I have a SCREAMING Finch on my hands !

[JerseyGuy]

I have 2 Male Gouldian Finches. My white-breasted guy has taken to just Screaming constantly, and I don't know why. Normally, he would only Scream when the other Male is down feeding (I guess he just wants his company all the time). But now he (Fred) is Screaming non-stop and I really don't know what to do. He is wearing me and my ears out. I don't know if he wants My company or he is just disturbed by something in the environment. Has anyone else had this problem ?

[Babs _Owner]

JerseyGuy

Is he chirping sharply like he's sounding a danger alarm? Or is he being cranky-pants and fussing?

Cranky is like "eh-eh eh-eh", like a gutteral throat sound. That usually means he's just mad.

If he's alarmed by something it will sound like a constant high chirp instead. If you hear that sound, then something in the environment is making him panicky.

Either way he's not happy about something. Check to see if there is a bug or spider web near by. All my finches sound an alarm when they see a spider.

[JerseyGuy]

Hi Babs,

No - he is just a big ole "Cranky-Pants". Nothing is wrong anywhere near him. He is the one who does most of the vocalizations. My other
Gouldian (Ricky) is meek and mild and has a very cute little low-toned chirp. Ricky loves me, and my company - Fred is very indifferent and usually sits on the perch with his back to me. Hmpfff!

Sometimes I wonder if Finches would do a lot better with Toys to play with. They seem to be always so Bored!

Both Ricky & Fred do a lot of flying around the cage in the Mornings.
They are both gorgeous to look at. I'm always in amazement at their beauty. Fred just likes to sing (and Scream) all day long, and I just don't know why.

[Babs _Owner]

JerseyGuy

I have a cranky female named appropriately "Brat". Yep, shes the same. She yells at everyone and everything.

Toys? You could try it. But I would stick to toys that have neutral colors, as bright colors scare finches. Pick some with small bells they can jingle. Cant hurt to try. A few natural wood swings might be great.

I have a practically blind finch that loves colorful toys. But with his eyesight being almost zero, the bright colors are the only ways he can find them. He enjoys jingling and clacking them for audio stimulation.

[JerseyGuy]

....... Do you believe this! I got home over 3-hours ago, and this "Cranky-Pants" has been Screaming ever since. I tell ya, he's
gonna be featherless by the end of the day !

Poor Ricky has to live with this guy in the same cage and listen to him Screaming all day! I don't know how he does it - at least I can
leave the room .....

[lovezebs]

JerseyGuy

Hi Patrick,

I have yet to hear a Gouldian scream, so I'm not entirely sure which sound you're refering to (?)

My boys sing almost all day long, most particularily around sunset. It's a soft whispery kind of song, that I would never term as screaming. My girls chirp occasionally, but I would not classify it as screaming either....

Is there something around the cage, which might be scaring him, something new or different, any sort of change to the surroundings? Anything new with the diet, the dishes? A new mirror, a new light? A new decoration added to the flight?

Regarding being bored...
Finches fly for entertainment. You could definitely supply them with a couple of swings, and some greenery (vines, flowers etc. ) from the $ store. My kids tend to enjoy playing around with these.

[Sheather]

Letting them fly out of cage is great stimulation and I find it resolves many behavioral problems.

[JerseyGuy]

Ok, Correction:::: He is 'chirping loudly' non-stop.

As to allowing them to fly out of cage - No. I have Dogs.

I just went over to the cage and Turned OFF the Avian lamp/light
above their cage. The loud chirping Stopped immediately.
So, Fred's loud chirping has to do with the Avian Lamp above the Cage, which happens to be mostly over his perch on his end of the cage. Go figure. Either the light is bothering him, or the heat that the light is emitting is bothering him.

He is now perfectly Quiet .

[GouldianGuy]

The light could be emitting high U. Rays that are visible to him that he either finds disturbing or burny?!

[JerseyGuy]

You are probably correct. In any event, once I turned the light off, he stopped chirping-loudly immediately. I may have to move the light to the middle of the cage and not on one end of the cage.

[Shannylee]

Wow! Problem solved. For some reason, Fred didn't like the light. I wonder if it was emitting some sound or if he just didn't like it on "his" side of the cage.

[lovezebs]

JerseyGuy


Maybe higher up and away from his favorite spot.
I would also place a bunch of fake greenery over one side or corner of the flight, offering a shady, unlit spot. That may hopefully solve the problem.

[JerseyGuy]

I have noticed that both Finches kept looking up at the light - like it bothered them. I don't know why. It was kept at a good distance from their perch, but nonetheless, they continued to keep looking up at it - so it must have been either bothering them, or the heat from it was bothering them ------ but, . . . . . Fred could have moved to the other end of the cage too. Duh!

[JerseyGuy]

Update: I tried moving the lamp so that it was over the Center of the Cage. Fred continued to chirp loudly. It appears he does not like, or is uncomfortable being under the light/lamp. As soon as I turned off the Avian lamp - the loud chirping stopped. So now what do I do?
I really feel they need to have the light/lamp.

[lovezebs]

JerseyGuy

You should try another type of lighting.
I just use regular light bulbs (daylight variety) and my birds love them and the gentle warmth they provide.

Also, if you have some natural sunlight coming in, that's the absolute best.