Is lack of singing actually a symptom of air-sac mites? I've never seen that listed as one in the various descriptions I've read....but I realize the life-or-death implications and that they aren't something to take lightly. It just seems bizarre. The male seems perfectly healthy in every other way -- a very strong appetite, high activity level, frequent chirping, courtship dancing, and he seems to be breathing normally. If he HAS become stressed recently and the mites are beginning to cause problems, then wouldn't he be showing other symptoms as well? I'm just not seeing anything. Nothing. Just lack of singing. And remember -- he DID sing very often for the first month or so that I had him. He just suddenly stopped completely around November.
dfcauley wrote:According to Laraine at Lady Gouldian Finch...... all gouldians carry the mites, but they are dormant until the bird is stressed. I am not sure if this is true or not, but I now treat mine pro-actively. Better safe than sorry. I think if I were you I would catch them up and scatt them.
If this is true -- if birds can actually harbor the mites without showing any of the classic symptoms until they become stressed....it's quite alarming! I had thought mine were safe since I wasn't introducing any new birds to my home. But if their immune systems have been keeping the mites in check until now....that means they could be hiding anywhere in the cage as well. Or even in the area surrounding the cage in my living room.
That's the last thing an obsessive-compulsive clean freak like me needs to hear -- I'll be awake nights now worrying whether mites are hiding somewhere in their cage (or in my home), even after I've treated the birds.
Neither bird seems to be in any distress at this point....so I'll mull it over for another day before deciding on treatment. Any tips on catching and treating a Gouldian....without causing it (or myself) to have a heart attack? If I'm going to treat them, I'll need to do a THOROUGH top-to-bottom cage scrubbing, and that will have to be a weekend project.
lovemyfinch wrote:Aha, I think I may have found one teeny tiny little problem.
Get rid of the mirror. He see's the other male as competition, and she is seeing the other hen as competition.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing earlier today. Oddly, both birds have enjoyed sitting for many long periods in front of that mirror -- sometimes up to an hour at a time, looking at their own reflections. Until now, neither bird has ever displayed aggressive behavior as a result of the mirror during the 3 months I've had them, and the mirror has been present since day one.
It's become quite comical to watch these past couple of days, however -- realizing that the hen never sees anything but "another" hen in the mirror, and the cock sees something entirely different -- he only sees "another" male. Neither can possibly realize that their mate sees a very different thing than they see!
The hen will be just sitting innocently watching the hen in the mirror, and occasionally chirping sweetly at it -- not in a competitive way, just "Can we talk, girlfriend?" way. Then suddenly the male sees her at the mirror and whooshes over to chase her away from it -- scolding her and pecking in her direction (I haven't seen him actually touch her -- the pecking is simply directed toward her.) This is the very first aggression he's EVER shown.
The bewildered look on the hen's face seems to say, "Honest, I wasn't flirting with another male -- what are you talking about? I was just chatting with a girlfriend!" Then the male will position himself directly against the mirror, and peck several times at his own reflection while screeching at it. He's obviously defending his turf -- and his mate. Having been chased away, the hen watches this show nearby -- probably thinking that he's attacking her girlfriend (not another male) for no reason at all, and that she's living with a real nut!
No overly aggressive behavior yet, but I suppose if this escalates further he could injure himself by attacking the mirror. So I'll be removing it, for now at least. Never a dull moment in Finch World.
Now I don't think a thing about it.... comes second nature. 
