is my hen going to die

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:51 am

is aloe the plant and juice good for finches i saw a aloe spray on one of the store websites. can i spray them with aloe juice will that help? can the eat the plant?

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:46 am

here is a blurry pic of her back and head

i notice that he sing and she doesnt answer him she really ignores him a lot he pick at her and she just moves away from him.

what could all that mean
and any advise on the aloe

i sprayed them the dont mind it at all

Post by **Hilary** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:06 pm

Aloe is safe for finches. The problem is she doesn't stand a chance of regrowing her feathers as long as the male keeps picking them back out. You could try separating her until (if) they grow back, then try them together again.

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:52 pm

i've been giving them strings all day and they are playing with them the female looks like she want to building a nest on the swing. both have put strings everywhere in the water in the seed dish (today i gave them hard boil egg) and in the second food dish. i dont think they have slept in the nest box since i put it back in the cage i took it out and cleaned it (removed the old strings and washed out the poop) i dropped some string in there and they went in and played with it and threw some out. does this sound like normal behavior?

Post by **Sally** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:05 pm

I'm with Hilary. The hen won't regrow her feathers as long as she is in with the male, and if he keeps picking at her, she may get to the point where she will never have feathers in those spots. Whether there is a nest in the cage or not, he is probably going to feather pluck, so they need to be separated.

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:45 pm

ok i will get a small cage to put her in and see how that works out

Post by **Hilary** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:36 pm

If she's going to grow them back it should only take a couple of weeks. She'll be in better shape to breed then, if that's what you want. It does sound like they've been having fun playing with the nesting material!

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 11:22 pm

i started this thread way back august and the feather were gonna before that
she is very active she doing this funny dance where she stands on the perch and it looks like she is reaching up as far as she can then she bend over like she is trying to reach over to peck the cage but it's to far away. she does this for a while or until he comes over then she fly to the other perch. this morning it did look like he mounted her. she was in and out the nest today (and they both sleep in the nest at night) she drank water (w/vitamins) she eat (seeds, corn and carrots) and drank aloe water and bath in that water too. outside of the feather lose she doing fine (i guess) i will keep you posted

does anyone have any video of the courting dance

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:55 pm

ok i went to the store today to pick up a few things for the birds

i got 8in1 egg biscuits, and nestling seed, a new cutter bone and a toy

after reading the packaging i felt bad like i wasn't doing the best for my birds by feeding them the seeds from the super market. yes i know it good for them and that dont need a lot but they need more than i was giving (imo).

also today i gave the boiled egg with the shell ground up and some celery leaves they cleaned that bowl out.

question i know it said they dont need th girt, my birds seem to like it a lot will it hurt them.

i read the threads about the grit in their crops they havent had that problem

and thanks for all the help

Post by **Sally** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:23 am

Local pet stores usually carry small boxes of both bird gravel and oyster shell, or it may be called oystershell grit. You want the oyster shell, not the bird gravel. They love the oyster shell, and it has lots of calcium.

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:32 am

ok i checked the box and it is oyster shell, with charcoal bits

so i dont need to ground the egg shell anymore ?

Post by **Sally** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:52 am

If they are breeding or molting, they benefit from lots of mashed egg, shell and all, but if they aren't breeding or molting, then it can be a treat once in a while. I save the shells from any eggs I use, zap them in the microwave to sterilize, crush them up, and add them to the oystershell mix.

moe moe2 · Post by **moe moe2** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:40 pm

ok a quick run down of the last 3 weeks

they built the nest and are eating fine, lots of singing and hopping, i have seen them mate at least 4 times (i wasn't home in the morning last week) she sitting in the nest and he sitting outside, i tied some string to the side of the cage to stop him from picking her until i can get another cage.

question: is it a good idea to move him if they are mating will she be able to take care for eggs alone if she lays some.

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:44 am

It seems like maybe you don't have a compatible pair. I would wait to breed them until she grows her feathers back. You should probably seperate them for a little while. Give her plenty of mashed up egg w/ the shells and there are some things you get get her like this:

You can still give her a nest and she may end up laying fertile eggs. It is possible for her to raise them herself, but is a little harder b/c normally when a pair is sitting on eggs, they switch while one is eating, etc...

Post by **Hilary** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:10 am

I wouldn't move him out at this point unless he's clearly plucking her badly again. They may abandon their attempts to nest, or at best you'll be forcing her to raise the chicks on her own. She can do it, but it's a lot of work and would be hard on her.