NEED your HELP! I have 3 new finches that won't use nest!

redtess · Post by **redtess** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:37 am

Okay, I am almost in freak out mode.
New finch owner here!
I bought a guaranteed pair that have produced babies. I bought the pair with a nest of 7 eggs, brought the whole kit home, and set them in front of a window so they could get light. They avoided the nest the first day. So I returned to buy the newly fledged baby and brought her(i think) home. They seemed happy about that. So I watched them from a distance for a few days, and none of them went into the nest with the eggs. But in the petstore they were all about those eggs!
I put the ball in the cage with alfalfa bale and they just empty it onto the floor of the cage. So after 3 days of not being on the eggs, I removed the nest, trashed the eggs, took out all the nesting material and cleaned the nest.
They are still not going near the nest.
I have placed it high, and low. Nothing.
HELP!!!!!

blue28570 · Post by **blue28570** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:48 am

They may be still adjusting to the new cage and enviroment. I am new to finches myself,I just got my 2 last Friday.

I know with some finches, if they get too stressed or if you handle the nest they will abandon the it. What kind of finches do you have?

redtess · Post by **redtess** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:05 am

They are Society Finches. The mother and fledgling are pied. Maybe I should take them from the window to another area in the room with a wall? They empty the ball onto the floor and that is just so annoying! They make such a huge mess!

Post by **Sally** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:49 am

Shame on that store for selling you birds, nest, and eggs, without explaining that it was highly unlikely that the eggs would survive all this. Anytime you change the environment, the birds will go thru an adjustment period. Even if you change them from one cage to another, in your own home, they will be upset for a while. Societies are about the most forgiving of species, but even they have to adjust to a move.

I would take out the nest and all the nesting material for a while. Let them calm down and get used to their new home. Then, I would place the nest back in, high in a back corner is best, but no nesting material. After a little time, say a week, if they are going near the nest, then you could add nesting material. It may even be worth trashing the nest and getting a completely new one--I'm assuming it is one of those wicker nests. If you get a new nest, make sure it is the larger size wicker nest, not one of those little bitty things, not enough room for parents and babies.

That baled alfalfa the stores place in a ball is OK, but a bit stemmy. The timothy hay isn't quite as stemmy. If there is a meadow nearby (so it wouldn't have been treated with chemicals or poisons), cutting some tall native grasses would make good nest material.

And if that baby has just fledged, it could be either sex. You can only tell the sex on Societies by the singing (only the males sing), so it will be a while before you could even guess at the sex.

redtess · Post by **redtess** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:40 pm

THANK YOU!!!
I went out to run errands today, and when I returned, my husband saw that they are going in and out of the nest! YAHOO!!!!
This morning just before I posted the HELP, I had cleaned the cage and put in new nesting material. I had also moved the nest to the front and low in the cage (further from the window).
So now, they are hopping in and out of the nest with the material!!!
I will keep an eye on them to see if things change.
THANK YOU!