Owl finches

[steven7319]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum and newish to the hobby.
I introduced a pair of owl finches to my aviary yesterday. Unfortunately when I checked them this morning one of them didn't make it through the night. The other one found an empty nesting box before it got dark and roosted down for the night. The other was still flying around the aviary when I checked them before bed. I was in two minds wether to enter the aviary to take them out and keep them in the house over night as I didn't want to disturb all the other finches (Zebras and bengalese)
Now wishing I had.
Question is did I do something wrong or is this just one of those things that can happen?
The birds do have the choice of flying through into an inside flight cage. Are this species of finch ok to be in an outdoor aviary?
I live in the uk so nights can be somewhat chilly. Although the other finches have been fine up to now.
Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

[sparrowsong98]

I dont know if this would help, as I have only had finches for 4 weeks and no owls, but did it look pecked at? Wondering if the zeebs did something to it, as they can be VERY mean sometimes.

[katie]

I think it was one of those things. my owls are more aggressive then my zebs. don't beat yourself up.

no one says hey, I am going let my birds loose. see if they survive.

May be getting deep here, but who sends a kid to school. says oh well if he gets bullied so what. no one wants it. it does happen. At some point, you have to let them fly!

You did your best. may sound harsh, but things do happen. it makes you sad, but sometimes nothing you can do.

[Stuart whiting]

steven7319

Hi mate, to be honest I really don't think you've specifically done any thing wrong, as you say it's just one of those things that happen in the bird world,

I'm in the UK aswell mate and from Kent and at the moment the weather has been quite mild and the last few days the temperature have risen considerably and so I'd say it's definitely not the cold,

Bicheno / owl finches are normally quite hardy and it sounds to me that there was probably something more internally wrong with the bird from the start as the other bird seems fine,

Keep an eye on the other finch as sometimes zebras can be a bit boystress towards other finches but wouldn't of really thought this to be the case especially in an aviary and the Bicheno finches can normally stand there ground with zebras anyway.

[Stuart whiting]

I think it was one of those things. my owls are more aggressive then my zebs. don't beat yourself up.

no one says hey, I am going let my birds loose. see if they survive.

May be getting deep here, but who sends a kid to school. says oh well if he gets bullied so what. no one wants it. it does happen. At some point, you have to let them fly!

You did your best. may sound harsh, but things do happen. it makes you sad, but sometimes nothing you can do.

Totally agree, well said

[isobea]

steven7319 - Hi Steve, welcome to the forum! People here are awfully nice and always ready and willing to help.
What time of day did you release your owls? And was it a chilly night? I usually release new birds first thing in the morning so they have many hours to figure out where the food and water are, get to know the lay of everything, meet the other birds and figure out where they want to sleep or how to get into the inside flight cage. Do your other birds spend the night outside in the aviary? Were the owls kept inside in a temperature controlled environment before you bought them?
Just some questions that popped into my mind.
Iso

[lovezebs]

steven7319

Hi Steve, and welcome to the Forum from Canada.

First of all I would recommend quarantine for any new birds.
This is to make sure that you are not introducing any disease to your current flock. It's also to give the new birds a chance to settle down and get over the 'big move' without being pestered by all the old timers.

Now regarding introducing any new birds into an outdoor aviary:
If these birds have come from being housed in indoor cages or flights, then regretably the shock of the much cooler temperatures could very well have killed your one bird, and might very well kill your second bird as well.

Birds that have been indoor birds cannot just be thrown into an outdoor set up, they need to be acclimated slowly and gradually.
Placed in a cage, they need to be brought outdoors on warm days for a few hours at a time, then slowly for longer periods of time, etc.

The fact that your birds have access to an indoor flight, is great, but sadly the new birds would have no way of knowing that.

I hope your second little Owl survives.

[Stuart whiting]

steven7319

Hi Steve, and welcome to the Forum from Canada.

First of all I would recommend quarantine for any new birds.
This is to make sure that you are not introducing any disease to your current flock. It's also to give the new birds a chance to settle down and get over the 'big move' without being pestered by all the old timers.

Now regarding introducing any new birds into an outdoor aviary:
If these birds have come from being housed in indoor cages or flights, then regretably the shock of the much cooler temperatures could very well have killed your one bird, and might very well kill your second bird as well.

Birds that have been indoor birds cannot just be thrown into an outdoor set up, they need to be acclimated slowly and gradually.
Placed in a cage, they need to be brought outdoors on warm days for a few hours at a time, then slowly for longer periods of time, etc.

The fact that your birds have access to an indoor flight, is great, but sadly the new birds would have no way of knowing that.

I hope your second little Owl survives.

Spot on Elana, couldn't agree more

[steven7319]

Hi all,
Thanks for all the replies guys.
I released the owls into the aviary around early afternoon. While sat outside watching them they didn't Sean to be getting picked on by any of the other birds.
All the other birds are kept in the aviary all day and night. As said they do have the option of going through into the inside flight( in the shed ) but to honest I've never seen them use it so far. Apart from the odd cheeky scout round by a couple of the zebs.

Thanks again for all the responses

Steve

[GouldianGuy]

steven7319

Hi Steve, and welcome to the Forum from Canada.

First of all I would recommend quarantine for any new birds.
This is to make sure that you are not introducing any disease to your current flock. It's also to give the new birds a chance to settle down and get over the 'big move' without being pestered by all the old timers.

Now regarding introducing any new birds into an outdoor aviary:
If these birds have come from being housed in indoor cages or flights, then regretably the shock of the much cooler temperatures could very well have killed your one bird, and might very well kill your second bird as well.

Birds that have been indoor birds cannot just be thrown into an outdoor set up, they need to be acclimated slowly and gradually.
Placed in a cage, they need to be brought outdoors on warm days for a few hours at a time, then slowly for longer periods of time, etc.

The fact that your birds have access to an indoor flight, is great, but sadly the new birds would have no way of knowing that.

I hope your second little Owl survives.

Spot on Elana, couldn't agree more

I agree as well