Red Billed Fire Finches & Cordon Bleu Finches ... HELP

[7936tj]

Hi ... this is my first post here and I would LOVE some advice.

We have a lovely outdoor aviary under our verandah, (repurposed big old wardrobe) that currently houses a pair or red cheeked cordon bleu's and a male canary. These guys all get on great and we've had them for a while, so thought, let's get some friends for them. After doing a bit of research, we settled on a young pair of red billed fire finches (similar in size, temperament etc). We spent a week introducing them to each other by putting the cage next to the aviary. Things appeared to be going well, so yesterday we tidied the aviary, moved perches and food to make things different for everyone and popped the Fires into the aviary. After a bit of interest etc, things appeared relatively settled, everyone eating and doing their own thing, with the odd bit of flapping around with the female Cordon being a bit snappy but generally looking alright, I didn't have alarm bells ringing or anything.

I lifted the aviary cover this morning to find the Fires separated, the female on the floor of the aviary with the male on a branch. The female Cordon the went ballistic ... chasing both Fires, landing on them, pecking at them, attacking in general. The Fires looked exhausted and frightened, staying down low (submissive) and hiding where they could. All I could think to do was fish the female Cordon out of the aviary to stop the craziness and she's now inside in a cage away from the aviary, calling like crazy. Should I fish out her mate or leave him where he is and how long she I keep her out of the aviary? Will this help with the aggression, or is it a road to nowhere?

Thank you so much everyone. I feel very worried right now.

[Sally]

Sometimes it is difficult to add birds to a small aviary, even when you move perches, etc., around. It sounds like the Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu hen is very territorial. Does she have a nest as yet? Perhaps she is coming into breeding condition, and so she has decided that the Fires were intruding on her territory. Red-billed Fire finches are very passive, so I'm not surprised that they were very frightened by her aggression.

You could experiment with a couple of possible solutions. You could put the male RCCB in the cage with the RCCB hen and leave the pair out of the aviary for a while, letting the RB Fires get settled in. You could then try to introduce the RCCB pair back to the aviary at a later date, at which time they would be the newcomers and less likely to regard the aviary as 'their' territory.

Or, you could put the RB Fires in the cage and return the RCCB pair to the aviary, returning it to the original population. This may mean keeping the RB Fires permanently out of the aviary.

Or, you could leave the RCCB hen out of the aviary for a while and see if she is less aggressive when reintroduced to the aviary.

It often takes a bit of experimentation when having a mixed species community group. Even though the compatibility charts may say that a certain combination should work, the birds haven't read the book, and they all have different personalities.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on housing, diet, and the general care of finches. I see that you are from New Zealand--one of my best friends is from there. Beautiful country!

[7936tj]

Thank you so much for your advice Sally.

The RCCB's had a nest and a clutch around Xmas time which hatched but unfortunately didnt make it, at which point we removed the nest and they haven't had one since. It was too heartbreaking finding the babies dead on the bottom of the aviary. At this point we don't wish to breed any of the finches, we don't think the space would give them enough of their own territory for the safety of all inhabitants.

I think you're right, she's just too territorial. Mr RCCB has been very placid with all the drama, hasn't had a go at the Fires at all and even though he's been calling for her since her removal, has still been eating, preening etc. he hasn't been depressed or sulking but I don't want to punish him too, it's not his fault his lady is being a moo cow.

How long would you suggest to keep her separate?

Yes, we are very lucky in our lovely wee country. Thank you so much for your advice