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Hello finch community! First post/thread for me, so sorry if I made a mistake, please let me know.

I bought a European Goldfinch for my father (he is obsessed with them) for his birthday, along with a lavender finch. I just received them a couple of days ago. The lavender finch has been very active, as he doesn't sit still for more than a couple of seconds, and he does sing (very static song as he is young I assume), so he seems healthy and happy, though I am not an expert by any means. However, the way the European Goldfinch is acting is cause for concern. Since I picked it up (the birds were shipped by express air shipping), it hasn't moved frequently. The only time it moves is when somebody is near the cage (becomes nervous/scared). The bigger concern is that it is fluffy/puffed up at all times basically, and it does not sing at all, though it is still very young. Could it just be molting? Maybe it is still uncomfortable? I read that it means the finch is sick, and it might die soon. It eats very often then goes back to looking depressed/fluffy. Any ideas/suggestions? Also, can anybody tell if it's a male or a female? Thank you very much for any and all input!

Pictures of the European Goldfinch:
http://postimg.org/image/fsjtpa2kd/ea1b9fb8/
http://postimg.org/image/snrtc1htp/6fdf955f/

I can't help you with the European Goldfinch, I've never had one, so I don't know what is normal for them. It is normal for the Lavender finch to be very active, they are a typical waxbill.

And welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at the Finch Information Center, linked at left, and the members are always ready to help. If you put your general location in your profile, it helps to answer locale-specific questions later on.

Welcome to the forum.
European goldfinches can be very sensitive. Going light can be common problem with them. Can you add a heat lamp and as much variety in seed and other foods including greens? Hopefully the bird turns around for you.

Thanks for the replies! I have a heat source (heater) by the cage, and the temp is around 72-74 at all times. The strange thing is that the goldfinch is eating fine, but it is always puffed up and it won't sing at all. Any ideas about the sex of the goldfinch? Thanks!

I just realized that it has died . I will look into getting another one. Bummer

So sorry for your loss. It is especially discouraging to lose one when you have just purchased it. Can you contact the breeder/seller to see if he/she has any idea of what went wrong? I first thought perhaps being shipped during cold weather (if you are in the U.S.), but then realized that it should not have bothered this species.

Thanks for your reply. I am in the U.S. and in Michigan it is pretty cold. It was a young/small bird, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. It is very saddening as I was very excited to have it around for a long time, oh well. I will contact the seller and see what I will figure out. Could it be that it was missing its parents too much or something? It just looked upset the whole time. Is this common with finches?

Thanks all!

If you are in lower Michigan, you might want to look into the twice-monthly bird fairs in the Chicago area, one in Rolling Meadows and one in Joliet. The last one of the year will be at Rolling Meadows this coming Dec. 14. Perhaps you could contact the show ahead of time for a list of vendors. If you could contact some of the vendors ahead of time, see if they have any European Goldfinches.

http://www.midwestshows.biz/

Most are wild caught and can be quite fragile.

Thanks for the info. I guess my question is why was it fine until I received it? Was it the flight? the change of environment?

I'm sorry to hear you lost your goldfinch.
Your EU goldfinch was a female, not in juvenile (greypate) plumage and probably went light.
This is a disease common in wild caught goldfinches.
It is usually brought on by stress.
Here is a web site that will help you identify the sexes:

http://www.ibercajalav.net/img/431_Gold ... duelis.pdf

Also read up on "going light" when you have a chance.
I lost many EU Goldfinches to this disease.

Thanks for the reply. I thought "going light" means basically starving. Since I got the bird all it did was eat. It looked like she (thanks for identifying) ate an abnormal amount. Maybe it did that on purpose?

I took a guess that your bird died from that disease.
Going Light means that they have the disease and no matter how much they eat they essentially starve to death. If you handled the bird, you may have felt the breast bone, it was probably very prominent and there was probably little fat or muscle.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:
http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/featur ... glight.php
http://www.birdcareco.com/English/TheBi ... oing-Light

Disasm,
Sorry about your lose, as johnvill noted, it is a hen, as u know hens seldom sing. When u get your next goldie, put him/her on some sort of sulfa drug for a week , keeps the cocci from flaring up. Your bird died from cocci more than likely. Was your bird banded?
lou

Thanks all for the answers. I got lucky and was able to find somebody local who has these beautiful species. Met up with him and bought these 2 I believe they are both males (can somebody confirm?).

Pics:
http://postimg.org/gallery/b4wrwre/7f87adb7/
http://postimg.org/image/t8s6a7jyz/2fc0e4a1/


A few questions come with these 2 males (if they are males):

They should not remain in the same cage, correct?
Does putting them in separate cages help them sing?

Thanks everyone!