Oh, this Gouldian topic has me going again! I am preparing my greenhouse to receive a pair of them sometime soon. I had finches as a child, with my mother who also loved them. Strawberries, Societies, Tricolor Nuns, one Gouldian (red head), Zebras. I've wanted to get birds into my greenhouse since seeing Trithor's image of one in his. Just have to do all the preps.
So do they also nip flower buds, John?
I had a mixed collection of birds loose in my greenhouse, Chris. However, I can say that the Button Quail did no damage at all. They just left eggs everywhere! But, being 1,440 sq feet, the greenhouse gave them the ability to act as Quail should. They moved around in groups as they foraged for bugs and spilled seed from the bird 2 feeders above at either end of the greenhouse. They became quite bold, not remaining skittish, as they are in smaller aviaries. However, one move towards them and they'd scatter back under the benches.
The Diamond Dove pair were a delight. They did virtually no damage to the plants and they produced 2 babies every 4 weeks! I'd notice that one (the female), would disappear. Eventually, I'd notice as I watered a hanging pot that I was also watering a dove sitting on a nest. She never moved, even when being watered! After I'd located her new nest, I'd be a lot more careful. The eggs would hatch in less than 2 weeks and the babies would fledge in another 2 weeks. No nest was used twice. Then, Mom and Dad would start again. Very prolific birds. Also, they had favourite roosting places and the droppings were concentrated under those locations. The droppings also washed off the plant foliage easily, making it easy to clean up after them and keep the plants looking nice.
Did you know that these Doves can fly like bullets shot from a gun? I learned to pay attention to where they were and where my head was while in an aisleway. I had a lot of hanging plants; so, other than way up in the peak of the greenhouse, there were "corridors" of open space only above each aisleway. The Doves would shoot down these "flyways" so fast, they were barely a blur as they grazed my head and shot by! It never happened; but, I often thought that if they miscalculated, I'd be knocked out if hit by one....and the bird would be nothing more than a red stain on the side of my head! I knew that I'd just been buzzed more from hearing the wistle of their wings, than from seeing them as they passed....they were so fast! What beautiful birds. Then, they'd stop on a low perch and be all calm and collected.....making it hard to imagine that they could do anything more than slowly flutter from perch to perch.
The Zebras were a bit of a problem, as were the Gouldians when it came to picking at the flowers. I also had a pair of black and white Mannekins. They loved to build big, ball-shaped nests in the Stanhopeas. I never noticed them eating buds.
However, the Peking Robins, which were my favourite of them all, were very destructive and they were ultimately why I stopped having birds loose in the greenhouse. I pay the bills with my orchids and the Robins were putting me into the poor house! They don't eat seeds; they eat fruit and bugs. They also ate Oxalis seed pods, which I did like to see. They were a great help in keeping down the bug populations. However, they seemed to think that orchid buds were fruits and they took a bite out of every one, ruining the bloom that would open a short time later. It was a real disappointment that they tended to do that, because they were such a delight. They are beautiful and the male has a wonderful song. And, they are VERY cheeky and full...I mean FULL, of spunk and attitude. This made them a lot of fun. I had 3 pair loose in the greenhouse and they'd come to me like a gang of thieves, stalking their prey. I'd enter the greenhouse and I could hear their chatter, change from normal to something along the lines of "Let's get him!" They'd move towards me by hopping from plant to plant, the group as one single unit, mumbling under their breath all the way. I felt like I was being stalked! They did this because they knew that I held the secret to how to get into the mealworm culture tray that I kept under the potting bench for them. Peking Robins will sell their own mother into slavery for a juicy mealworm! As I moved around the greenhouse, going about my business, the gang of thugs would follow, like a shaddow, up in the foliage. I'm certain they were talking about what they'd do to me if I didn't produce some mealworms soon! As soon as I reached under the bench and produced the mealworm tray, they'd be right there, on the bench, being very vocal about how bloody long I took! I'd put a few mealworms in my hand and they'd quickly dart over, land on my hand, grab a mealworm and shoot up to the nearest perch to enjoy their tasty snack. The Robins were a LOT of fun. It was a real shame that I had to stop having them loose; but, I just couldn't afford the damage that they did to the flower buds.
