Newest Society Finch excluded from others

[RoisinL]

Hi all. I received a new, bigger cage for Christmas for my finches. My original two had laid eggs that we're never hatched, so I decided to purchase two new finches for my big cage. I moved my original two and the two new finches into the cage at the same time and at first it seemed like they were all getting along; however, I've recently noticed that one is being excluded from the group. He is very vocal, so I'm assuming a male. He doesn't sleep with the others at night, and doesn't really hang out much with them during the day. I haven't seen any signs of aggression towards him, and he does eat and drink often, so I'm wondering if I'm making too big a deal of it.

My question is, do I wait it out and see if the others eventually accept him, do I get another finch (which would make five) and hope that they become friends, or do I return him, which I can still do for another week or so? He is such a cutie and vocal, so I'd really like to keep him. Because of my other animals, kids, etc, I don't want to get another separate cage for him at this time.

Thanks for any tips you can provide!

[Sally]

Often, finches are better kept as one pair or 6 birds or more in a cage, they seem to get along better. However, with Societies, that doesn't seem to matter as much. If you have a week or so until you would have to return the bird, I'd give it that week to see if he is accepted by the others, as long as there is no fighting. I wouldn't recommend having 3, even with Societies, as sometimes two will pair up and exclude the third.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you can find articles on adding new finches and especially on the Society finch. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier to help later on.

[lovezebs]

RoisinL

Hi,

I wouldn't worry too much.
Societies, will eventually gravitate towards each other given time. Depending on the size of your cage (if it's big enough), you could add another bird or two, but that again depends on the size of your cage.

[w.l.]

If you have a week or so until you would have to return the bird

Do US sellers accept bird returns, and then even after a week?
Sounds so risky to me, the bird could have picked up a disease at the buyer.

As for the original Q, I'd wait too, then if the new male is still single, woyuld try and get a hen for him, maybe getting them to bond in a separate cage first before mixing them with the others.

[Sheather]

Most stores do 2 - 3 weeks.

[w.l.]

Most stores do 2 - 3 weeks.

Here they do none.
There are signs "once bought can't be returned or exchanged" in the shops, and personally I don't blame them.

[Sheather]

That's pretty unfortunate if they sell you an ailing animal.

[w.l.]

Most birds sold here are wild-caught.
And they are just in from the catchers or whoever.
So there's no guatantee of health.
In fact I estimate maybe 50% of such birds die shortly after arriving in the markets.
The risk is calculated into the price.

However, in 1-3 weeks even a perfectly healthy bird could fall ill from infections picked up from other birds, or from not being kept properly, which is why that return policy surprises me.

[Sally]

Pet stores often have a return policy. The problem with that is that I doubt they then quarantine that returned bird, so that it can infect all the other birds in the shop. With breeders, it varies quite a bit. Most treat each case separately, instead of having a blanket return policy. I go by my gut feeling, that if I feel the buyer did all the right things, I will replace a bird within a reasonable period of time. I would certainly do it with someone I know, but not as likely with a total stranger. Once you sell a bird, you have no idea if the buyer quarantined the bird, or how they fed/watered the bird.

[w.l.]

How bad buyers can be, I can illustrate with a story from a Hungarian forum.
A new poster no one knew kept enthusiastically asking about star finches.
Eventually he happily posted he got a pair on a monthly bird market.
2 days later he wrote angrily that his new birds both died, could he track down the seller and ask for a refund?
As his birds on the photo looked perfect, we were all shocked, wondering if they perhaps got a cold in transit or something like that.
Then one observant mermber noted that on the photo there was not a single seed husk on the cage bottom, and only a plate of grit visible (cage was not fully in the photo). Did he even give them seeds?
Such a basic Q that no one else even thought of it!
Well, the guy did not give them seeds, he thought the grit was a kind of all-in pellet!l!
No wonder the poor birds died in 2 days!

This is an extreme example of stupidity, but I am sure such things happen to many new buyers.
Things like this make me surprised about a return/refund policy.

[Shannylee]

RoisinL, I have a flight full of societies and have one little guy who sings all day. He's only 5 months old and is testing out his boy skills. The older guys and females ignore him but he couldn't care less. I wouldn't worry about your guy. Societies are peaceful-living little creatures.

[Shannylee]

Well, the guy did not give them seeds, he thought the grit was a kind of all-in pellet!l!

Poor birds!

[RoisinL]

Thank you all for the helpful replies. My little excluded male is doing well, however, the other new finch passed away yesterday I did bring him back to the store I purchased from, mainly to check on the health of the other finches there. They examined him and couldn't find any noticeable cause of death, and haven't had any other issues with their finches. My original two and the new male all seem to be doing well. I will hold off getting a fourth to be sure the other ones didn't catch anything from the one who died. It was the weirdest thing, he seemed very robust, dominant, and healthy, up until about an hour before he died. My cage is certainly big enough, I live in CA, so not too cold for them, and I've been using the same food for years. It was such a surprise, since I was concerned about the other newbie.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year!

[w.l.]

RoisinL

Sorry to hear!
Such sudden, unexplained deaths are always shocking, and I would have thought more common among wild-caught birds than among domesticated, hardy societies! In view of the posts below, were you offered a replacement? Given that you also say the bird looked perfectly healthy till shortly before dying, I'd feel kind of embarrassed to ask.

[Sally]

RoisinL Sorry for your loss. It is sometimes possible that a new bird just doesn't figure out where to get water, or how to find the seed. I lost a bird years ago while it was in quarantine because I didn't realize that it wasn't eating. It was in a cage with other birds who were eating, I just missed the fact that the one bird wasn't.