1 of 2 male gouldians died; Do I need to get a new bird?
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 1:09 pm
One of my two male lady blue gouldians has passed away of a respiratory issue he had for a long time. The remaining finch does not seem too depressed on his own as long as I talk to him a few times a day. He sits by the window and sings all day, and he really appreciates listening to his rainforest and cricket recordings. I am confident he has some life left in him and I'm ready to get him a new companion.
- Does it need to be another gouldian or could I try a society?
- Or even a canary?
- Does it need to be a similar age as him? (I'm guessing ~5 years)
- Should I increase the size of the flock...and if so: all at once or introduce one first and then another pair later? (Cage size is 48" wide by 48" tall by 18" deep)
I have been warned that societies can pick on gouldians but if it's just 1:1 I'm hoping they'd be friends. I've also heard that societies can carry a disease that kills gouldians, so to be careful choosing one.
It's been a couple of weeks of looking now and there aren't any for adoption within a large radius, but I don't want to buy from pet stores. The bird fair isn't for another 8 weeks. I might start researching breeders--I think I can find out the breeder their original owner got them from, but there is a concern that of the original group of four birds (two m/f pairs) only one survived to ~5 years old. Could be the breeder? More likely the quality of their home where both the females died before the males came to me.
Thoughts on what I should do for him?
- Does it need to be another gouldian or could I try a society?
- Or even a canary?
- Does it need to be a similar age as him? (I'm guessing ~5 years)
- Should I increase the size of the flock...and if so: all at once or introduce one first and then another pair later? (Cage size is 48" wide by 48" tall by 18" deep)
I have been warned that societies can pick on gouldians but if it's just 1:1 I'm hoping they'd be friends. I've also heard that societies can carry a disease that kills gouldians, so to be careful choosing one.
It's been a couple of weeks of looking now and there aren't any for adoption within a large radius, but I don't want to buy from pet stores. The bird fair isn't for another 8 weeks. I might start researching breeders--I think I can find out the breeder their original owner got them from, but there is a concern that of the original group of four birds (two m/f pairs) only one survived to ~5 years old. Could be the breeder? More likely the quality of their home where both the females died before the males came to me.
Thoughts on what I should do for him?