FINCHforum

so, i lost another gouldian hen... i cant seem to keep my females any longer than a month.
my 1st hen was byherself in a cage and ate and drank and had a cuttlebone. she always seemed depressed and only left her favorite perch to eat.
my 2nd gouldian hen i got with a male. it all seemed good, she ate and drank, loved her egg food, and didnt mind the millet spray. she passed today, she was on the floor of the cage with her head in her wing. the male was by her side nudging her with his beak.

so i have a few questions...
should i be worried the male will be depressed alone? if so a male or female??? my dad says "he will die of a broken heart, he just lost his mate" he says thats what happens to his keets and canaries.
is caring for a hen any different than a male?

thanks...

Wow, sorry to hear about your loss of your two hens.

Hard to say what happened as to why they passed away. You could get another cock instead of another hen. It doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. Did you purchase all 3 of these birds from the same place? My Gouldian hens seem to eat more egg shell than the cocks even when they aren't producing eggs.

Sorry to hear this news. I would try to get another one to keep him company. Finches do not like to be alone.

So sorry to hear this. If you are losing hens after only one month, then I would try to figure out why. Could they be eggbound? Did they show any signs of illness (of course, finches usually hide their illnesses till they are very sick)? If you aren't interested in breeding, you could get another male, two males will be fine together.

I think it could be eggbound: both of the birds lost were hen, and they stay together with the male, and eating well but no breeding. How long did you keep them?
About the male, if you dont want to get another mate yet, try put a little mirror in the cage for him to see "another" bird and not feel so lonely. But you'd better buy a new mate as soon as possible

i have no idea about my 1st hen but i thought the 2nd couldve been eggbound. i had her for about a month and asume she was born in aug 2007, its what the band on her leg read. and yes both hens were from the same supplier.
ive also thought about jus getting another male. the ploblem around here is finding one.

thanks...

This is strange losing both hens after having them about 1 month and both were from the same supplier? I hope not, but is there any chance the birds were ill before you bought them?

L in Ontario wrote:This is strange losing both hens after having them about 1 month and both were from the same supplier? I hope not, but is there any chance the birds were ill before you bought them?

I beleive so to.If its egg binding like some people suggested,my question Sperman-508 do you give your birds vitiams.

i dont use any supplement in the food or water but, the seed i have is from a local feed supplier. he has "regular finch seed" and "finch seed with vitiamins". ive been using the vitiamin variety...

I too use finch seed with vitamins - that should not be a problem.