need help keeping Gold breasted waxbill hen in a cage

[Derk]

So, I have read several stories about escaping gold breasted waxbills. I had a female take a runner once but she returned to the cage on her own and once replaced she stayed put.

I recently purchased another pair of GBW. Unfortunately, while removing my hand from the cage last week, the male tried to escape. The worst part is I heard a crack and I knew it was not from me. His wing was injured and the next day I took him to the vet. It was definitely broken and after the wing was splinted but before the body splint was attached, the poor little guy died. The vet was a bit surprised because he was a very fit little guy. She thinks it was likely an embolism.

Anyway...the female is really missing him. She escaped several times in one day. She was in the same cage she shared with her mate and a pair of cordon bleus, red cheeked. The CBs are not picking on her and appear to be very gentle. Because I did not want the GBW hen to get injured while escaping I have her in a large plastic critter keeper. Like the one at this link but much larger. http://www.petsmart.com/supplies/travel ... m%3Dsearch

I am looking for a new mate for her but so far no luck. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[cindy]

the hamster cage is a no... I own goldbreast, had a little colony of them, now two pairs....they are to swift, startle easily and would smash into the sides.... avoid that or you will have injuries or worse. The stress alone from being separated from her mate and now in a small plastic box may stress her to much.

GB are incredibly small and can get through the smallest of gaps if wide enough...like a space where water tube has been.

I have mine housed in a regular 30x18 cage... you can make a cage with 1/4 black plastic mesh (Home Depot)... the 1/4 in contains them well. It also will hold any young in that they may have. I used the mesh on the sides, back and top when they had young, when servicing the cage the young would try to get away from me and go to the bars at the back of the cage...the mesh will contain them... you can build a 30x18 framed cage, the mesh is very easy to work with.



personally if the RCCB start chasing the goldbreast I would use separate cages.

[Sally]

The male GB died at the vet office, so the hen cannot be placed back with her mate. The RCCBs are not chasing the hen, she is just trying to escape the cage because she wants to find her mate. I personally would leave her in the present cage, but just try to escape-proof it as much as possible, such as with the smaller mesh wrapped around the cage. She will grieve and call for a few days, but usually they adjust.

[cindy]

sorry you lost the male, read this quickly... leaving her in the critter carries she may become frantic and injure her self or worse... the mesh is really easy to cut and attach using zip ties

[Derk]

cindy@Sally
Thank-you very much for your advice. The plastic critter cage was just to put her somewhere safe until I had adjusted/made a cage for her. There is a small towel over the top and three sides. She has been calm inside. Food, water of course.

I am aware of the mesh at Home Depot that Cindy mentioned and was thinking of that. Just wanted to see if there were better options. I am assuming the safest way to use the mesh is to cut it to size and fit it on the inside and attach with a lot of zap straps? Someone I personally spoke to mentioned using a large net over the outside of the cage to keep her contained should she get through the cage bars. My thought was to keep her inside the cage completely - less likelihood of injury - correct?

[Derk]

Okay, I was tired and not thinking clearly. Of course, I can also attach the mesh to the outside of the cage. I may need more zap straps. I just do not want the hen to get through the bars and be caught between the bars and the mesh. Is this likely or will the sight of the mesh stop her from even trying to get through the cage bars?

I have not found a GB cock yet but have come across a Blue capped Cordon Bleu. They could keep each other company but of course I am doubling my problem. I would then need to find two more mates. But I would have the three pairs of each species that I wanted. Crazy how we can justify a purchase!

[cindy]

Did you try contact Ponytail Joe? http://www.ponytailjoes.com/

[cindy]

I keep several pairs in a regular breeding cage... if you get other pairs I would house them separately in their own little colony especially if you plan to breed. I found they were bothersome to the cordons when breeding even in a large flight.

[lovezebs]

Derk

Hi Mary.
Wish you were closer, as I have two males and a female.

Originally, it was a pair, and two extra bonded males. However, when I moved the kids around quite some time ago, I had boys escaping all over the place. The male from my bonded pair, ended up dying over that night, possibly from the stress of being moved, or some injury sustained while he was going through the cage bars.

It took my two bonded boys a while, but they accepted the female into their duo, making them a trio, who are inseparable.

I have them housed with Red Ears, and so far haven't had any problems. They are however very flighty nervous little creatures.

I have considered getting some mesh to put on back ,sides and top of cage, but I'm worried that catching them, to do the renovations on their cage, might cause even more problems.

Dilemma....

Wish you luck

~Elana~

[isobea]

Derk - Hi Mary, sorry about your little guy. Did your female have a chance to see his body? Sometimes that seems to help.
I have an idea to secure the door opening of your cage a little more. When I had goldbreasts, I cut a piece of fine but relatively sturdy plastic mesh (like you would buy produce in) into a square a bit larger than the door opening. Then I fastened it to the cage bars with twist ties and cut a diagonal X into the middle of the now tightly stretched mesh just large enough for my hand to fit through. That way I could do whatever I needed to do inside the cage while the mesh lay snug against my wrist/arm. Never had another bird escape after that. I hope I explained that well enough. Unfortunately I never took pictures of my McGuyvered project.

lovezebs - Hi Elana. Does your cage have a pull up door? And the cage you would keep them in during your renovation efforts - does that have a pull up door? If so, I would just line up the cages, open both doors and shoo them from one cage into the other. no catching necessary!
Iso

[Derk]

isobea
Excellent ideas! Thank-you. I was going to hang a piece of cloth but I like the mesh idea and I have a bunch of what you described because I was not sure where to recycle it.

No unfortunately, the female did not get to see the male's body. When I returned to the vet, she asked if she could plant the little guy in her garden. My avian vet is very dedicated to her clients - both human and feathered - and she has told me before that she has always really liked the GBs. I also think it hit her pretty hard to lose him. So when she asked, I said yes. I was unprepared for how hard the female GB took the loss. I'll no for next time.

[Derk]

lovezebs
Yes, I wish we were closer. I think this is the second time we could have helped one another out. Still looking for a male cordon bleu?

My GB's and the CB, blue capped & red cheeked, all came from the same place and were used to being housed together and get along fine as well. I have considered putting the lone female with the other GB pair, but they are 'nesty' and I am worried she will mess things up - break-up the domestic bliss so to speak by trying to steal a partner.

[Derk]

cindy
Nice pictures! That is the same cage I use. It worked fine until the male died and the female started looking for him. Yes, I have tried Joe several times this passed winter. He does not have nearly as many finches as he used to. He is carrying more of the larger birds. He had ordered in a large number of GB but they were a special order for an individual and he had no extras. There is a bird mart the weekend of the 24th. Hopefully, I can find out about one there. Joe is supposed to be there. It will be interesting to see what he brings as I don't think he even went to the last one.

[Teagarden]

Derk - I hope your gold breasted hen has settled a bit. Any success finding another one or using mesh? My pair of gold breasted are in a flight that has ¼" x ¼" mesh so I have no problems with them escaping. Someone on this forum a while back mentioned they printed a picture of the species that died & attached it just outside the cage & that helped the lonely bird until another could be purchased.
Best of luck.
Mary

[Derk]

Teagarden
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, she has settled down but I also used a mesh made by Quest fence sold up here at a Canadian Tire. It is 1/2 inch squares made of grey plastic. The plastic is much more rigid and a little thicker than bird 'mesh' that you would throw over fruit bushes but thinner than the mesh shown in Cindy's photo. I tried to find a picture on the store site but they did not have one. I will need to get more information from the package so that I can let people know what it is. What I really like is it blends in with the cage and is not so obtrusive as the black mesh. It should be fine for this application but I am wondering if it would be ok to use for the front of a large box cage (4' long x 2'deep x 2' or 3'tall). The mesh strands are thinner than the metal used for 1/2 inch chicken wire. This mesh was being marketed as non-rust, safer alternative. Because birds can be taught about acrylic cage fronts, I might try it on the front of one of these flights but use lots of greenery and such - plastic butterflies whatever - to make sure the birds know it is there and then slowly remove the objects over a period of days, while keeping a close eye on the birds.