New Pin-tailed Whydah and Gouldian!

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:13 am

I acquired these beauties this week, a pair of Pin-tailed Whydahs and a yellow Gouldian.

The Gouldian was overpriced, he was $180. So before I bought him I had to check every single store to see if any Gouldians are available but none had any nor were they expecting to receive them anytime soon (one told me they do not sell). So I went back and snatched him as this was the only male in the cage.

He's a bit lonely and I'm thinking of going back later next week to get him a female, it'll cost a lot but I may attempt to breed them!

As for the pin-tailed whydah pair, I couldn't find much info on them. Most of the info available is vague. There was a mention that they're aggressive though, which I didn't encounter so far as they seem very friendly and low-key with the Gouldian (they were also in a mixed cage at the store as well). All three of them are in a quarantine flight right now.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:27 am

Wow, 180... that is a lot. Where do you live? Beautiful birds though!

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 2:41 pm

Yeah it is, but I guess considering that no other store carries them around here then it's not so bad.

So far there's been no problems with the Whydah pair, the male had 3 long feathers on his tail and now only has one left, hopefully the tail regrows better than when I first got him.

BTW, I live in Dubai and thanks for your reply

Eel Noob · Post by **Eel Noob** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:36 pm

Love the gouldian, don't remember ever seeing any that color around here before.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:06 am

BTW... what kind of camera do you have? It is great at shooting clear and bright pictures.

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:22 pm

I'm using a Canon EOS camera, the lighting has a lot to do with it. I tried to take pictures of them at night and they looked colorless, the Gouldian's head was more brown than red.

BTW the gouldian isn't doing well, he seems very stressed and sleeps a lot. I tried giving him anti biotics but it didn't work, he doesn't seem like he has air sac mites cause there's no clicking at all and no breathing problems. Not sure what to do

I ordered some necessary medications from ladygouldianfinch.com but it'll take awhile for the package to get here.

RH/WB · Post by **RH/WB** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:55 pm

Beautiful Bird. Color makes him worth it. I could stare at him for hours.

How is he doing? My Goulds have a consistent bad habit of dying 2 days after getting sick. I've got two to last a little long with bleach in a lot of water. Maybe use a hospital cage bc he'll like heat and force some water in him. A good bulb in his cage would work with his perch low.

Hope he made it.....

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:33 am

This is why I currently own only one gouldian. Because they are my only finch that I have soooooo many problems with. They rest of my species of finches are just fine.

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:50 pm

He was on the verge of dying yesterday, he could hardly stand and was tripping on the floor, I had to increase the heat and inject into his mouth hot water mixed with NV powder using a dropper. He seems to be doing so much better this morning and I saw him eating several times, but still not completely recovered and still stressed.

I just hope all the medications I ordered will get here on time, it would be very depressing if he dies on me. He refuses to eat egg food, eggshells, or anything beside seeds or millets so I'm supplying him with NV powder and vitamins through the water for now.

RH/WB, did the water and bleach help them survive? And what type of bleach? Cause I didn't know about this.

Emily, is your gouldian coping well alone? Cause I noticed that the one I have was active in the cage with the other females but once I brought him home he became quiet and not as happy.

tursiopschic · Post by **tursiopschic** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 2:09 pm

Good luck with him, he is pretty. It sounds like you are doing everything that you can.

gouldy · Post by **gouldy** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:43 pm

Pintailed Whydahs are aggressive and shouldn't be housed with gouldians.Gouldian finches are very social birds and shouldn't be by themselves.I think you should look for another gouldian and separate this one.Hope this helps and there is so many articles all over internet so do some research

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 8:06 pm

gouldy wrote:Pintailed Whydahs are aggressive and shouldn't be housed with gouldians.Gouldian finches are very social birds and shouldn't be by themselves.I think you should look for another gouldian and separate this one.Hope this helps and there is so many articles all over internet so do some research

I already separated them about 6 days ago cause I didn't want to risk anything but there isn't any site with comprehensive info on indoor care for Whydahs, I do 10x more research than spending time with my birds so if you know any website please lead me to it.

Fortunately the whydahs are doing great so far, they sleep on one leg, bath every morning, and sing so loud - so I'm glad they're doing great.

As for more Gouldians, I actually went back to the store and there were two females that did not look alright and for $180 that was out of the question. So instead I found a breeder that lives in Bahrain (2 hrs by plane from where I am) and he agreed to sell and ship a few Gouldians and Stars - hopefully that works out smoothly but more importantly I hope my gouldian completely recovers before they get here and I receive the meds on time!

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:07 am

H2015 wrote:
Emily, is your gouldian coping well alone? Cause I noticed that the one I have was active in the cage with the other females but once I brought him home he became quiet and not as happy.

My gouldian male copes great alone. I have a very large aviary and in it I currently have 3 societies, 1 star, 2 orange cheek waxbills, 1 gouldian, 1 rosy rump waxbill, 1 owl, 1 silverbill, and 2 spices. They all get along great and the gouldian really isn't lonely at all. I just can't handle all the problems gouldians have, which is why I only have one. He loves being with all my other finches, he sings and chirps happily. He is completely fine without any other goulds. My aviary is pretty big though. I also have a lot of activities for them to do in there.

H2015 · Post by **H2015** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:49 pm

I can happily announce...HE'S SINGING TODAY!!!!

I woke up to his sound and I couldn't believe my ears, I went to look and he was hopping on his perch and flying around!! I also had a spray millet hung from the top of the flight and he flew and held on to it with his feet and started eating! He never did that before and I never seen him so alive!

I immediately prepared egg food and when I came back to put in the dish he got scared and started flying around, something he never did before as he was always rather calm and wouldn't move much when I came close, but now I realize that he wasn't a calm bird but actually been ill all along - which explains why the females at the store were all very ill when I wanted to purchase one!

I managed to take a few pics, here he is:

I'm so happy now that I managed to revive his health after he almost died, I was beyond worried because I would've quit Gouldians forever if that happened!

Emily, I'm glad your bird is doing well without other goulds, after my experience I can totally see why you wouldn't want to deal with more of them, they're too delicate and harder to acclimate than I thought. I'd love to see pictures of your aviary and the activities you have for them though! Have you posted any around?

RH/WB · Post by **RH/WB** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:01 am

Just the bleach found under the sink. I used it only incase there were some parasites inside causing the problem. There's bleach already in city water and I didn't add much. I used more on the second pair to die at once and they lasted longer. For all I know it may tax him more and not address his problem. I got an extra couple days using it and they still die within minutes of each other twice.
Goulds are tough in cages IMO. They need exercise more than any other breed b/c man is needed for their survival. My healthiest birds fly freely around one large room with a tile floor in the house. They seldom stray from one cage as home base and a couple dead trees will placed. It's a real luxury to be able to offer most of them that space.
I'm making an indoor flight made of wooden panels all the same size 3' wide, 4' tall, 4' wide. Screwed together with wing nuts. I can add on or take off in 3' sections and I'll place it on a simple table I'll throw together.
My only problem is finding suitable frontage as I don't want to destroy good cages. I can use cages for 2 panels or Plexiglas which weighs more. I'll probable go with the glass on the upper part and wire doors at the bottom. The bottom goes up to form a door. They can be made 7' tall just as easily but I think they feel more comfortable at table height and above.
I can't locate cage coated wire locally.
I got off track. I find room makes for a healthy bird.
He's lasted this long and it sounds like he'll come around. He's a tough bird, he lasted this long and that says a lot. He should be able to hear the song of other birds now feeling like he does.
Maybe offer him some good honey in water. A lot of protein and give him a lot of vitamins.
I sure hope he makes it.