Cage Mate for my male Society

[silversong]

Hello, two weeks ago I purchased a male & female pair of Society finches, cage and all accessories as indoor pets (no interest in breeding) from the previous owner who was moving. Long story made very short, I lost the hen to egg binding on Sunday. Now my male finch, Bently, is alone, and I have read enough to know that's not a good thing for a Society finch.

I am understandably hesitant about getting another Society hen and would prefer a male anyway as they have a lovely, happy song. I have read that a cage with only male Society finches get along well, however, I've also read that sexing the Society is tricky. Since I haven't been able to locate a finch breeder anywhere near my area (I would consider looking at a nearby province if I had contact info), my options are PetSmart or PetCulture - and I'm not confident they observe the Society finches closely enough to be able to sort out a male from a hen.

I'm also thinking it would be nice to have a different breed, or different variety of finch, that sings and has similar feed requirements. I've seen the compatibility chart on the Finchinfo.com site, but that doesn't get into who works best with who , and would really appreciate input into what has worked in your personal experience.

I'm also concerned about how long can Bently wait for companionship? I would prefer to take my time to pick my next bird, but do not want to cause him any harm either.

BTW, the cage I have is the Hagen Vision large cage (17" x 31" x 37" tall).

[Sheather]

silversong

Male societies get along great. They are extremely easy to sex; generally they don't go more than five minutes without bursting into song, especially when crowded at the pet shop. Even if you cannot hear them, the puffy dance of a singing male is unmistakable. And unlike other finches, each society is almost always so distinct it's impossible to lose it and get another by mistake in the confusion of catching them. Males tend to have flatter heads, compared to a rounded, sometimes almost bubble-shaped head in the female, and also wider beaks, with lower bills that project further back than those of the hens. I've never seen a flat-headed female or a bubble-headed male, but plenty of birds of both genders can sometimes have an intermediate sort of things going on, and likewise you can sometimes get the odd exception which does not conform to the beak thing either - usually a big-beaked female rather than a small-beaked male. If a bird has a small bill and a rounded head, however, it's probably a hen. If it's head is flat and wedge-shaped and its beak large, it's almost certainly male. In my experience, at least - and I have 24 societies (5 hens, 4 cocks, 15 fledgelings, all flying around all over the bird room) right now, so I am a bit experienced in this regard haha.

It's interesting how often egg-binding occurs in caged birds - I feel it has a lot to do with the relative lack of exercise; I have never seen it in any of my aviary birds. I recommend - even if you only have males - to keep a cup of crushed eggshells in the cage; I've never seen a society nibble a cuttlebone (if your hen would not either, that would cause her problem), but they love to crunch and eat these up. Lots of broccoli is good for calcium too (and vitamins).

It's best he get a companion soon, but he will not die if you don't. They are enormously social animals though, and sooner the better for his well-being.

A society would be his first choice. However, you can force a bond eventually with nearly any other bird. I would not recommend a zebra finch, as they can be very, very aggressive. A male silverbill, male spice (this one has a very quiet and basic song though), or male of any of the other various munias would be best, as these species are taxonomically close and can still generally communicate and bond easily. You do not want a bird which is not behaviorally similar - a gouldian, while better than nothing, is a poor companion because by nature it is not a touchy/feely bird whilst a society is. It is this same reason which makes a canary a bad companion - though friendly, it does not tolerate the close contact so vital for the society's social needs.

[lovezebs]

silversong
Hi.
Dylan, pretty well covered it all in a nut shell.

If you can't find a breeder in PEI, you could check out the birds available in Pet Stores. I know, I know, getting a bird from a breeder is considered a better option, but I've bought some absolutely lovely birds in some Pet Shops. A lot of the birds in Shops, do come from hobby breederd in the area.

Another option, is to check on kijiji, to see who in your area is wanting to sell what.

Yet another option, is your area SPCA (Humane Society). I have discovered some unwanted lovelies there as well.

If shopping for a male Socie, download some Male Society songs from the Internet. If unsure of male or female, play back the recording to store birds and watch them carefully. Most males will break into their song and dance routine almost immediately.

Well goodluck with your search, and by the way, welcome to the Forum fellow Canadian.

~Elana~

[ApricotMuffins]

When I bought my society finch trio from PetSmart, the employees didn't know which ones were male or female, so I ended up sitting down and watching the cage for a good forty minutes to observe behaviors and possible genders.

Well, I found out there was definitely one male in there because he would not stop singing, however, he was a dominant personality and I wanted to know if there were any other males in the cage. I asked an employee to remove the dominant singing male (which she graciously did), and within less than 2 minutes, three other male society finches started to puff up and sing! I guess they just wanted their chance to shine too I'm not sure if this is a universal principle for finches, but it also works with my 3 zebra finch cocks (remove the dominant, and the next in line will start to sing).

This is just something to maybe keep in mind if you see a society finch cock you like, but aren't sure if there are any other males in that cage that you might like better.

[delray]

ApricotMuffins explained a good method. If you have to time to watch them, you may be able to identify between a male and female. Good luck

[silversong]

Thanks everybody!

Sheather, thanks for the info, you make good points! Regarding cuttle bones, I did notice the hen did not nibble on the cuttle bone and was concerned since the male seems to really enjoying nibbling at the edges of the bone.

Lovezebs, hello! As soon as I read PEI in your post, I figured you were a fellow Canadian, or Canuck I'll download some Society finch song to my phone and see what reaction I get at the local PetSmart. I can see the reaction of the employees now!

Apricotmuffins, lol, I will also try your tip on ferreting out the males! Hopefully, the employees are as cooperative here as they are in your area

I won't be home this weekend, so I may wait until I'm back on the Island on Monday to get a cage mate for Bently. Leaving them alone for so long, so soon, worries me in case there are "issues" that need to be sorted out.

[Airlyn]

Good luck with your endeavor I hope you find just the right friend for your socie:)
Hee Hee, I ended up with 4 males trying to find a female but I'm a newbie too
But they are all happy living together in one flight.

[silversong]

Update I found a male society in Truro and he and Bently are getting along famously! The "new" boy sounds a bit like Porky Pig on steroids with a "CHEEP" at the end of each song lol. It's fun to watch/listen to each do his own song and dance, then cuddle up in the nest and groom each other.

[lovezebs]

silversong
Congratulations. Glad Bently has a new friend. What did you name your new boy. Hoping to see some pictures soon.


~Elana~

[Sam007]

Congratulations!

[silversong]

Lovezebs

Well, I thought of naming him Porky of course but couldn't see that sticking, so mashed him Rosco (as in Rosco P Coltrane). Lol Challenge to get pics of these feathered friends, but will work on it!