Gouldian Finch

[MegTheFish]

So I was looking at different breeds of finches on google as I would love to get a pair/group of them, and I came across this finch-

And I've fallen in love! Isn't this the most beautiful finch you have ever seen? Does anybody own them? I'm just looking for more info, but I do have a few questions that I can't seem to get a straight answer on (by looking on google)
Are they larger then normal finches?
Are they easy to obtain?
As with any animal I always look into adopting one but there are none that are available at the shelter here and they very rarely have birds anyways (they have only ever had a lovebird)

Oh yes and I am experienced with birds, I've been keeping birds since November 2004 and have 7 budgies and a cockatiel.

This is the cage I was planning on getting, we have two sizes in at work, will probably go for the bigger one.
http/www.paraquatics.co.uk/media/vision_210.jpg
The reason I'd be getting this cage is because of the seed guards and its just a very clean cage, it will be going in my moms "sitting room" as I don't have more room in my bedroom, and my mom is a clean freak!

And if I'm not able to get these finches in I will probably get a pair or two of zebras, my co-worker has brought in her finch as her mate died so I might end up taking it.

 

[Jessica13]

I've never had any finches or anything so cant be much help with that sort of stuff, but my local bird shop has them in all the time so they should be fairly easy to get hold of. If you want to get them directly from a breeder i could give you some forums/websites where you should be able to find some

They're stunning little birds (they are tiny) but they do seem quite noisy Though it could just be that they're in a room full of cages with about 100 other birds

I hope you do get some, i'd love to see some pics of them

 

[Bloo]

I have always wanted some finches like that yes, they are just the prettiest. I've had zebra finches before (the are fairly similar in size, Gouldians probably a tad larger though not much). And to be honest I don't find them noisy at all. At least they don't give these ear piercing shrieks like some parrots do

 

[MegTheFish]

Oh, I don't mind the noise at all, I think thats the best part about a bird. I just love the chirping sounds the finches make. Much prettier then the sound that comes out of my budgies beaks! LoL.
I would like to buy from a breeder, because I know its a lot safer then buying from a petstore (I don't know much about the guy that we get our small animals from) but I doubt there are any breeders here, as I live in a small town of only 16,000 people, and the closest large city to here is Winnipeg.

 

[littleimp]

I used to keep a mixed finch/canary aviary and had a pair of these.

1. About the same size as a canary, little bit smaller possibly
2. Available from avian specialists but not normally pet shops as are expensive at around £80/pair
3. Don't treat like parrotlets, they cannot be tamed to sit on your finger & will always be wary of you.

 

[MegTheFish]

Well my boss said she was in the city looking for a pair of these awhile ago, not to sell but something we could have in the shop, she did fine some but they wanted $350 (CND) for a PAIR.

 

[lljdma06]

Well my boss said she was in the city looking for a pair of these awhile ago, not to sell but something we could have in the shop, she did fine some but they wanted $350 (CND) for a PAIR.

If they are of top quality and from show lines, this is not an unreasonable price. There are also several varieties of the Gouldian finch and one color variety in particular is exceedingly rare. The average in S FL is around $80-$100 a pair, but this is for the more common variety. If this is not the case, then yes, $350 is a little much.