Cut-throat behaviour

[L in Ontario]

I thought they were called Cut-throats due to the red colouration under the male's throat (really cool!). I didn't know they were aggressive. I just rescued a pair lastnight (they are in quarantine right now).

[CandoAviary]

Liz,
I have kept cutthroats before and I really think that it depends on the birds. I have had some that needed to be removed from a comunity aviary as they were mean, very territorial. Then I have had others who never caused any problems. My experience with the species has been a 50/50 mix of peaceful and the not so peaceful.

[L in Ontario]

Thanks Candace. Kinda strange but it's similar to the big fish I want to get for the aquarium. Some people say the type I want is extrememly aggressive and will eat all other fish. Yet others say they have them in community tanks with no probs.

So I don't know what to do in either case. Maybe if I split the birds up while not breeding - the male will behave in the male flight with males of various other varieties and the female would go in the female flight.

[MLaRue]

Thanks Candace. Kinda strange but it's similar to the big fish I want to get for the aquarium. Some people say the type I want is extrememly aggressive and will eat all other fish. Yet others say they have them in community tanks with no probs.

So I don't know what to do in either case. Maybe if I split the birds up while not breeding - the male will behave in the male flight with males of various other varieties and the female would go in the female flight.

I wouldn't do that only because they bond and get really upset when kept apart. Mine even sleep in a nest together at night.

[L in Ontario]

Yes, this pair are sleeping in the nest that the previous rescuer placed in their quarantine cage.

Would they be terribly upset if I removed the nest? "Finches don't need a nest to be happy" - correct??

[diinin]

I saw a cut-throat in Petsmart just terrorizing two green singers. He wouldn't let them eat, or land on any perch, and when they went to the bottom of the cage, he chased them there too. Those poor singers had their mouths open like they were panting, all the time. I finally said something to the staff, and they put him in with a canary. Wow, different bird! He was not about to challenge that large neighbor. The green singers are doing fantastically now. They actually get to eat!

[MLaRue]

Yes, this pair are sleeping in the nest that the previous rescuer placed in their quarantine cage.

Would they be terribly upset if I removed the nest? "Finches don't need a nest to be happy" - correct??

No, mine have been without a nest before and were fine. I was only trying to say or show how close the pairs can become. They are pretty neat birds aren't they? Have you seen your male sing yet?

[cindy]

I think space and the individual bird's own behavior has a lot to do with it. We could never keep cut throats in my mother's finches, They had their own cages per pair. I know of other breeders that have them in a very large well planted aviary and they do fine.

[L in Ontario]

I did see and hear him sing - it's fantastic!

Then he knocked her off the perch. Unfortunately I am 99.9% sure she is a star-gazer So I'll have to watch for another hen to become available as I don't think I can breed her although I was told she did have some clutches of eggs with him via the previous rescuer. The other person did tell me where I could purchase another hen so I've asked her if she would want this hen back. (I doubt that)

[solo_birdlover]

Yes. They are called cut-throats because of the red color on the males neck. My own experience with them, they were hardly the aggressive birds every body was telling they were. I had a pair with a Strawberry pair in a 1 1/2 x 2 ft cage and there was NO aggression on the part of the CT.Sometimes they'd try to push the other finches away if they landed next to them suddenly. That's it. The 2 female Strawberries eventually kicked the CTs from their nest that they used to sit in. So, it DOES depend on the individual bird. I wouldn't listen to everything people say.

[L in Ontario]

Wow - that's different from just about everything I'd heard. I've now given the male away to Mike on this forum. I'll keep the female as she cannot be bred - she's a chronic stargazer. The poor girl doesn't even perch now - just spends her days on the floor of the cage with her head thrown back or to the side while upsidedown. So sad.

[CandoAviary]

That sounds like a twirler to me, not a star gazer.

[Carpenter]

my cut throats wouldent let my gold breasted land on any perch so i had to make them there own inclosure but thats my experience.