Fire Finch caught tangled in nest - broken tail???

[a_gouldian]

This afternoon we noticed that the male Fire Finch had not come out of the nest all day and was flapping it's wings inside the nest box which is a small plastic box that they crammed full of Coco Fiber and feathers.

I stuck my hand inside, got a hold of the bird, and then pulled out nesting material so I could free is leg. He is able to fly a little but his tail is at a 90 degree angle to his body and of course he is shook up.

Do you think he will be alright? Not sure what to do. If I try to catch him again in the large flight cage it won't be easy but if I need to I could try.

[a_gouldian]

After he was out for about 15 min. he straightened his tail out. Now he is on a perch resting from this ordeal. Does this kind of accident happen often with nesting birds? The nest has 3 eggs in it and the male and female have been taking turns sitting on the eggs. The female came over to him a few times to check him out and then she went back to the nest and is sitting on eggs. We are leaving them alone for a bit because he looks like he wants to rest and sleep a little on a perch. He is able to grasp the perch with both feet.

[OAvila1986]

a_gouldian hi I've never had any problem with my finches being stuck on the nest. I had a finch all tangleD up with a towel I used to cover them during the cold days. I guess the towel had losse strings and my finch decided to take it to its nest and he somehow got stuck I had to cut it off and then grab him to cut it form his leg I had to use small scissors.
But I have a question regarding the firefinches ? Are they easy to breed ? Witch type of firefinch do you have?

[a_gouldian]

a_gouldian hi I've never had any problem with my finches being stuck on the nest. I had a finch all tangleD up with a towel I used to cover them during the cold days. I guess the towel had losse strings and my finch decided to take it to its nest and he somehow got stuck I had to cut it off and then grab him to cut it form his leg I had to use small scissors.
But I have a question regarding the firefinches ? Are they easy to breed ? Witch type of firefinch do you have?

I have Red-billed Fire Finches and we just got them in April. This is their first attempt at nesting and laying eggs since they arrived.

[a_gouldian]

The male Fire Finch is fine but hasn't gone near the nest box since he was stuck in it. I think the female today decided to abandon the nest to be with him. We looked in the nest and there are 3 eggs, one appears to be fertile. If she doesn't go in tomorrow we will remove the nest box and hopefully they will nest again in either a bamboo basket on a larger wooden bird house (which is probably to big for them). Hopefully he isn't scarred for life because of that strange incidence. Not sure if I trust those small plastic nest boxes now.

[Sally]

Do his nails need trimming? Some waxbills will get sort of curved nails that catch on things pretty easily. He probably got caught up in the coco fiber, could be they didn't have it woven in as tightly as usual. I don't think it was the nestbox, more likely the coco fiber.

[a_gouldian]

Yes, I think his nails do need trimming. I noticed that a few days ago but because they were sitting on eggs I didn't think it was a good time to try and catch him. It will be a challenge to catch him in the large flight cage. I will wait a day or two to make sure he is over the whole thing. I noticed that the nest they made wasn't very tightly wound. Our Gouldians and Star Finches make a neater nest.

[a_gouldian]

We caught both of them today and trimmed their nails. The nest box was emptied yesterday and put back in the cage. This morning we noticed that they started adding nesting material again to the box and I saw the male mount the female this afternoon. I guess he got over catching his foot and being stuck in the nest. Hoping everything goes well for them this time around.

[Sally]

Sounds like he has gotten over his fear of the nest, so things should return to normal. Good luck with the breeding, Fire finches can be good parents.