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CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS | 7
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| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 9
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| INTRODUCTION | 9
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| THE GOULDIAN FINCH IN THE WILD | 10
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| Introduction | 11
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| Taxonomy | 11
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| Status | 12
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| Population Monitoring | 13
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| Distribution | 14
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Field Description of the Wild Gouldian Finch
Tropical Summer—Wet Season, Summer Food,
Tropical Winter—Dry Season, Breeding in the Wild, Moult | 15
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| The Future of the Wild Gouldian Finch | 23
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| THE GOULDIAN FINCH IN CAPTIVITY | 25
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| HOUSING | 26
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| Colony Housing | 26
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| Susceptibility to the Effects of Cold and Wet Conditions | 27
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| Housing in Temperate Regions | 28
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| Housing in Tropical Regions | 28
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| Indoor Housing in Cooler Regions | 29
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Housing Structures
Conventional Aviaries, Suspended Cages and Aviaries,
Cabinet and Cage Breeding, Holding Cages | 29
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| Building Materials | 32
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| Substrate | 32
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| Nesting Receptacles | 33
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Feed Stations
Water | 34
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| Perches | 35
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| Temperature and Humidity Control | 35
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| Human Disturbance | 36
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| Transportation | 36
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| Carry Boxes | 37
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| Quarantine | 37
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| NUTRITION | 38
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| Introduction | 38
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| Protein | 39
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Minerals
Grit | 39
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| Vitamins | 40
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| Carbohydrates | 40
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| Fats | 41
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| Nutritional Supplements | 41
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| Dietary Cycles | 41
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| Moult Diet | 41
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| Non-breeding Diet | 42
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| Pre-breeding Diet | 42
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| Breeding Diet | 43
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Softfoods, Soaked and Sprouted Seeds
Softfoods, Soaked and Sprouted Seed—Soaked Seed Process,
Sprouted Seed Process | 43
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Dry Seed
Purchasing Seed, Seed Storage | 46
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| Water | 47
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| BREEDING | 47
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| Introduction | 47
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| Selecting Stock | 48
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| Establishing Breeding Pairs | 49
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| Line Breeding | 50
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| Incompatibility | 52
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| Courtship Behaviour | 52
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| Nest Preparation | 53
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| Egg Laying and Incubation | 54
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Nestlings
Nestlings on the Floor | 54
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| Fledglings | 55
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| Moult | 55
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Foster-parenting
Bengalese Finches as Foster-parents,
Gouldian Finches as Foster-parents, Fostering Method | 56
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| Record Keeping | 59
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| Breeding Mutations—Considerations | 59
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| Health Difficulties in Mutations | 61
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| MUTATIONS AND COLOUR BREEDING | 62
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| Breeding Head Colours | 63
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| Mating Expectations | 63
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| TABLE OF MATING EXPECTATIONS | 64
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| MUTATIONS | 68
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| Blue | 68
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| Seagreen | 68
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| Sex-linked Pastel (Yellow-backed) | 68
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| Dilute-backed | 71
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| Australian Yellow | 71
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| White-breasted | 72
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| Lilac-breasted | 72
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| Weak Mutations | 73
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| RECESSIVE INHERITANCE TABLE | 73
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| COLOUR MUTATIONS, GENETIC INHERITANCE & GENE ACTION | 74
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| Which Head Colour is Wildtype? | 74
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| PIGMENTATION AND COLOUR PRODUCTION | 75
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| Head | 77
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| Neck | 77
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| Back and Wings | 78
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| Rump and Tail | 78
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| Breast | 78
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| Belly | 78
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| MUTATIONS | 79
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| HEAD COLOURS | 79
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| Black-headed | 79
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| Yellow-headed | 80
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| BODY COLOUR | 82
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| Blue | 82
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| Seagreen | 83
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| Sex-linked Pastel (Yellow-backed) | 84
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| Dilute-backed | 89
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| Yellow (Australian Yellow) | 91
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| White-breasted | 93
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| Lilac-breasted | 96
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| RARE MUTATIONS | 97
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| Blue-breasted | 97
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| Cinnamon | 98
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| Japanese 'Red-eye Factor' (Fallow) | 98
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| Lutino | 99
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| Dark Factor | 101
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| 'Lime' | 102
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| Turquoise ('Australian Blue') | 103
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| 'Dilute' | 104
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| 'Grey Factor' | 104
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| 'White-wing' | 104
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| COLOUR COMBINATIONS | 105
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| White-breasted Combinations | 109
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| Halfsiders | 116
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| Melanism | 117
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| GLOSSARY OF TERMS | 118
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| HEALTH AND DISEASE | 120
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| Introduction | 121
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Health and Happiness in the Gouldian Finch
Essentials of Gouldian happiness | 121
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| Natural Behaviour and Health | 122
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| General Susceptibility to Disease | 122
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Critical Periods for Gouldian Health
Nestlings, Juveniles, Breeding Birds, Identifying Weak Individuals | 123
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| DISEASE PREVENTION | 124
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| Control of Mites and Lice | 124
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| Worming | 125
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| Coccidiosis Protection | 125
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| Disease Prevention for Juvenile Gouldians | 125
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| DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASES | 126
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| Dropping Analysis | 126
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| Antibiotics | 127
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| Emergency First Aid | 127
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Earliest Symptoms of Illness
Tired Eyes (Lazy Eyelids), Inactivity, Change in Feather Colour,
Fluffed-up Appearance, Droppings, Heavy Breathing,
Hunched Appearance, Symptoms of Cold Stress, Noisy Respiration | 128
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| Symptomatic Conditions and Treatments | 129
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Droppings
Size, Colour, Dirty Vent, Smell, Diarrhoea,
Seed in Droppings | 129
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Feather Loss
On the Head, Around the Eye, Wing or Tail Feathers | 131
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| Feet Problems | 131
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| Beak Abnormalities | 132
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| Beak Scratching | 132
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| Eye Symptoms | 132
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Breathing Difficulties
Coughing or Sneezing, Respiratory Symptoms and Deaths,
Respiratory Symptoms Associated with Vomiting,
Respiratory Symptoms Failing to Respond to Antibiotic Treatment | 132
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| Going Light | 133
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| Vomiting | 133
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| Head Twirling and Stargazing | 133
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Breeding Symptoms
Dead-in-Shell and Infertility, Stunted and Dying Nestlings,
Sick and Dying Juveniles | 133
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| DISEASES AND DISORDERS | 135
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| Aspergillosis | 135
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| Moulding Disease (Aflatoxicosis) | 135
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| Campylobacter Infection | 136
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| Coccidiosis | 137
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| E. coli Infection | 137
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| Megabacteria Infection (Avian Gastric Yeast) | 138
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Mite and Lice Infestations
Blood-sucking Mites, Epidermoptic Mites, Air Sac Mites | 139
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| Ornithosis (Chlamydophila) Infection | 140
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| Polyomavirus | 142
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| Salmonella Infection | 143
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| Streptococcal Infection | 144
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| Thrush (Candidiasis) | 145
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| Cochlosoma | 146
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Worms
Tapeworm (Cestodes) | 147
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| Yersinia Infection | 148
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| BIBLIOGRAPHY | 149
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