Gouldian finches should be adequately  housed to allow the birds to exercise and maintain a healthy level of fat and muscle development. Fit and trim birds breed well therefore if you have room for a flight cage, or aviary please consider constructing this before attempting to breed. If you look for flight cages online they are often very expensive. I have found that it is not hard to construct your own and it will significantly lower the cost as well.

pictured below is a flight cage I constructed from free 1in X 1in red oak trim that was being discarded.

the design incorporates two separate doors as this flight cage will have a non transparent panel that slides into the the middle to separate male and female birds when they are not breeding. it is 8ft tall X 15 long.

Pictured below is the finished cage. you can see a series of four hopper feeders per side that supplies the birds with fresh seed and the water and fresh food containers are on pots to keep away from the floor of the cage. This forces the birds to fly up and down and get exercise.

my perch design is pretty awesome to. They have a hing that allows them to fold flat against the wall for when I need to catch birds.

A ceramic heater is on all the time above the perches that allow the birds to warm up as needed. The flight is lighted with two 5,000K LED shop lights i got from Sam’s Club. These are set on timers to come on at 5:00a.m. and turn off by 8:00p.m.

Once the birds have finished their annual molt and have gone through a 4 week austerity period I will remove the divider and observe who is courting who before making my selections. This helps to identify pairs that are strongly attracted to one another, but ultimately I decide who gets paired up with who.

when the selections have been made the birds get moved up to my breeding room and a pair is placed in a single breeding cage. I used to utilize larger breeder cages, but found that the birds actually breed better when they are in smaller cages and forced to focus on nesting.

Birds if you didn’t already know are filthy animals and precautions should be made to protect your walls, floors and objects in the room from the dust, poop, and debris that they will produce. As seen in the picture i hung painters plastic from the ceiling  to the floor to protect the walls. I also installed a floating floor to allow myself to scrub and wash it without worrying about damaging the real oak wood floors underneath them. A air purifier is a must and you will be amazed at how much it pulls into it.

Here you can see a pair of gouldians in a single breeding cage. These cages as a reminder are good for just the breeding season. You should not keep birds in this type of enclosure year round as it will not allow for enough space to exercise.

I have seen a lot of bird cage constructions and i have found that the galvanized steel ones that I use are the best. They are inexpensive, hold up well and are easy to clean.

Resources: Rowland Direct Wholesale is the suppler of these cages they sell on Amazon and Ebay. Search: COMBO: LARGE Stack and Lock Double Breeder Cage Bird Breeding Cage With Removable Divider And Breeder Doors 2 Of 30″ x 11″ x 15″H Cages *Galvanized* Large * And One Stand Black

for the individual breeding pairs search: COMBO: Stack and Lock Double Breeder Cage Bird Breeding Cage With Removable Divider And Breeder Doors 4 Of 26.5″ x 11″ x 15″H Cages *Galvanized* And One Stand Black

The reason why I like these cages as opposed to the painted metal ones is the grate is removable, therefore allowing for easy cleaning with minimal disturbance to breeding pairs of birds. When the grate is attached to the bottom of the cage as a solid piece construction it is impossible to clean the cage without greatly upsetting the birds. If the birds have eggs or nestlings this may cause them to toss or abandon the nest. Cleaning and sanitation must be maintained and cannot be ignored to avoid upsetting pairs due to poor cage construction.

Conclusion: it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to house your birds with the tips I’ve provided. happy house shopping!