idea. Eggs being infertile is probably just in experience. I'd let them be together and see if they can figure it out. Getting another male may not necessarily solve the problem - so you might as well see if the two you have can figure it out. They usually do. Reply

Lisa - 2011-09-12 I have a pair of Gouldian finches trying to breed them. The male is ready and doing his thing, has nest ready and all. Female seems to have accepted him, sleeps in nest with him at night but otherwise nothing. She goes in and out of nest alot during the day but no eggs. A few days before I got them she had laid 4 eggs at breeders in a nest. They were discarded. That was about a month ago now. Is she done laying now or does it take awhile to for her to be able to lay more. Click For Replies (1) Charlie Roche - 2011-09-12 They will usually have about 3 clutches per year and breeding season starts when the warmer weather occurs. So late spring through early fall. You can extent the breeding season (or startit earlier) by using UV lights to be sunlight and warming the temperature. Feeding them protein - hard boiled eggs is required. They need egg food for reproduction and calcium so you can just scramble and egg - shell and all. They need to rest between clutches and you won't want to over breed. They have a tendency to become egg bound so don't want to over doo. They are fun though - aren't they? Reply

Tania - 2011-09-03 I bought 2 Lady Gouldians back in May 2011 from a bird show. Both birds seemed to adjust fine to their new surroundings-but I noticed the other day my female Gould is pooping seeds (looks like spray millet). I started treating with a double dose of Ronex 6% and it's a little better but not gone :( her other symptoms are puffed up,and she seems to eat all the time,has anyone ever experienced this? is their anything else I need to be doing? thanks for any help Click For Replies (1) Toby Jungle - 2011-09-03 I can't know but I would take the birds to a vet. There is a disease called PDD (Proventricular Dilatation Disease. It was frequently referred to as macaw wasting syndrome but it can and does affect all birds. The typical symptoms include constant or intermittent regurgitation, chronic bacterial or fungal crop infections, pendulous crops, weight loss, passage of whole intact seeds in droppings, incoordination, depression or sudden death. They pass whole seeds, they can not digest food and the food just passses through. The crop remains hard as the bird constantly eats. There is no digestion and the food just passes and the bird receives no nutrition. They eat constantly as food does not digest. There isn't a cure. Right now there is no specific test for it (that I know of) that is conclusive. She would look as you are saying puffed up as the crop would be hard. It is highly contagious and any birds that has been around it or in contact with it will most likely have it as well. I am sorry. A vet can possibly run blood tests and possibly it is something else - hopefully. It isn't something you did - It isn't something you can prevent. Branson Richie - a well known avian vet has been working with this disease to find a test for it and a cure for a number of years. You can possibly email him. I feel badly for you - buy birds directly from a recomended breeder and at the breeders home. This is the link which will tell you more info and possibly you can email or call Branson Ritchie. http://www.stoppdd.org/solution/avianresearch.html I hope not for you and for them - Reply

Leila - 2011-08-10 Gouldians are simply extremely beautiful! I've always thought of keeping them. I've heard that they are very temperature-sensitive, requiring heated conditions. I have seen a guy keep them in a very warm wooden wendy house where these finches thrived and is regarded as ideal conditions! Perhaps I could keep them in the home? Click For Replies (1) Charlie Roche - 2011-08-11 I kept them in the house - I am not aware of any unusual heat requirements for gouldians. No major drafts and obviously not freezing etc. So no major high or low temperature and out of the way of drafts. Reply

Nell king - 2011-07-25 (accidentally posted this under zebra finches - sorry) We recently acquired 2 pr of Lady Gouldians. 3 took to the aviary quickly and are able to fly, maneuver and land without problem. The problem is the 4th guy - he can't fly more than 4-6 inches off the ground and usually flies a bit sideways and lands awkwardly. They are all the same age although young. Any ideas of his problem? Click For Replies (2) Charlie Roche - 2011-07-25 I can't know for sure but it sounds like his wing was broken at one time. He might have fallen and because he was a baby, they didn't realize his wing was broken. Try and place the bird in your lap and feel both wings at the same time. Have him face away from you and use your right hand on the right wing and left hand on the left wing. See if there is a bump in the bend of the wing. See if one wing feels like the other in the smoothness of the bone. Also check the shoulder area. You can also try and just toss him onto a bed from 4 - 6 inches and see if his wing actually extends. I have a bird and he only has one wing - he doesn't seem to mind. He gets around, climbs and plays without a problem. If you purchased two pair in order to breed, there might be a problem with balance for the little guy though. I can't be sure though. Leila - 2011-08-10 Does he have his tail feathers? I agree with checking the wing first. I hope this helps. Reply

Add your comment!

View all 17 comments on Gouldian Finch

Back to Types of Finches