FINCHforum

I recently got a trio of shaft-tail finches. Earlier this evening two of them were squabbling. One was in a nest and the other flew up to go into the nest. The bird in the nest grabbed the second bird by the beak and suspended him in the air for several seconds.

I checked immediately and there are marks on the top sides of his beak. They seem slightly depressed but there isn't a hole or any bleeding. I've separated him into a solitary cage. He's chirping, calling, hopping around as normal, but I'm still concerned.

Before I removed him from the shared cage, he washed his beak repeatedly in the water dish, and has periodically been rubbing it against the perch. Is there anything I should be doing? I haven't seen him eat since it happened, but I noticed before that my shafts tend to settle early in the evening, so that doesn't seem too unusual.

Any advice is welcome. I'm pretty new to keeping birds, and these little guys are my favorites - I don't want to lose him through inexperience.

The bird should be okay. Do you have two males? If you have two males and a nest this may not be a good idea as shaftails are ratherr agressive especially during mating season.

I have some and I had to remove mine from the others due to agresion.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I know now, and that was totally my fault (the nest thing). As I said, we're really new to finches, and had gotten conflicting information starting out (so glad I found this website, BTW!). I got three shafts from a bird specialty store and they were all caged together, getting along beautifully. We were told that all finches needed a nest per bird, plus one extra nest in the cage in order to be happy - not by the specialty store but by someone who raises finches. So I put four nests in the cage.

I realized quickly that two of the birds had paired off and the third was frustrated, so I tried to separate out the third wheel but accidentally got one of the pair instead - they look so much alike! So I put them all back together, paying closer attention to try to get the right one. And that's when the injury happened. He seems to be fine, and even happier than he was with the mated pair.

I really appreciate your response, and am amazed by the steep learning curve! Thanks again!!

Glad you got him out in time and I'm sure his beak will be okay - sore maybe for a day or so (hence the washing/rubbing). Keep us updated.

I am surprised that a bird specialty store wouldn't have warned you that trios often don't work out. As with yours, two will buddy up, and the third one gets picked on. Societies are one species that will tolerate trios, they are just so easy-going, but most other species aren't that tolerant.

As far as the nests, when you have birds in a breeding situation, with more than one pair in a cage, it is best to provide at least one nest per pair, plus one extra, at a minumum. Two nests per pair would be wonderful, if you have the room. I've never heard that you need one nest for each bird.

With some rest and privacy, your little bird should recover just fine.

Thanks - that is so helpful. I've learned so much from this forum and the website in general. The little guy is doing great in his solo cage - I just wish it hadn't taken him getting hurt for me to learn!