FINCHforum

The newly adopted Strawberry finch, Shakti, has been very, very quiet over the last few days.

He sits a lot on the floor of the cage. He is eating well and seems alert - just maybe depressed. He has not sung since the first day he was at my house. He doesn't even do that loud little PEEK.

I am concerned and wonder if there is anything that I might be neglecting to do for him.

He receives fresh greens and Twin Beaks Herb Salad along with his regular seed.

He might be a bit overwhelmed with the move to the new cage. If he is eating well and not sleeping alot then I wouldn't worry. My Strawberries go through periods where they are quiet and less active. Has yours lost his bright red plumage? Mine doesn't sing much when he's out of breeding mode.

This morning I watched Shakti for a long time - it's great sitting on the sofa with a cup of coffee and bird watching . He appears OK....just quiet. He is my first Strawberry finch and his behavior might be normal for them? I agree that it was a hard move from the Shelter. The birds were very upset with being caught.

When Shakti is resting on the bottom of the cage he is alert and glancing around him at all of the loopy Zebras darting around. He also really likes the Herb Salad. I put some dried orchard grass in the cage in case he wanted to sit on something more comfortable than newspaper but he prefers the paper.

He was snuggling with the one Zebra male that I have some concerns about. This male (for the moment I call him Fluffy ) generally looks puffy although he also eats normally. I think he was plucked quite a bit and is growing feathers back! I'm hoping that is all that is wrong with Fluffy!

Oh - his plumage seemed to be going further into a red phase when he arrived but maybe he was leaving the red plumage phase. The plumage is mottled on his head now.