Kind of a Rookie with finches

[THVCFINCHLADY]

I am not really a "rookie" with Finches as I have cared for up to 15 in our aviary at work. That's a breeze. Then one little Society Finch got sick. He recovered but the other birds began picking on him so severely that I have removed him and took him home to live with me. He has a nice cage and is adjusting pretty well. He's pretty active when we're around, and chips a lot. I am finding it much more difficult to care for one in a cage as opposed to 15 in an aviary. He is a singleton right now. A few questions:

1) Do I need to get him a buddy?
2) I have currently corn cob bedding but I think I will change to Gravel paper as my friend at work says that really works better than the corn cob bedding in the cages.
3) Nest-He went into the nest when in the aviary but doesn't go into the nest now that he's with me. Is it ok for him to sleep on the bottom of the cage?
4) He has a bad foot (deformed) so he has to have a certain type of feeder & water cup.

5) Shuck---I just need any and every advice you can give me. We love the little guy. He got loose from me Friday when I was moving him from his temporary cage to his home cage. I caught him but managed to pull out some feathers in the process so I want to handle him as little as possible going forward.

Any advice appreciated. Never thought it would be harder to care for one bird as opposed to 15. On that note, a few weeks ago one of the birds escaped from our aviary at work. We are a nursing home and were luck enough to quickly close off the fire doors in the living room area but the bird went straight to a high hanging lite. We recovered him but had to get a Genie lift to hoist someone to capture him. He took it pretty well but I think it took about 5 years off my life.

[finchmix22]

THVCFINCHLADY
Welcome to the forum!
O.K. Society's do better in pairs, so I'd get him a buddy. Another male is fine because if you get a hen, they'll have babies, babies, babies!
I have two handicap finches and I put a platform perch and paper towel on the grate bottom to help them , since they both are missing a foot/leg. They do fine with the platform perch, but I have to watch that their feet/leg don't get caught between the bars. I would not use gravel paper if he has a bum foot as that will irritate the foot and make it hard for him to move around. It could cause a wound too. I just line the bottom with paper towels and change them when dirty. I put a shaloow water dish on the bottom so he doesn't have to perch on the side, but can sit in the dish, which is only 1/4-1/2 inch deep. I put seed on a six inch paper plate. Again so he can just sit on the plate and eat to his hearts content without having to perch. As far as the nest, my handicap didn't use the nests because it was too difficult to get in and out of the nests. Their claws would get caught. However, I gave them some cotton fiber and a nest pad in the corner of the cage and they made a makeshift nest in the corner. Sometimes, they took some cotton to the platform perch.
I hope your guy adjusts and you enjoy him too!

[THVCFINCHLADY]

Thanks for the info. We have another finch at work, a Bronze Wing Mannikan, who is also picked on a little bit. Thinking about removing him too. Do you think he will do ok with the Society? They had no problems when in the aviary together.

Also, is it ok to line the cage with newspaper? Will that hurt the birds?

[amandap]

I don't have any helpful advice, but wanted to welcome you to the forum and say how wonderful it is that you're taking such great care of these birds.

[lnlovesorange]

THVCFINCHLADY
Welcome to the forum!!! You have deffinitely come to the right place! There are a lot of people here that are parents to Society finches, like Sheather and delray. Just to name two. I would DEFFINITELY recommend getting him at least one friend. As they are VERY social birds (hence the name) all the advice above is just great (as you will find on this forum, everyone is very friend, and ALWAYS willing to help out a newbie!) So glad you took him in to save him from being bullied!! My "special" finch only has one foot, and he perches to sleep and to eat. I offered him a shelf to stand on to eat, and he won't go anywhere near it!!! So I would offer him both, a shelf like the one in the picture maybe covered with papertowel and taped (so when he flies around it doesn't blow in the breeze of his wings and scare him to NOT land there) and perches, also food in both a cup that he perches to eat, and flat, and he will let you know which he prefers! Other than that, I would say the friend is the most important, and I agree with the no gravel paper, I cover the bottom of my cage (OVER THE GRATE) with like 5 newspapers, and when the top is dirty I just remove it. I used to leave the grates so the bird walked on that, and put the newspaper underneath, and I've noticed since I changed, the birds MUCH prefer walking on the newspapers than the metal grates!!! So that's a change I'll be keeping!! again, your bird will tell you what he likes!!! Good luck with him and again, it's really awesome that you took him, you've come here, so he is in good hands. The people on this forum are fabulous and very knowledgeable!! Good luck!
OH! Just rechecked your post, I've heard Corn Cob bedding is NOT good, I think it can get mold, and fungus which can get the birds sick... don't quote me on that, the forume xperts i'm sure will chime in, but I'm pretty sure you want to stay away from corn cob... but again that's my 2 cents, and you get it for free!!! lol Again, good luck with your new baby!!!

[Sally]

As long as the Bronze-winged Mannikin and Society are both the same sex, they should get along. BW Mannikins can become quite aggressive, surprisingly so for their size, but if they are in a cage by themselves, I'll bet they will buddy up. I once bought a family of Societies, which turned out to be a BW Mannikin male and a Society female, and they had four hybrid babies, which is why I say they should be the same sex, they will hybridize.

Newspaper is fine as a cage bottom, many people use it because it is readily available and basically free (recycled).

[delray]

THVCFINCHLADY hi!

I have had an amazing experience with my society finches. I deffinitely recomend getting him a friend. Get another society. Another male would be best so they do not breed !!! I
You will learn that society finches have a great personality! If you have any questions ask!

[Angela&Shalamar]

Hmmm they are social birds BUT be prepared that it is possible that any bird you put with him will now attack him. It can happen if one bird is permanently injured. I have a male society that has to have his own cage after getting caught in the nest for I'm not sure how long. I think he has some minor brain damage has he has never regained his flight even with vet care. I've tried twice to put him back in the regular cage and both times he gets immediately attacked so now he lives alone but in sight of all the rest of the birds. Maybe if it's just one other bird it will work. The other option would be to hang a mirror. Sometimes that can work and make them think there is another bird even if it is just their own reflection. I also would not use gravel paper as someone already mentioned it can cause a wound to the foot but also those wounds can become infected which can turn into bumble foot and if severe enough cause a bone infection. I use plain white paper towels in my cages. Clean, cheap, soft and safe.

[Sheather]

A society and a bronzewing may or may not work, the latter is an aggressive species and I would recommend buying a new female society finch for your loner. I've never met an aggressive hen, but some males are territorial.

I have a one-footed society male who gets around as well as an able-bodied bird. He even feeds on hanging millets and thin vines with his good foot alone. He's been injured since days old and never knew any differently, his remaining leg has strengthened to compensate and he seems able to do everything any other finch can, if a bit less agile at times.

Gravel paper is no good. Use newspaper. Much softer. If your bird is a male give him a nest and some shredded paper or grass to line it with to keep him occupied. Once adjusted to your set-up, let him out to fly if you can, as often as you can, once he has a nest he will always come back to sleep in it on his own.

[Derk]

THVCFINCHLADY
As you can tell, when it comes to 'buddying' up finches it ultimately depends on the individual birds involved. Sometimes it is a bit of trial and error. Also, two birds might get along in an aviary because there is more space. When the environment changes - cage becomes smaller - the same birds may (or may not) become territorial. You probably have the best likelihood of a successful non-breeding pair by getting another male society with the same or similar colouring. Like liking like. Although societies generally like everything...

[MiaCarter]

Derk I agree.

I'm a big proponent on giving every potential pairing a try, regardless of species.

I've had supposedly compatible species fight it out, while I've had supposedly incompatible species become good friends. So it's all about the individual.

So before you go out and buy a new bird, I'd give it a try with the society and the mannakin. Perhaps they'll do well.
The fact that the mannakin is getting bullied in his other flock tells me that he's probably a more gentle soul. I've had great success putting bullying victims together of different species. (My society-zebra pair were both bullying victims and they're lovely together and they just raised 3 babies together and mum is on another egg that should hatch any day now!

So give it a go when you're around for a while to watch them. If they get along for an hour without problem, then chances are they'll be just fine. (That hour rule is true of virtually all animals, by the way.)
If there's a problem, separate them.

I'd rearrange the cage prior to integrating them so there's no established territory to defend.

If they don't get along, then buy a new bird.

[Derk]

THVCFINCHLADY MiaCarter

Sorry, I did mean to say, I would also try the mannakin since there was a history there, but just wanted to warn you it was possible the change in circumstances may influence their getting along. That said, I also think when there are just two birds, that are generally of a gentle nature, they would rather not be alone and want a friend. (one way to get rabbits to bond is to put them in a crate together and then take them for a car ride. They don't really like car rides so they huddle for comfort and become friends. So far, I have not had to resort to this.)