Update: Gold breast, I lost a male.

[cindy]

This morning everything was fine with my finches, I took my daughter to school, when I got back I noticed something was not right in the larger flight. My little Goldbreast male (my first pair) was in the corner, beak in the corner, laying on his stomach.

I scooped him up, he was gone. I am not sure but I think he broke his neck, his little body was still warm, but his head just flopped. I am heartbroken.

The male and his female had started to nest, I don't know if there are eggs yet, but now his little female is calling him. There is a second pair of Goldbreast in with her as well as the Orange cheek.
Will she be ok? Is there anything I can do for her. The original breeder I got them from is on the upper east coast of Florida but will be coming here in October?

I would like to get her another mate, does anyone in my area (just above Tampa) have a young Goldbreast male? My daughter and I will be going to Naples/Ft Myers this weekend on Saturday.

[L in Ontario]

Aww I'm so sorry about the male Goldbreast, Cindy!

I hope you find a new male for your little female soon.

[cindy]

Thanks Liz, do you think the female will be ok? there is another set of Gold breast in with her. I will check the nest to see if there are any eggs, they were mating.

[JohnBoy]

Cindy, I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you find a mate for her real soon.

[L in Ontario]

If there are 3 of them in the cage/aviary - she should be fine til you get another male.

I always find it so sad and difficult to loose any of our 'jewels'.

[cindy]

I am going to check later to see if they had laid eggs, I have an incubator if I need it.

The female called for him for about 20 minutes and then joined the other pair, took a bath. I added extra millet to maybe "change the subject" in the cage. They are all flitting back and forth. I contacted the orginally breeder and won't be able to see him until October in Orlando and Hernando. Hope she will be fine until then if I can't find her a new mate.

Thank you for your thoughts.

[dfcauley]

Sorry for your loss Cindy.

I wish you lived closer to Georgia. They always have them at the bird marts. Chris (Finch Fry) has some new fledgings, but I think he is also a good way from you.

[CandoAviary]

This is the part of the hobby I hate .... accidents/sickness/death

[cindy]

Thanks everybody,

This was just unexpected this early into my getting back into birds again. The whole cage was quiet awhile ago, I noticed the one pair that had been nesting and mating were in their nest. I didn't see the little single female until she popped her head out of the nest she and her male had started. Either she is going in there out of habit or they may have eggs.

If there are eggs, and she sits I will leave her be with them. If she doesn't sit I have an incubator. I have incubated reptile eggs before but never bird eggs (except the chicks for my Kindergarten class...that was interesting, I had to take 13 chicks home for the weekend. !).

At what temp do you set the incubator for and do you turn the eggs as you do with chicken eggs? With reptile eggs you don't turn them.

[cindy]

I was watching the remaining 5 in the cage, the orange cheek male was attacking the little female, Both Goldbreast had established nest on opposite sides of the cage. I think I will leave the little female with the other GB pair and divide the cage into an upstairs downstairs condo, Orange Cheek on the bottom floor.

I saw this aggression in the male OC before and was concerned. I am getting the extra tray down and dividing them up so it does not happen again. 38w x 18h x 22d should be fine for both.

This is probably what happened to the little male this morning.

[Finch Fry]

Yah, that is my suspicion. A male rampaged on his breeding testosterone and chased/spooked him and its not like he has much space to run to... and wham.. It sucks, you have my sympathy.

Very smart move on the separation of the species while breeding.

Chris (Finch Fry) has some new fledgings, but I think he is also a good way from you.

3 in fact and as of nest check on Sunday, 6 more eggs under the parents. Distance is too far though for such a cheaply priced bird. They are easily going for 20 a piece at marts now. The hen will be fine being courted by the same male as the other hen or she will be fine until you get a new male in Oct. Dont sweat it.

[cindy]

I moved the Orange cheek to their own cage. It is a bit smaller than my other flights. It will do until I can order a few more breeder cages. I decided this when I saw the male OC go after the little lone GB female. I decided it was not worth the loss of another sweet bird. When in the flight I noticed a little blood on the perch so possibly the OC hurt the GB male.

So now the 3 Gold breast have the whole big 38w x 36h x 22d flight to themselves, eventually I will get another male unless the current male bonds and breeds with both females. I am planning to move each pair if I do get another male into their own new cages and let the big flight be for offspring.

It has been just one of those days. Hopefully there will be peace in Finchville.

[lovemyfinch]

So sorry for your loss I hope everything is peaceful now.

[Sally]

So sorry for your loss--it is always hard to lose any of our little finches. I am going to move this thread, just trying to decide where best to put it. Not Health, since it appears it may have been aggression on the OC part. Maybe Species.

[cindy]

Thank you Janine and Sally, it is always a shock to loose a little one.

I moved the Orange cheek to a smaller cage and they aren't really sure what to make of it. I am in the process of finding the best deal on 30 x 18 breeder flights. The little female is sitting in front of her nest calling the male. I feel so bad.

I will probably get her a mate in October when the shows come back around. I am trying to find a breeder between here and Naples, but they are hard to find. If the other pair has chicks I may hold back a male for her.