FINCHforum

Hey y'all,
My flight is 5x4x2ft housing 2 javas and a canary. I came across a man selling his gouldians. He housed them in a small aviary with all walks of bird life that included canaries. So I figured I would give it a try, and if it doesn't work I will rehome this gorgeous bird or set up a small temporary cage until I figure out something else. Anyhoo, I just introduced him into my flight cage this morning after being quarantined. WHAT A SPAZZ!! Every time a bird flaps it's wings he freaks out and flies around the cage like a blind driver. I am confused because when I was observing him in the small aviary (which was really only about double the size of my flight cage but had about 20-30 birds inside) he was as calm as a whistle. My javas were previously housed with small finches with no problems, and they don't seem to care about the new comer, until he goes bananas. My canary seems a little more sensitive to the situation, and is equally as nervous around the gouldian as the gouldian is of the canary. Will this pass (it's only been 3 hours) or do I need to make immediate changes? I can remove the canary for a few days and set her up in a temporary cage. Would that help?

He may be skittish due to his new surroundings.... I have housed Gouldians with all finches and canaries. I have never had Java's so I don't know what they are like in a mixed flight.

Hope he settles down... Good Luck

I would give him a bit more time to see if he can calm down. 3 hours is a pretty brief period of time; I'd give him at least until the end of the day.

As long as there's no aggression and no danger of injury, I would leave him in there for now. Unless you think he could get injured when he freaks out?

If he's just not calming down or working himself into a frenzy, you might put him in a cage alongside the others. So he can get used to their movements and so forth.

I wouldn't remove the canary, since it's the canary's home. No need to stress him unnecessarily.

The gouldian is the newcomer and the gouldian is freaking out, so he's the one who I would remove if you need to remove someone.

He may do better seeing them for a few days before he goes in with them. Just to give him a chance to become acclimated to their movements and such.

Is there anywhere he can hide or feel safe?
Do you have foliage?
I've found they do best when they back into a safe corner and observe the new environment. (Whereas if it's cage on all 4 sides, with no real safe spot, that can be a problem.)

Thank you both for your input. There are plants in the flight as well as unclaimed nests, multiple food and water dishes. He's eating right now, which is good, but I'm not sure anyone else is? They are all just looking at him likes he's crazy. I think my other birds are scared to go down to the food dishes in fear of causing him to freak out again. I'll find a new spot to put another food dish to see if that helps.