Seasons of the Gouldian Finch (part 2)
Missed Part 1? Go here
Pre-breeding Diet
At this point, the finches have (hopefully) lost excess fat and spent time flying in aviaries or large cages to become stronger. It’s time to get them ready for breeding. That means increasing the dietary nutrients to include protein, fat, carbohydrates, and amino acids, for starters. In addition to the seed diet they’ve been eating, add some oil seeds like niger. Begin serving CHOP or soft food mix every day.
These changes should bring on a hormonal change, much like Gouldians have in the wild when experiencing rainy season. At this point they are still in same-sex aviaries. Experts advise that this season last 4 weeks. I live in an area where there are hurricanes; at least one year recently, a hurricane threw everyone off including the passerines, and the pre-breeding diet, for mine, did not seem to have them adequately ready to breed. When ready, the males do the mating dance to each other and the females begin to bicker. NOTHING was happening. I extended it another 4 weeks, wondering what I had done wrong (until other breeders started saying the same thing). They still had a strange, slow start. The point is, don’t be afraid to extend the pre-breeding term if needed. If they aren’t ready there’s no point in trying to rush things.
Breeding Season
At this point the birds are paired for breeding. The same diet is continued, with maybe a slight increase in the egg food mixture or other CHOP. When the eggs hatch, increase this further to sustain the hen through the rigors of feeding babies.
Breeding season lasts about 4 months, during which time it is best to provide the highest value food and supplements possible.
Molting Season
After 2 or 3 clutches, it’s time to reverse the procedure. Remove nest boxes, separate males and females, and molt will commence. If it doesn’t, feel free to place them back on the austerity diet for a week or two, then return to the breeding diet for the duration of molt (possibly as long as 6 weeks)
That’s it! Now we’re back to where we started, with the resting season.
Choosing to Follow the Austerity Diet
Whether you choose to follow this plan or not is strictly a personal choice. I’ve had years that I used it, and years that I didn’t. Some breeders who’ve perhaps bred something other than passerines find it ludicrous and state that they’d “never do that” to their birds.
But in addition to the previously mentioned benefits, we now have the chicks to consider. Keeping finches on a complete diet during the breeding season means the parents have enough fuel to get through the job of hatching and feeding little ones. The chicks may grow faster as well, given abundant food. And the chicks should be healthier.
Why don’t more of us follow this plan? I’ve noticed that a lot of people don’t know it exists. Still others have “heard” it’s a load of hooey. And we are inherently lazy – so tracking and changing the diet every few weeks is work. I myself have skipped it many times, in part because I just forget to incorporate an austerity month. As I stated, it’s your own personal choice. But if you’re interested in doing things as nature intended, maybe you’ll want to give the austerity diet a try.
