Gouldian Finch Breeding

Introduction

Breeding finches is a vast subject, and countless books have been written covering finches and their breeding habits. In this section, the aim is to highlight the most important factors to consider and present them in a clear, organised way. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced finch breeder, there are many variables that can influence the success of a breeding season. Even breeders with decades of experience can have a poor year, sometimes ending the season with very few offspring to show for their efforts.

For anyone new to finches—whether you already keep them or are still researching—my strongest advice is simple: read, read, and read some more. Take the time to learn where the species you plan to keep originates from, understand its natural habitat, identify natural predators, and study its dietary requirements. Learn how seasonal changes affect breeding behaviour, what housing and environmental conditions are required to keep birds healthy, which diseases they are prone to, and which other species they can and cannot live alongside.

Educating yourself as thoroughly as possible is essential for responsible and successful breeding. In addition to books and written resources, video content from experienced and professional keepers—such as those found on YouTube—can also be a valuable source of practical insight.

Season

Assuming you already keep finches and are considering setting them up for breeding, there are several important checks to make before you begin. The first and most critical question is whether it is their natural breeding season in your part of the world.

Finches should never be bred out of season. Doing so can cause long-term harm to the adults, and the chicks often suffer the most severe consequences. Chicks bred out of season may experience constant shivering due to an inability to regulate body temperature, abnormal or mistimed moults, baldness, genetic weaknesses, dull or poor colouring after their annual moult, low body weight that never properly improves, and reduced fertility or complete infertility later in life. Some may even begin moulting during the breeding period itself.

Imagine a bird attempting to moult while also trying to raise chicks at the same time—the physical stress alone can be fatal. As the breeding season approaches, the signs are usually clear: the moult has finished, males begin singing much more intensely, chasing behaviour increases within the cage or aviary, and the hens’ beaks often darken or change tone in response to the males’ displays, bringing them into breeding condition. There is far more that could be said on this subject, but this should give a clear general understanding.

The Build-Up

Like most birds, finches need to be properly built up before breeding begins. This means providing adequate calcium (never excessive amounts), minerals, vitamins, fresh seed, and ideally almost ripe seed still alive on the stem or freshly picked. These fresh grasses are highly nutritious and help trigger the birds’ bodies into breeding condition.

Captive finches do not have access to the full range of nutrition they would naturally find in the wild, so it becomes the keeper’s responsibility to supply everything they need. In their natural environment, seed ripens around the time breeding begins, ensuring there is sufficient food available to raise young successfully. However, during dry periods, adults may need to travel further in search of food and water, greatly increasing their risk of predation.

Can a single parent raise chicks alone? Yes—and in the wild this often happens. When supplementing birds with calcium, minerals, and vitamins, moderation is essential. It can take many months for a bird’s body to fully recover and replace nutrients lost during the breeding season.

I personally keep a dish available at all times containing crushed sterilised eggshells, carbon granules, crushed oyster shell, crushed iodine block, and grated cuttle bone.

Precautionary Treatments

The goal is to prevent illness or death in both adults and chicks during breeding. Before breeding begins, birds should be treated for common issues such as worms, coccidiosis, mites, and trichomoniasis (canker). These are all conditions finches are susceptible to and must be addressed in advance.

Treatments should never be given all at once. They should be spaced out over several weeks leading up to the breeding season. If droppings appear abnormal, have an unusual smell, or if any birds are underweight, breeding should be postponed entirely. A full health check is essential—finches should only ever be bred when they are in peak condition.

Ensure there are no pests, parasites, or predators present. Cleanliness is the most effective preventative measure. Bacteria struggle to survive in a clean environment, so cages, perches, and accessories must be kept spotless.

I personally focus on treating only what is likely to occur naturally in the environment, such as air sac mites or coccidiosis, while making the environment hostile to bacteria, fungi, yeast, protozoa, and parasitic worms. Constant observation is required, but over time this approach has paid off. Most of my birds pass from old age or natural causes rather than preventable disease.

Lighting

Light is essential for breeding, but choosing the right lighting requires careful consideration. Indoor birds do not receive direct sunlight, and window glass blocks UV rays that are necessary for vitamin D synthesis.

While vitamin D can be supplemented, the best approach is to use a UVB light specifically designed for birds, paired with a bright natural daylight bulb. UVB bulbs are expensive, but quality matters. The daylight bulb should be bright—dim lighting is unsuitable for birds.

Day length is equally important and should reflect the birds’ natural seasonal cycle. Finchkeeper.com provides an excellent breakdown of lighting requirements on its Lighting page. I personally favour full-spectrum lighting, which closely replicates natural daylight and supports plant growth as well. A UVB light is still required alongside it.

Water

High-quality drinking water is essential. Suitable options include reverse osmosis water, filtered water, or tap water left to stand overnight so chemicals can dissipate before being filtered again. Water should never be stale or contain algae.

Drinking water must be changed daily. Fresh bathing water should also be offered every day, and during hot weather baths may need cleaning and refilling twice daily. Drinkers and baths should always be placed in shaded areas to prevent overheating and algae growth.

Never place feeders above or below water sources, as droppings, seed, or shells can contaminate them. Any leaking drinkers or baths must be removed immediately—damp areas encourage mould and coccidiosis.

Colony or Pairs

There is ongoing debate about whether finches should be bred in pairs or as a colony. The correct answer depends on the species, the birds’ readiness to breed, and the size of the aviary. Overcrowding causes stress and leads to failure.

Natural selection has always worked best for me. Hens choose their own partners, often selecting the same mate year after year. When a hen has chosen, it becomes obvious. The pair can either be moved to a separate breeding cage or left within the colony—this is personal preference.

In colony breeding, nesting boxes should be spaced at least one foot apart to prevent territorial disputes. Some aggression before breeding is normal and usually reflects competition and mate selection. Once a hen has chosen her partner, the male will attempt to impress her by guiding her to a nest. Successful copulation usually takes place inside the nesting box.

One major drawback of colony breeding is chick or egg tossing. Pairs that have failed to breed may remove eggs or chicks from successful nests to take over. This behaviour is frequently misattributed to the parents of the affected nest. More information on chick tossing is covered below.

Utilities and Trimming

Before setting up pairs for breeding, there are several essentials that must be prepared in advance. If breeding in pairs, you will need separate breeding cages. Other requirements include suitable nesting boxes, appropriate nesting material (meadow grass has proven to work best), fresh and clean seed, dietary adjustments (see the Season Chart), adequate lighting, and a quiet, low-disturbance location.

For colony breeding, the aviary should be thoroughly cleaned and sterilised beforehand, as you will be unable to enter properly for several weeks while hens are sitting. During this time, only minimal daily cleaning should be carried out.

Gouldian Finches do not tolerate nest inspections well—even hand-tame birds. Nest checks should be avoided unless there is a genuine concern that something is wrong. Personally, I prefer not knowing how many chicks are in the nest; it makes fledging time far more rewarding, and it is always exciting to see which colours emerge.

Nest inspections should only be carried out after all chicks have fledged. At this stage, remove any dead chicks, unhatched eggs, and old nesting material, then thoroughly clean and replace the nesting box. If the birds are still in condition, they may attempt another brood.

I strongly recommend limiting breeding to no more than two rounds per year. Breeding places significant demands on the hen, particularly in terms of calcium and mineral depletion. Although supplements can be offered during breeding, it can take many months for a bird’s body to fully recover after the season has ended.

Nail and beak trimming should be carried out where necessary. Overgrown nails can snag nesting material, injure chicks, or even trap the parents inside the nest. Body weight should also be checked—birds that are underweight or overweight should not be bred. Hens that are already unwell, even if not outwardly showing symptoms, often deteriorate rapidly during breeding.

You should also ensure constant access to fresh cuttle bone and a mineral dish containing a mix of grated cuttle bone, sterilised eggshells, carbon granules, crushed oyster shell, crushed iodine block, and perlite. Use clean or new drinkers and baths, along with clean perches and cage fronts or mesh.

Dummy Eggs

In some situations, you may not want your birds to breed but find yourself with a broody hen that continues to lay eggs. A hen may lay excessively, or you may encounter circumstances where dummy (plastic or fake) eggs can prevent problems.

I have seen broody hens take over occupied nests simply because they never had a partner of their own, which often leads to fighting and stress. Situations like this are ideal for the use of dummy eggs. Some hens may also be too old to lay fertile eggs but still have a strong instinct to sit, making dummy eggs a useful management tool.

I recall one season when I was overwhelmed with Gouldian Finch chicks and knew I would not have the space to house them all. By replacing newly laid eggs with plastic eggs, I was able to safely control numbers and resolve the situation. Dummy eggs are inexpensive and extremely useful to keep on hand.

Pairing

Selective breeding involves choosing specific pairs to produce desired traits such as colour, size, or pattern. While this can be effective, it is not always reliable. Some pairs may refuse to bond, fight, or simply ignore one another. Selective breeding can also result in unbalanced sex ratios, producing far more males or females than expected.

It is widely believed that Gouldian Finches can influence the sex of their offspring during development, possibly through temperature regulation during incubation. Numerous studies and long-term observations support this theory, suggesting it may be a natural mechanism to aid species survival.

Personally, I prefer an even ratio of males to females and allow colour outcomes to occur naturally. For this reason, I favour natural pairing whenever possible.

Common Breeding Terms Explained

• Line Breeding / Inbreeding: Breeding closely related birds such as parent to offspring or siblings. This should be approached with caution due to the risk of genetic defects.
• Selective Breeding: Choosing specific males and females to enhance or preserve particular traits.
• Natural Selection: Allowing birds to choose their own mates, as they would in the wild.
• Colony Breeding: Breeding multiple pairs together in a shared aviary environment.
• Cross Breeding / Hybridising: Breeding two different species together (for example, a Gouldian Finch and a Parrotfinch). The resulting offspring are hybrids, often referred to as “mules,” which are usually infertile.

Size Matters

If breeding in individual cages, size is critical. A breeding cage should be no smaller than 3 feet wide and 1.5 feet high. Unfortunately, many commercially available breeding cages are far too small and offer no room for flight.

Birds sitting on eggs for extended periods need space to stretch and exercise. Without it, they can become cage-bound, meaning they struggle or are unable to fly when given more space later. This is comparable to a human remaining seated for weeks without standing.

For colony breeding, ensure the aviary is not overcrowded and always account for the additional space required once all chicks have fledged.

Diet

By the time breeding begins, the birds’ diet should already reflect seasonal changes. As hatching approaches, soft foods become essential. I provide sliced cucumber, mashed hard-boiled egg, moist egg food, Orlux Uni Pâtée (Versele-Laga), sprouted seed, and soaked seed. These foods are rich in nutrition and support both the parents and developing chicks.

Any uneaten egg food should be removed within a few hours—especially in warm weather—to prevent bacterial growth.

I also place pots of fresh herbs in the aviary, such as thyme, oregano, parsley, basil, and mint. These remain planted in soil and only require daily watering. As chicks grow, food consumption increases significantly, so quantities should be adjusted accordingly.

Vitamin drops can be added to drinking water around three times per week, liquid calcium once weekly, and amino acids several times per week. Sprouted or soaked seed is especially valuable during breeding season, being highly nutritious and easy to prepare (see the Diet section for details).

Chasing

During breeding, you may sometimes observe one partner persistently chasing the other around the cage or aviary. While this behaviour can be alarming to new keepers, it is relatively common and does not always indicate a serious problem. In my experience, it is most often the hen chasing the cock bird.

After many years of observation, I have found there are usually three main reasons for this behaviour:

1. The cock bird continues singing and attempting to stimulate the hen to breed again while she is already sitting on eggs or caring for young chicks.
2. One partner is not sharing incubation duties properly and is preventing the other from leaving the nest for a break.
3. One partner monopolises the nest, sitting continuously on the eggs and refusing to allow the other bird to take their turn, including access to feed the chicks.

Chasing can also occur when one bird is repeatedly blocked from entering the nest to feed the chicks. Interestingly, the same pair may breed perfectly one season and display chasing behaviour the next.

When chasing is observed, it is worth asking yourself a few questions:

• Does the same pair show this behaviour every year?
• Do the birds have enough mental stimulation while the other is sitting?
• Is the cage environment dull or unstimulating?
• Are there swings, varied perch positions, or artificial foliage?
• Is the cage overcrowded?
• Was the setup changed compared to previous successful seasons?

Abandonment

During breeding, you may encounter behaviour such as eggs or chicks being tossed, nests being abandoned entirely, new nests being built on top of old ones, or birds simply giving up. This is particularly common in inexperienced birds that have never bred before.

There is one important point I stress even to experienced Gouldian Finch breeders: removing fledglings from their parents too early is a major contributing factor to future breeding problems.

When fledglings are removed at a young age, they spend too little time with their parents to learn essential behaviours. Juveniles may fail to learn proper feeding habits, social skills, and breeding behaviour. Many barely feed themselves efficiently, let alone understand parental duties later in life.

Keeping juveniles with their parents—even when the parents begin breeding again—is highly beneficial. When the second clutch hatches, older juveniles often help feed the younger chicks, which is where vital learning takes place. This is one reason why breeding cages must be sufficiently large to accommodate parents and offspring together.

In the wild, juveniles are never removed from their parents. They remain within the flock, learning social interaction, foraging, recognising danger, partner selection, and ultimately the breeding process itself.

In my experience, birds removed too early almost always struggle as breeders later in life and frequently become chronic chick tossers. Conversely, juveniles that remain with their parents until around six months of age nearly always become the strongest and most reliable breeders. Learning begins from the moment their eyes open in the nest—possibly even earlier.

This is another reason I favour colony breeding. When juveniles fledge, they are exposed to other experienced breeding adults. Older juveniles may assist in feeding younger chicks, and newly fledged birds learn to live as part of a colony, just as they would in the wild.

If you return home to find chicks scattered on the cage or aviary floor, you have several options:

• Carefully return the chicks to their original nest.
• Attempt fostering by placing them into another nest containing chicks of a similar age.
• As a last resort, attempt hand rearing.

If chicks are returned to their original nest and are tossed again, do not keep putting them back. Repeated tossing is deliberate and will continue until the chicks die.

Placing chicks into another breeding pair’s nest carries risks. The foster parents may toss the chicks, abandon their own nest, or feed only their biological chicks while allowing the others to perish. Occasionally, fostering is successful, but it is never guaranteed.

Society Finches (also known as Bengalese) can be used as foster parents and often achieve excellent survival rates. However, they are a different species with a different temperament, communication style, and social structure. Gouldians raised by Society Finches may survive, but they do not learn how to behave as Gouldians.

A Gouldian Finch should ideally be raised by Gouldian parents. Juveniles learn how to be Gouldians from their parents—not how to be Society Finches.

Egg Candling

Once your Gouldian Finches have laid eggs, candling can be used to monitor embryo development inside the shell. As a general rule, eggs should not be candled while the parents are actively sitting. However, if eggs have been incubated for more than two weeks with no signs of hatching, candling may be necessary to identify infertile eggs or those that have died in the shell (DIS).

Removing infertile or dead-in-shell eggs can help prevent the spread of bacteria within the nest. I always candle eggs placed in an incubator, as this allows infertile or non-viable eggs to be removed quickly, protecting the healthy developing embryos.

What is candling? Candling is performed in a dimly lit area by placing a strong light—such as an LED pen torch—against the egg and shining light through it. This illuminates the interior of the egg, allowing you to assess development. When done correctly, candling does not harm the egg or the developing embryo.

In the Charts section of this site, you will find reference images showing normal embryo development at different stages. Eggs should only be candled when there is a genuine reason for concern and only when the parent birds are off the nest.

Some eggs take longer than others to begin developing, but late-starting embryos rarely survive. By the time most eggs hatch, the chicks grow quickly and parents generally stop sitting continuously, leaving any remaining unhatched eggs to cool.

Gouldian Finches typically stop brooding chicks after the first few days. It is common for both parents to sleep outside the nest at night once the chicks are established. While this behaviour does not occur in every pair, it is normal for most Gouldians and should not cause concern.

Crop and Belly Observation

Crop and abdominal observation in developing chicks is extremely important and can provide early warning signs of health problems. While this section may seem advanced, understanding what is normal can make the difference between losing a single chick and losing an entire clutch.

It is important to note that during the first 24 hours after hatching, chicks are usually not fed by the parents. This is normal. Feeding typically begins on the second day, when the parents regurgitate partially digested food that is suitable for the chicks’ developing digestive systems.

By day two, a healthy chick should show a visible, lightly rounded crop on the bird’s right side of the neck. Because the skin in this area is extremely thin, the food content can often be seen through it. If a chick’s crop remains empty beyond the first 24 hours, or repeatedly appears empty during the day (excluding early morning), this strongly suggests the chick is not being fed.

The abdominal area is also a valuable health indicator. Changes in colour, swelling, or fluid accumulation can signal underlying issues. For example, a dark spot on the bird’s right side (which appears on the left when viewing the chick face-on) may indicate a serious health problem. Yellow fluid or swelling around the abdomen can suggest infection or digestive complications, while unusually dark or blackened areas may point to internal bleeding or disease.

Discolouration in the lower abdominal region, particularly around the intestinal area, is often associated with bacterial infection. In these cases, faecal samples and professional testing are required to identify the cause and determine appropriate treatment.

Occasionally, a chick may present with a crop that remains full and does not empty, often accompanied by an unpleasant odour. This commonly indicates a fungal or bacterial infection and requires immediate isolation. The chick should be removed to an incubator or hospital cage for close observation and treatment, away from the rest of the clutch.

In my experience, the goal when dealing with infectious conditions is not only treatment, but containment. Acting quickly can prevent the spread to other chicks or adult birds. At the first sign that a chick’s crop or abdomen looks abnormal, it should be isolated immediately for monitoring and appropriate care.

Removing the Juveniles

At some point during the breeding season, your cage or aviary will inevitably become overcrowded. It is essential to ensure you have a sufficiently large cage available to house all juveniles without overcrowding. If space is limited, you should either stop the adult birds from breeding immediately or obtain an additional cage.

A common question among breeders is: When should juveniles be removed from their parents? This topic has long been debated, but in my experience, juveniles should remain with their parents for some time after the parents have stopped actively feeding them.

Although they may no longer be dependent on crop feeding, juveniles are still learning. They observe their parents to learn what foods to eat, how to forage, social behaviour, communication, and general flock etiquette. Removing them too early can deprive them of this critical learning phase.

If juveniles remain in the breeding cage while the parents are preparing for another brood, the adults may begin chasing them away from the nest. This is usually a clear sign that it is time to move the juveniles into a separate cage with other young birds.

I prefer to keep non-breeding adults or much older birds with the juveniles, as these birds can help teach appropriate behaviour and social boundaries. Like all living creatures, including humans, young birds learn through observation and interaction.

Parents Sitting Outside the Nest at Night

During the breeding cycle, you may notice parent birds sitting outside the nest at night. This is normal behaviour when chicks are present, although some pairs may still choose to sit on their chicks.

You may also observe Gouldian finches not sitting on their eggs at night while the hen is still laying. This allows incubation to begin once the full clutch has been laid, ensuring chicks hatch at roughly the same time.

Parents may sleep outside the nest during this period to reduce the risk of egg damage. In many cases, one to three days after hatching, parents will stop sitting on the chicks at night, although some pairs may continue for several weeks. This varies between birds.

If parents begin incubating and then suddenly stop, choosing instead to sleep outside the nest, the eggs will usually fail and the pair may start a new clutch. There is always a reason for their behaviour — our role as breeders is to recognise the signs, even if we can only speculate on the cause.

I hope you found this information both interesting and educational. These are important points to remember when breeding Gouldian finches.