Can a Geriatric(?), “Widowed” Z Finch Live on her Own?

[Stuart whiting]

Stuart whiting did u find that ones you had since babaies or where adopted by society’s where nicer and didn’t act horrible

Never needed to foster out zebras under society finches, zebras generally breed easy enough and should never need to foster em out,

If one can't breed zebras there'll be very little hope in breeding anything else other than societies

[Fraza]

Stuart whiting the mother turned agressive when the chick was about 5 weeks old they got attacked by magpies and she went really weird and being agreessive to everything hurting the chick meaning I had to give the chick to coco and ginge to foster ( I have the chick still )

[LesLu13]

So I've decided that, since I can't stand having my heart broken all over again, over and over, every time I see Lulu sitting by herself in her cage feeling depressed, I reached out to a local bird rescue and asked to be notified if any finches come through. They're primarily a parrot rescue; however, they will take in anybirdy that needs a place. If they don't get any finches near Lulu's age in the near future, though, I'm caving and purchasing a female Z because there doesn't appear to be anyone in my area who is selling/breeding Z's OR selling Z's exclusively. (I find that kind of weird but oh well)

I know that I'm seemingly the only person on the face of this planet oblivious to Z's apparently being adorable tiny spawns of the Devil, but I do want to get another Z as opposed to a different sort of finch (ie, society) because of the horror stories of sweet little societies being paired with territorial Z's. I'd rather not take that chance, and anyway since my Z's came to me unexpectedly, I don't want to make that naive decision again and purchase a society when I know next to nothing about them/end up having to make an on-the-spot decision when I don't feel knowledgeable enough. Like I said, I want to find a Z similar/identical in age to Lulu, but if push comes to shove and I end up getting her a younger mate, well...guess I'll be turning into a Crazy Finch Lady. Lots to think about!

[lovezebs]

LesLu13

Good luck finding a little companion for Lulu.

Another place to check is your local SPCA or Humane Society. I know that in my City, they do take in birds as well as other animals.

Regarding being a crazy Finch Lady, sorry but you don't qualify until you have at least 50 birds... .

[Stuart whiting]

lovezebs

Last sentence ( finch crazy )....... ......quite true

[LesLu13]

In addition to reaching out to the parrot rescue I found last night, I also scoured the Web for any and all animal rescues/humane societies in my area. None of them have zebra finches So I've decided that if I can't find a finch in need of a home within the next week, I will cave and purchase one next Friday (Nov 10). I really prefer adopting, but I also want to see Lulu happy, so I will gladly open my home to a new (most likely baby) Z if that is the case.

I'm just concerned about purchasing a single finch and bringing her home to a new strange finch who she's "expected" to bond with when most likely she'll be living with other Z's when I go to get her. Would that interfere with bonding? And is there anything else I can do in the meantime to keep Lulu happy for potentially another week?

Oh, and lovezebs: once I find a companion for Lulu, if I change it from Crazy "Finch" Lady to "Bird," I'll only be 46 birds shy of that title

[lovezebs]

LesLu13

Only 46 to go.... so are there other birdies in your life?

Regarding a young companion for Lulu....

I would quarantine the new bird initially, to make sure you're not bringing in a Typhoid Mary.

After this period of time, I would place her in a cage next to Lulu, so that they can hear and see each other, getting to know each other without feeling threatened.

Lastly, I would remove Lulu from the cage, put her somewhere safe, and rearrange the cage, moving everything around. Change the perches around a bit, move toys, plants, etc. to different places. Put in two feeding stations at opposite ends of the cage, and so on. Just make it look a bit different.

Once this is done, place both birdies in together, so that neither one can claim this 'new' home as 'her private' property.

This method tends to work better, than just throwing a new bird in together with your older bird (which would be like suddenly planting a strange teenager in your bedroom without any explanation ).

Let us know how it works out and good luck.

[lovezebs]

Stuart whiting

Hey Stuart ,

Do you qualify as a 'Crazy Finch Lady'?

[LesLu13]

lovezebs That's exactly what I plan on doing. And to answer your question, the cage I was intending on using for introducing the new one into the home -- I mentioned this to Stuart who, based upon what he's shared on this thread, probably is a Crazy Finch Lady in denial (sorry Stuart I had to ) -- was supposed to be for one of my two cockatiels. So there's the other 2 birdies. She didn't care for it very much, so we put it away and I ended up using it when I had to separate the sisters. It isn't a proper finch cage, just large enough for a single finch to get by in for a short amount of time, so that's why I intend on using it just until the New Addition is ready to move in with Lulu into the actual finch cage.

Since I only have one finch cage and another smaller-but-sort-of-suitable cage (the "cockatiel cage"), I was thinking of putting Lulu in the cockatiel cage while I rearranged the finch cage for both birds. Have her live in there for a while so the finch cage is literally No Man's (or girl's) Land. Then when New Finch comes along, I'll place her in another cage (which I'd have to purchase). Could I have her living in the same room as Lulu during the quarantine period until I move the two cages next to one another? Could Lulu get sick from the other bird (in the event she has something) by airborne transmission? Then when I feel it's safe to say New Finch is healthy, placing both her and Lulu into the original finch cage together is something I can do, right? I wasn't sure if that would work because the Finch Cage has been Lulu's home all her life. Unless you're saying when I rearrange it and make it unfamiliar to Lulu, then her being territorial and saying "what's this stranger doing in MY home" shouldn't be a problem? Just trying to understand.

Thank you so much by the way for all your help

[lovezebs]

LesLu13

Got a little confused there with the cage plans, lol.

What I meant, was:

1) Place new Finch in quarantine, in a cage away from your other birds; another room would be preferable. Some people recommend a full 90 days of quarantine, others claim 2 or 3 weeks to be sufficient.

2) Once the quarantine period is over, place new Finchie in a cage next to Lulu, so that they can get acquainted, without being actually placed together. This can be from a couple of days to a week, or until you notice that they're interested in each other (in a good way, not charging and hissing at one another).

3) At this point, I would take Lulu out of the finch cage and rearrange it .

4) Once this is done, I would introduce both girls into the newly decorated cage together.

I know it sounds confusing, but in the long run, it seems to (usually) make the introduction and transition easier, and tends to cut down on aggression between two stranger birds.

Regretably there is no sure way, or fullproof way to guaranee that they will love each other, and never argue or fight. However Zebras being very social birds, will usually gravitate towards the other bird, and eventually form a bond.

All we can do is hope for the best .

[LesLu13]

Hello finch friends, I did another search and found a few breeders in the area. I did some thinking, and I have reservations about getting another pet shop bird. I've only had luck with one breeder so far (she's getting in touch with a fellow breeder who handles finches since she no longer does), so hopefully my luck will continue.

And as for Lulu, she seems to be adapting. She's eating and drinking more frequently, and she's more vocal, too. She's even taking baths again. I'm glad she's doing well in spite of her lack of a mate. Hopefully my (our) luck here will also continue.

I saved your recommendations for bringing a new finch into the household, Elana. Thank you so much. Sorry for being so confusing with all the cage talk, haha!

Hope everyone is well x

[lovezebs]

LesLu13

Wishing you the best of luck, and glad to hear that Lulu is doing better now on her own.

[LesLu13]

Hello finch friends,

While I was gone I finally found a breeder in the area who has female Zs available. So far the plan is that tomorrow morning is when I'll meet her to purchase Finchie.
I'm about to go prepare my spare cage for her so it's ready for her when we get her home. This cage is in a different room than Lulu so that we can get through the quarantine period and the two can slowly get to know each other.

Hopefully tomorrow will go well, and I will keep you posted! Also, if there's anything you think I should know, please by all means feel free to give me advice!

[lovezebs]

LesLu13

Glad to hear that you found a breeder in your area, and that tomorrow is the big day for getting your new little girl.

Looking forward to hearing all about her.

[LesLu13]

I am so glad to announce that today I welcomed into my home the newest member of my pet family, approximately-one-year-old Peggie.

Peggie's breeder says her personality should show through once she gets used to things -- she shares a sweet, easygoing attitude with her mom and her dad. She's had a stressful day today so right now I am letting her relax and hopefully get some sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to spruce up Peggie's cage a little (only the bare minimum right now) and hopefully get a decent pic to share since she right now is little Miss Jitterbug.

I know for the quarantine period you ideally keep the birds in separate rooms, but even though it's really early on I have a feeling they're going to be in the same room really soon. They're "talking" to each other from their respective rooms, and it's kind of stressing out not just Peggie but Lulu, too, because she wants to see with whom she is talking -- the rooms they're in are as close together as space would permit without somebirdy having to live in the bathroom. But, at least, this is the perkiest Lulu has been since Lesley's passing. Of course, there's no one who could replace Lesley. But I'm hoping that Peggie can bring back some joy into Lulu's life -- it seems she already is with their inter-whole-house conversations.

I will update tomorrow, for now just hoping poor Peggie can relax enough for some shut-eye!