| Paula K |
| | 04/20/09 at 01:07 PM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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Not too long ago we adopted a male zebra finch that had been surrendered to the local humane society. I don't know his age or anything about him. I bought him a big finch cage and all the accessories he needs.
I've been reading a lot of the posts here and would like to get him a companion. I've been checking Petfinder, the humane societies etc. and there are no surrendered finches in my area. The nearest one is ~400 miles away. I don't believe in supporting breeders or in getting birds from petstores, however, nor do I want my little bird to spend his days alone. My family spends a lot of time interacting with him throughout the day, however, I know that is not enough, he needs a friend.
There is a very nice male at the local Petco. He is all alone. Would this be a good match for my sweet little bird? A female of course would be better, however, from what I've read here finches are prolific breeders and this is our first experience with birds. We've always had rescued teddy bear hamsters that are solitary by nature and aren't supposed to have cage mates.
Though we love this sweet little bird, I don't think our family is vigilant enough to be certain none of the eggs hatch, switching out all the eggs with fake ones, or closely watch a female for signs of egg-binding. Our little bird loves his nest and I don't want to take it away from him. Would a male be ok? Same cage? New cage? Or would this case our current bird too much distress. Maybe in the future as we gain experience with him (and the new bird) we can get each of them female companions, however I don't want to do anything that will cause our little bird distress.
Any advice is appreciated. I know we're not the best bird family, however, we genuinely love and care for this bird and will do our best to see that he is happy.
thank you, Paula
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| Linda |
| | 04/20/09 at 07:57 PM | Reply with quote | #2 |
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Hi Paula,
I only know about large birds. I have Cockatoos and a Macaw. But I do know that even if the birds breed, you can just take the eggs out of the nest so that they don't develop into little birds. I think you can even buy the right size fake eggs to replace the real ones with so that the pair won't be heartbroken when they see that you have taken their eggs. I think when the fake ones don't hatch, the pair just abandons them as not good eggs....and moves on. YOu can take them out and use then again the next time they produce real eggs.
I am not positive about this procedure so you'll want to confirm with your vet, but I think you can do this.....that way you'll be able to "rescue" the little male that is all alone as well as have a happy couple rather than two of the same sex that might not get along all that well.
Be sure to check with your vet on this question as well......they will probably have some good ideas for you as well.
Good Luck,
Linda
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| Paula K |
| | 04/20/09 at 10:50 PM | Reply with quote | #3 |
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Thanks! Tomarrow we will go and get the little male 
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| Marty |
| | 04/20/09 at 11:07 PM | Reply with quote | #4 |
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Hi Paula,
Finches are social birds that need mates. You should absolutely go out and get it a mate.
You also mentioned that "he" loves his nest. Makes me think that he just may be a she... What are the coloring around "his" cheeks?
And you are correct they breed like crazy so be careful. But this shouldn't stop you from doing the right thing for not only your finch but the other one in the store.
Just some advice: before you put both of them together you must isolate the new finch for at least two, but better for three weeks just so if it has any diseases it won't spread it to your present finch.
Good luck,
Marty
QUOTE=Paula K]Not too long ago we adopted a male zebra finch that had been surrendered to the local humane society. I don't know his age or anything about him. I bought him a big finch cage and all the accessories he needs.
I've been reading a lot of the posts here and would like to get him a companion. I've been checking Petfinder, the humane societies etc. and there are no surrendered finches in my area. The nearest one is ~400 miles away. I don't believe in supporting breeders or in getting birds from petstores, however, nor do I want my little bird to spend his days alone. My family spends a lot of time interacting with him throughout the day, however, I know that is not enough, he needs a friend.
There is a very nice male at the local Petco. He is all alone. Would this be a good match for my sweet little bird? A female of course would be better, however, from what I've read here finches are prolific breeders and this is our first experience with birds. We've always had rescued teddy bear hamsters that are solitary by nature and aren't supposed to have cage mates.
Though we love this sweet little bird, I don't think our family is vigilant enough to be certain none of the eggs hatch, switching out all the eggs with fake ones, or closely watch a female for signs of egg-binding. Our little bird loves his nest and I don't want to take it away from him. Would a male be ok? Same cage? New cage? Or would this case our current bird too much distress. Maybe in the future as we gain experience with him (and the new bird) we can get each of them female companions, however I don't want to do anything that will cause our little bird distress.
Any advice is appreciated. I know we're not the best bird family, however, we genuinely love and care for this bird and will do our best to see that he is happy.
thank you, Paula
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| Jennifer |
| | 04/21/09 at 09:45 AM | Reply with quote | #5 |
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A male companion should be fine. Just house the birds in separate cages until they sit next to each other, then introduce and watch for signs of aggression. Finches need a large or at least long cage of at least 30 inches per pair. Put the perches at opposite ends so that the finches have room to fly back and forth.
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| Marty |
| | 04/21/09 at 12:17 PM | Reply with quote | #6 |
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Hi Jennifer,
I must respectfully disagree with you on only one piece of advice you gave.
Any new birds should be completely isolated for two to three weeks before they can be introduced to each other. Even having both cages next to each other or even in the same room could be detrimental.
If the new bird has any type of communicable diseases then it will spread it to the bird that is already disease free. For example, if a Finch is perfectly healthy and another Finch is introduced into or any ware near the healthy Finch and the new one has air sac mites then you can expect that it will spread it to the healthy finch. This especially goes for any type of bacterial, viral or fungal infection/s.
Good luck,
Marty
Quote: Originally Posted by JenniferA male companion should be fine. Just house the birds in separate cages until they sit next to each other, then introduce and watch for signs of aggression. Finches need a large or at least long cage of at least 30 inches per pair. Put the perches at opposite ends so that the finches have room to fly back and forth.
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| Karen | |
| Paula K |
| | 04/21/09 at 08:37 PM | Reply with quote | #8 |
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Thanks, Linda, Marty, Jennifer and Karen for your advice. It was very helpful. We went today to purchase the male, he now has a companion with him, and we didn't want to separate them because they are probably friends by now.
It was really sad, Petco is now selling larger birds, there was one cockatiel and one medium size multi-colored bird both completely alone. I thought they were going to stop selling birds and small animals.
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| Paula K |
| | 04/23/09 at 02:15 PM | Reply with quote | #9 |
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I just wanted to follow-up on my previous post. We went to Petco today, the bird in question is a sun conure, completely alone and his/her long tail feathers are all messy, not smooth, and he kept extending out his left wing. They priced him at $600.
The male finch we initially went back for now has swollen puffy areas around his eyes, and the feathers around his head are kinda messy. The other male and female (probably the new birds) look ok. Maybe they are picking on him.
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| Michelle |
| | 04/23/09 at 04:50 PM | Reply with quote | #10 |
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So the finch you went back for now has swollen puffy eyes? If so, then do separate your healthy bird from this bird. As I believe Marty suggested you do in the first place. Otherwise if it's something serious and it dies, it may very well spread to the one you had. Be safe and keep them separated until you know for certain. I suggest an avian vet.
Sun conures are beautiful birds. I saw one at a Petsmart for $650. I'm just a college student with enough animals as it is, and no money. He was the sweetest thing. They called him Bug cause his eyes bulged slightly. And he had a head shake. Most likely hit his head when he was growing. I tried to convince my grandma that her sun conure needed a buddy, but to no luck.  |
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| Paula K |
| | 04/23/09 at 05:42 PM | Reply with quote | #11 |
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Thanks for the advice. I probably should clairfy that our finch is still lonely. Though we felt sorry for the little Petco bird, we did not purchase him, feeling he needed someone with more experience to care for him. We considered the other two, however they seemed to be a couple.
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| Michelle |
| | 04/23/09 at 06:49 PM | Reply with quote | #12 |
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| Lol, that makes more sense. Well you can always find another one to make him happy, but for now your attention should be good for him. I've got two parakeets myself. Started with one and had to get the other. I've had them for 2 and a half years now and they are quite happy. Do what you can to make your guy happy. Good luck |
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| Paula K |
| | 04/23/09 at 08:04 PM | Reply with quote | #13 |
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Thank you so much Michelle, it sounds as if your little birds are very well loved and cared for |
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| mary |
| | 04/26/09 at 12:17 AM | Reply with quote | #14 |
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hi Paula,
i just read a chapter called "finches" in a delightful book called called "providence of a sparrow... lessons from a life gone to the birds." by Chris Chester.
he mentions his finches obviously and says he started with one male finch to be a companion to his fallen/rescued sparrow that never acknowledged him. the finch was sad n lonely and after reading that they don't live long alone, bought another. now he had two males that started as gay (because they neeeed to breed), that snuggled, mounted each other, ate, slept, hung out together; the whole bit, but before long the love affair ended and they needed separate cages, each with his own wife. he let them fly free in the room most of the time, but they slept in cages and all got along good with this arrangement. it's not a bird how-to, but i get the impression that each finch needs an actual personal mate, for ultimate happiness.
i hope this helps you and your little finch.
w/luv4allbeings
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