Society Finch Update - With Pictures

[ohboi_jc]

I wanted to give everyone an update on my societies (with a few questions that I have in mind)! Overall, they are doing great and love their new home. Currently, my hen Reese, is building a nest and spends most of her time in the nest which makes me believe she is ready to lay eggs soon.

1) How do I know when to remove the nesting material and that they will not overcrowd the nest with it?

2) How do I get them to utilize the 2nd nest? Everyone seems to want to sleep in the same nest as the hen and I don't want her to get stressed out.

3) I'm in Texas and the weather can get extremely hot and their setup is outside. I came home one day and saw all 4 of the finches on 1 perch with their mouths open. I wheeled them in for some cooler air. Should I be concern with the weather here? I do notice they all bathe in their water cup when the heat is high!

4) I have bird poop on the patio which is concrete, what is the easiest way to clean and remove from the concrete?

5) Where do you discard unwanted seed? I notice they attract gnats and fruit flies if I dispose in the trash inside.

Thanks in advance! I am learning so much on here! Been busy with work but this site is so helpful for us newbies!

[Ginene]

Great pics! Glad to see and hear that your finches are doing well . Societies are notorious for piling into a nest together. If there are no nests, mine sleep in a pile!!! I'm not sure if this will effect your hen, her egg laying and the success of a clutch. Strangely, all 5 of my societies wound up being males...which actually makes for a funny, noisy and peaceful flight . So I don't have experience with breeding societies. If the nest looks full enough, remove the extra material so they cant continue to fill it. If its too full, there is a greater chance of eggs or hatchlings falling out . Zebras will stuff a nest to capacity, many times burying clutch after clutch of eggs. I have never heard of societies doing this.
As for poop...Society poop can carry 2 types of wet diseases which can be deadly to Gouldian Finches. Since you don't have Goulds, I would just pour a kettle of hot water over the dried poop and give it a scrub with a brush and antibacterial soap. Be careful to stay clear of smelly cleaning products. A hosing would be great too, but I don't know if you have access to that in your outdoor space.
Now for the heat...since you live in a warm climate and your birds are outdoors, be sure they always have a shaded area in their cage, and keep plenty of fresh drinking water and bath water in their cage.
Hopefully an expert will be on soon to add info, but hopefully this will get you started ! Btw...Love their names. Mine are Hershey, Cocoa, Pudding, Aladdin and Jasmine (was suppose to be a hen )

[dcompt]

Some of the questions I can't answer. As for the heat, I'm sure you have them in shade. I would also try to keep bathwater in the cage at all times. Mine bathe several times a day, and if they were outside in the heat (it cooks here in Louisiana too) I imagine they would be even more eager for it. I use one of the plastic baths straight on one end, rounded on the other that comes with a cover (I don't recall the manufacturer), but without the cover as mine would never accept that. You could use any kind of dish that isn't too slippery on the bottom. Some use plant saucers I think. I fill mine to the brim, that makes the water about an inch deep. You could also give them a shower from time to time from a fine mist spray bottle. I've done that a few times and mine liked it, but it's messy indoors.

Unused bird seed. I have the vacation feeders now so don't really have any, but the seed that would be left over after several culls I kept in a covered container and this spring I tossed it out on the patio for the wild birds. I don't know if that would work in your situation.

Since we seem to be sharing names, mine are all males too - Pippin, Badger, Whistle, Hermit (an odd society find), Ziggy, Patch, Chip, and Dee.

[ohboi_jc]

Ginene

I would like to see them sleep in a pile on a perch! LOL! Will you ever get them a hen? I'm sure they would love that! I did not know about their poop, that'll give me more reasons to house the gouldians separately. As far as cleaning, I was weary of cleaning it with any type of smelly products! I will just use basic soap and water, thanks for the info! Your names are very cute & poor Jasmine being a male with that name, hehe. I'm sure he doesn't mind.

[ohboi_jc]

dcompt

Yes, it is a covered balcony so there is plenty of shade but it can get pretty darn hot here! I will purchase a bird bath for them soon at a pet store and hopefully they will use it.

That is a great idea for unused bird seeds! I will save them in ziploc and just feed them to the wild birds when it fills up. Such picky eaters eh. How was Hermit found? Lovely names by the way.

[Lisa]

I would be sure the cage is in the shade and also you can add things to create shade, such as foliage around the top of the cage. The birds really need to be slowly acclimated to the temperatures, but I would keep bath water available at ALL times, Texas heat is brutal! Also be sure they have plenty of fresh water and I would even position their food/water in the shady areas so they don't have to bake in order to eat/drink.

With the seed hulls, maybe you could throw them out in a trashbag but keep it indoors until it's time for the garbage to go out? The heat may be effecting the hulls attracting the gnats and such.

When the nest has plenty of nesting material, I would stop offering them more. I don't know that there is really a way to keep the others out of using the same nest, other than when they start to sit on eggs, the parents will probably become intolerant of others sleeping in there too (though sometimes they will allow a "buddy" in there to help with parenting).

Best of luck with your birds!

[Nanajennie]

Things are looking great! Congrats and Good job!

I throw all the used seed out in the grass and the deck off my bedroom, the wild birds gobble it up.

I don't know anything about Society nesting issues, so I can't speak into that.

I agree with avoiding the chemical to clean the poo. Antibacterial hand soap or dish soap is what I use. When I clean my cages thoroughly I use highly diluted bleach/water. about 5/100. I haven't had any issues with the bleach water bothering them. Things need to be 100% dried out before allowing the birds around the cleaned areas.

Way to go Ginene with the advice!!!

[dcompt]

Poor Hermit. I got him at Petsmart when I quickly needed a companion for Pippin - he was my only choice, but he's a dear. Pippin wasn't as convinced. They were buddies by default until Badger was added. Pippin was instantly star struck and Hermit was dropped like a hot potato, but he found a good friend then in Whistle. Societies are their own soap opera. When I later added four youngsters, Hermit, being a little on the small side and non-assertive, quickly dropped to the bottom of the pecking order, and when the younger ones became "teenagers" they really harassed him a lot. He took to spending almost all the time in the safe retreat of his nest, fiercely defended against any except his buddy. That's when he acquired the name. Then in the evening when the others were settling in for the night, he would come out - with an almost audible sigh of relief at the quiet - and spend about half an hour by himself in the peaceful freedom of the cage. Eventually the young ones calmed down and now he has a much easier life, but he's still a real homebody and likes to hang out in his nest a lot. He's also one of my most enthusiastic architects. If he's going to be in there that much, it's going to be built to HIS specifications!

Lesson - never ask about one of my birds. I'll talk your ears off!