Star finch lost her mate

anne22 · Post by **anne22** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:02 pm

I purchased a pair of star finches and the male seemed to go into shock after his arrival home and died despite adding a heat lamp to try and help him adjust.

The female has been chirping pretty steadily now yesterday and today since he died. Does this sound like normal female star behavior to do such steady chirping or not? I am sad to have her alone now without her mate, and now am not sure if I want to keep her to put into a mixed finch aviary, get another mate for her or take her back yet. I am a bit hesitant to purchase another mate with what happened with the first one. Does this just sound like a freak occurance or can they be touchy like this?

Post by **Sally** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:26 pm

I'm so sorry you lost the Star finch. Where did you purchase them? Places like PetsMart offer 14-day guarantees on their birds, I believe. Birds can and do die of shock (stress), and that is something that can't be predicted or prevented. The hen's behavior is normal, she is calling for her mate.

FeatherHarp · Post by **FeatherHarp** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:31 pm

Anne2...sorry to hear you lost your Male Star.

When I first got my gouldians several months ago the male (that just passed away a few days ago) got all puffed up and I kept him under the heat lamp and gave him antibiotics and he recovered. Then just a few days ago...the same thing happened and I did the same treatment...but he didn't make it through this time.

And my female gouldian is always chirping now too...she hasn't gotten used to the male being gone yet I guess.

Hopefully you can get a refund or replacement for your Star male.

anne22 · Post by **anne22** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 4:18 pm

Yes, I did purchase her at a store where I can return her yet if I decide to. How much does a female Star finch normally call?

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 6:24 pm

Sorry to hear about your male Star Finch. I also hope you can get a replacement for him - they are so beautiful. I rarely hear my female Star Finch but I'm not in the birdroom too often as they are at various stages of breeding.

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:21 pm

What's going on with all of us losing our Star finches? I've read several posts about people losing either the male or female. I recently lost my female and my male is still distraught. He likes being around the other finches but I have yet to find him a female.

I found mine dead in the nest, I had no idea she was dead but I realized I didn't see her for several days and curiousity made me check the nest. Sure enough there he was snuggled up next to her but she wasn't alive

. After that he was calling for her for days so I believe it's normal grieving behavior.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 8:23 pm

I think that star finches bond really more than alot of the other finches do.

Of all the birds in my aviary, my stars are the most bonded. They are always together. If you see one, the other is there. They are constantly looking at each other , grooming, it almost looks like they are kissing.

If I lost one of them I know that I would quickly have to find it another mate.

anne22 · Post by **anne22** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:54 am

I ended up finding a new mate for my finch at another pet store. I have had the new male about a week now and I have their cages near each other until I am sure they are both good and healthy yet. The new male is singing often so I hope they will become a good pair.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:04 am

That's great that you have found a new mate for your female Star finch but ideally they should both be quarantined in separate rooms... just in case one has something - you don't want the other to catch it.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:05 am

congrats on your bird! I love star finches.

If you have their cages right next to each other, I think it would be okay to go ahead and put them together.

You have to keep them in seperate rooms in order to keep them from making each other sick should they have something. If they are in the same room, they can still get sick. Hopefully everything is fine.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:52 pm

Has your female calmed down now that she has a new friend? I hope both birds stay healthy for you and I am sorry about your loss of your original male.

anne22 · Post by **anne22** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:50 pm

Yes the female has calmed down and quite calling as she had before the new male arrived. I have now had her for two weeks and the new male for a week. I had thought of waiting another two weeks before putting them together yet. Their cages have been less than a foot apart. Guess I have not done real well at seperating them as I should have! What things would I most likely bring in with a new bird that I should be concerned to watch for?

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 6:58 am

anne22 wrote:Yes the female has calmed down and quite calling as she had before the new male arrived. I have now had her for two weeks and the new male for a week. I had thought of waiting another two weeks before putting them together yet. Their cages have been less than a foot apart. Guess I have not done real well at seperating them as I should have! What things would I most likely bring in with a new bird that I should be concerned to watch for?

Birds are very good at hiding illness, but mostly watch for mites. I think you would see this if it had any as it would be doing excess preedning.

anne22 · Post by **anne22** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 9:41 am

I woke up early this morning hearing a finch flying around it its cage before dawn. I had been hearing a finch fly around a little about every night for the past week but thought it was most likely the new male Star finch that I had bought and had put a night light near their cages early in the week because of that. I also had two zebra's nearby in another cage so was not sure who is was though as it was dimly lit and I did not want to disturb them at night. When I got up when I heard this today, to see who was making the noise since it was more than I had heard before, I found the little Star female dead on the bottom of her cage. I picked her up and she was limp and dead.

My 14 day guarantee from the pet store where I bought her ended yesterday too. I had thought she looked a bit fluffed on the perch and maybe unwell a few days ago and then after checking her more decided that she did look fine though. I am sad and so disappointed to think that I lost both the original male and now female within 2 weeks. I have had 4 zebra finches for about 5 years and a male gouldian for a year and they are all going strong. I sure don't know what went so wrong with this pair.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:27 am

I posted a response to this also posted elsewhere. Again I'm so sorry you've now lost the female Star Finch. So sad... I hope the others are okay.

For anyone reading this thread - PLEASE quarantine every new bird that comes into your home (for a minimum of 30 days) in a different room away from any previous birds you have already.

FINCHforum

Star finch lost her mate

Star finch lost her mate

Found a new mate for my finch

Re: Found a new mate for my finch

Yes, she has calmed down now too!

Re: Yes, she has calmed down now too!

My female died last night!