u/Vanadium_Gryphon

I'm currently getting one of my Gouldian pairs ready to try breeding this month, and they definitely seem eager and like they're getting into good condition. Pearly beak on the male, charcoal beak on the female, lots of displaying to each other and playing with pieces of grass and making buzzy "nesting noises" while poking around the upper cage corners.

I bought a wooden nesting box earlier this year, and I decided to put it in the cage this week to see how my Gouldian pair would react. They were wary of it at first but then got used to its presence and started to seem curious about it, especially the male. He keeps perching near it and craning his neck looking like he wants to hop in...but then he changes his mind and leaves. He has even gathered bits of grass in his beak and brought them up to where the nest is, peeking into the hole but then giving up yet again.

It seems like there is something about the nest box that my finches don't like, and I am not entirely sure what it is. This is my first time attempting to breed Gouldians, and my first time attempting to breed finches in nest boxes at all. Before this I have raised and bred shaft-tail finches for quite a few years, and they always used covered wicker nests, so that's what I am used to. But I keep reading that Gouldians prefer wooden or plastic nest boxes, and have much better breeding results when using them.

Out of curiosity, I tried putting one of my old wicker nests in the cage, and my finch couple took to it almost right away. They both made the buzzy sounds and seemed really excited about it, and both birds took turns hopping inside and rearranging the nest material I put in it.

I took the wicker nest back out for now as I am still figuring out what the best route is to take. Should I just let them give it a go in a wicker nest and see what happens? Is there something else I could try to encourage them to enter my wooden nest box? Or should I try buying a smaller nest box, perhaps one of the plastic ones with a wider entrance? (The box I currently have is a rather large one with the entry hole offset to one side.) I appreciate any input that more experienced Gouldian breeders can provide.

Update: Thanks for the input so far, everyone! I have decided that I am going to try the wooden nest box one more time in a different way. There is a panel on the short side of it that slides out, leaving a decent-sized square hole that the birds could more easily get in/out of. I am thinking that maybe they are intimidated by the small size of the current entry hole. I will seal up the smaller hole with cardboard and see how they like the bigger entrance.

If that doesn't work, I will try the wicker nest since they seemed happy to use that. And then if that doesn't give good results, I will experiment with some other types of nest boxes, like cardboard and plastic, to see what they prefer. I will keep you updated!

Hello all! My mom, sister and I (in our 30s and Mom is in her 60s) are going on vacation to Myrtle Beach next month. One of the things we were considering doing was seeing the Pirates Voyage dinner show, but we are not entirely sure about whether it would be a good idea for us.

Mom is not thrilled about the limited menu options, and says she does not want to eat a whole half of a chicken. She also thinks that maybe the show might be more geared towards families with young kids and wouldn't be as fun for a group of adults. She's not too happy about the price, either, but says it would be more worth it if the show itself was really good.

I eat mostly vegetarian, so I was going to get the vegetarian meal, and I am grateful they have that option. Even so, I do see Mom's point that it would be nice if they offered a few additional menu options to choose from...I get that as a dinner show they can't be expected to have a full range of options like a regular restaurant, but maybe having like 3 different standard meals to choose from plus a few special ones like a vegetarian meal and kids' meal would be better.

I've read reviews online about the experience, and it seems like people generally think the show is great and the food has mixed reviews...some people loved it and others weren't as impressed or even said they got cold food. If you've been to Pirates Voyage, would you say the entertainment was worth the ticket price? Does it hold up well if you don't have kids in your party? And how was your experience with the food? (Did you try the vegetarian meal?)

I really appreciate any insight that you can give into your opinions of Pirates Voyage. And, if you have any alternative recommendations for Myrtle Beach dinner shows (or even just shows and restaurants in general), I would love to hear about those, too.