Aggression versus "Playing"

[RobertandCora]

At the end of December, we brought our Lady Gouldian finches, Robert and Cora, home. We have been enjoying them and observing their behavior for a little over three months. When we brought them home, they were in a 17x 23 cage. We've recently moved them to an 18x30 cage. We bought them at a reputable store that specializes in birds. The sales person told us that an older woman had brought them in for re-sale because she couldn't care for them any longer. She told the people in the store that the two had mated and had one brood.

We're trying to determine if 1) Robert's occasional pecking and chasing is aggressive or playful activity and 2) if they might be incompatible as mates.

To date, Cora has not laid any eggs. We give them seed daily as well as greens (lettuce and sprouts). Several times a week, we give them boiled egg, including shell. The cage has two containers for water and two cuttlebones. We have two food cups on one side of the cage for seed and usually put the sprouts or egg on a plate at the bottom of the cage. They seem happy eating from both. Although each of them usually eats from a specific food cup, they both eat from each of them.

We have one water container hanging on the side of the cage and another on the cage floor. They prefer the later, both for drinking and occasional splashing and bathing. We spray them three or four times a week if they haven't been bathing. They seem to enjoy it.

Cora and Robert alternate their day between periods of sitting still and periods of activity. When they're still, they often sit near each other, usually five or six inches apart. When they're active, they fly among the perches or hop around the cage floor, which we have covered with corn-cob litter. At night, they usually roost on the lower of the two perches, sometimes five or six inches apart and sometimes closer.

Robert performs his mating dance every morning. Sometimes, Cora encourages him to begin with a little croak. Usually, when he begins, she sits watching, but as he approaches, she usually flies away and he stops. He sings to her frequently during the day, sometimes on the same perch and sometimes from a branch nearer the top of the cage.

Periodically during the day, Robert will approach Cora and make a pecking motion towards her beak. Sometimes, she returns the motion and sometimes she flies away. He does not make contact and has not pecked any feathers from her.

Robert also has periods when he appears to chase Cora around the cage. For example, if she is sitting on one of the food cups and he's on the other, he'll jump to hers. Wherever she flies, he follows. As with the pecking motion, he does not directly attack her, but does pursue.

As we're novices and have not had any kind of birds before, we'd appreciate advice as to whether Robert's behavior qualifies as "aggressive." We'd also like advice on anything we could do to improve their habitat or if we should separate Robert and Cora, introduce another female (or male), or both.

Many thanks!

[debbie276]

Welcome to the forum
It doesn't sound like aggression at all to me.
Is her beak black? She may not be in breeding mode yet.
I would start offering hard boiled eggs. The high protein will help stimulate them to breed and is great for feather growth and raising chick's. If you get them used to eating it now you will not run into problems later when they will need it.
Good luck, be sure to keep us posted
We all love pictures if you can find the time

[lovezebs]

RobertandCora

Hello.

Regarding Robert and Cora.

What you are describing sounds like fairly normal behavior.
I would say, that Robert is interested in mating, but Cora might not be on the same page at present.

Are they Red headed, Purple breast, Green backs? What color is Cora's beak? If it's dark, turning blackish, then she's in breeding mode. If it's redish or orange white, then she's probably not in breeding mode. A picture would really help.

The next question would be, are you interested in breeding them?
I wasn't sure, because you didn't mention whether you had placed a nest in the cage or not.

If you are considering breeding and keeping the kids, or adding more birds, I would seriously suggest a bigger flight. The 30 x 18 x18, is size appropriate for two finches.

Another suggestion, would be a variety of greens (kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, beet greens, broccoli, cucumber slices, grated carrot, red swiss chard, baby spring greens mix, parsley etc.)

Keep us updated.

[RobertandCora]

Thank you, Debbie and Alana, for your advice and suggestions!

I've uploaded two photographs of Cora and Robert to the gallery. They are red-headed, purple-breasted Gouldians. Cora's beak is light, except for slight reddish color on the tip. We don't detect any black yet.

We're feeding them boiled egg several times a week. They love it. We've been giving them several kinds of lettuce, but haven't tried the other vegetables you mention, so we'll add those over the next few weeks.

We figured we should observe and learn more about finches before we consider breeding, so our questions were more about knowing if their activity and behavior was typical for Gouldian finches. We did have a nest in the cage for awhile, but the only use they gave it was to stand on top. Robert flew inside once, but immediately came out again.

We've looked at some cages that are double the size of the one we just bought, so if they do produce a brood, we'll move up to a larger size.

Again, thank you very much for your advice and suggestions!

Regards,

Matthew

[lovezebs]

RobertandCora

Hi Matthew,

Glad could be of some help.

Enjoy your pretty kids

[debbie276]

Your very welcome.
As far as nests, I don't find that mine will pay them any attention till they are ready to nest so I just leave nests in their area.
Good luck, your being very responsible to learn before diving into breeding.

[Sally]

You've already gotten good advice, but I just wanted to welcome you to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care and breeding.