Gouldian missing toes

[Laguna]

I have 4 Lady Gouldian Finch which I kept in a breeder cage, single level not double. Over the holidays the bird store near me had a store sale and I bought an indoor aviary as well as another pair of Gouldian's. The store said it would be ok to put all 6 together in one cage while I waited for the aviary to arrive which would take a few weeks. While I was waiting for the aviary I found the female orange head on the bottom of the cage all puffed up. I put her in a separate cage with a heat lamp and gave her a bit of medicine I had and kept her there for a couple of weeks.

At the end of that time I got the aviary. I put the orange headed female back in the aviary after a couple of days. About 1 week later (or so) I heard a thump. I looked around and didn't see anything. I didn't think about the bird falling. I thought one of our dogs hit something. The next day I found the same bird at the bottom of the aviary. I took her to the vet and he gave me some medicine. She laid an egg (no shell) at the vet's and it was then that he noticed she was missing her toes. Later that day when I looked at the bottom of the cage I found them. I also found one of the nests on the floor which was not there earlier. The vet said she could not be returned to the aviary. I have had her in a very small cage ever since. The vet said to consider it a hospital cage. I have put everything on the bottom of the cage with one low perch. I also put in another nest in case she wanted someplace warm to go at night. I have noticed she likes to sit on top of the bird nest.

This weekend I went back to the bird store and told them my tale of woe. They had several Lady Gouldian's with missing toes due to a mishap. They gave me a hurt male (missing toes) to keep the female company. They figured it would be ok since both birds were disabled. I have the male in the breeder cage (he is alone) and figured on putting the female in this weekend. Again everything is pretty much low or on the bottom of the cage. Is this a smart idea. The vet thought the bird had been picked on (my female bird is missing head feathers as well) and to leave the bird alone in a cage. Everything I have read says not to leave a finch alone (usless sick). Anyone out there ever had a problem like this? In my cage moving to accomodate these finches I had to move my canary to a huge double cage (small bar spacing). But it is something like 40 inches long. Huge cage for one small bird but he definately can fly.

[poohbear]

The bird store had several birds with missing toes due to a mishap??????
Did your hen come from the same store? These mishaps sound more genetic than anything.(possible inbreeding)
Anyway with regard to your hen...Give her low perches made from flat sections of branches about an inch wide with the bark still on she will find it easier to perch.Thats why she's roosting on the top of the nest (box?) it will feel more secure for her.(I take it she can fly ok?) She should be ok with the disabled male as they both have a disability to put up with.
How the shop can advise you that it will be Ok to put yet another pair in your aviary is a mystery.How do they know? You won't know until you try it.Some birds will bully ...others won't.It's ok to put loads of Bengalese (societies) in together as they are well known to be extremely tolerant unlike Gouldians.

A pal of mine has a Gouldian hen that raised 8 chicks last year and she only has one leg.However in your case the disabled male might have problems when it comes to mating.

Make sure your birds have plenty of oystershell grit and crushed baked eggshells for the formation of eggs otherwise the laying of shelless eggs can occur again with disatrous results.You can also buy a calcium additive to give in the water.

The feather loss on the head can also be a result of poor diet ask your pet shop if they have a seaweed extract which is high in iodine, this can solve the problem after the next moult.Read up on it on the Lady Gouldian Website.Feather loss can be due to bullying but more often than not it's diet.

I'm amazed you said the vet noticed your bird had no toes and you found them on the floor of the cage....This means you caught the bird up and didn't notice? tut tut.

Good luck with them.
Paul.

[Laguna]

Paul,
Thanks for the reply. I am rather new to finches. When I picked up the bird she was all puffed up and I didn't even think to look at the feet.

My local bird store owns a petting zoo. The finches with the missing toes were at the petting zoo and shared a side of the avairy with a larger bird/birds. The finch were attacked when they clutched the side of the aviary where the larger bird could reach them. Why these two types of birds were sharing a same side I don't know as this bird store has a pretty good reputation around here. I have not actually seen this petting zoo since they took over but is is fairly small and in a town where you have to jump through hoops to change anything because the whole town is considered historical.

I think the salespeople figured that by giving me a finch with the same problems as the one I had it would keep mine from being lonely and at the same time help them with their problem. (I thought I would keep the two apart for one week and then put them together. Does that sound good?

I am glad to know about the perches. It makes total sense.

[poohbear]

That explains the missing toes at the pet shop...not very intelligent are they?
Adjoining flights should always be double meshed to avoid this problem...especially with parrotlike.They weren't doing you that much of a favour as a bird with missing toes is nearly unsaleable.

Put them together when you have time to sit and watch from a distance for a while.Don't be concerned at the odd peck or two,this is natural.Just make sure there is not a full blown fight.Seperate feeding dishes for a day or two might avoid trouble.

Get some oystershell grit in there pronto that hen needs it.Let me know if you have any further concerns I'll try and help if I can.I've been breeding Gouldians for nearly 40 years there's not much I haven't come across.
Except last night when we had an earthquake over here and I found three birds dead this morning.Not a large quake but big enough to panic the birds in the dark.
Paul.

[Laguna]

Your earthquake was on the radio this morning. The DJ's were wondering how the Englanders felt since it was a 5. something. Wasn't it in Wales? Hope you and yours were ok.

I am so sorry to hear about your birds. I went to a lady vet a while back who told me to leave a night light on at night for all the birds in case there was an earthquake. I thought she was nuts. I just can't wrap my head around birds falling but she said she sees a lot of them because they have fallen during a earthquake and there was no light on to see what was going on. I guess I will have to turn the night light back on. We get a good number of quakes in California but I have not felt one in awhile. I live at the beach area in Southern California, south of Los Angeles and though there have been a number of quakes in S. California I have not felt any right here in awhile.

I really appreciate your offer to help. The only finch I have ever had was when I was a kid and the female was pecked to death by the male. This was back in the 50's and the finch were kept in a parakeet cage. I think the cage was to small and it was also located in the kitchen which wasn't good. There was not the internet back then and it was considered ok to put small birds in a small cage. Now of course with all the info. flying back and forth over the internet and exchange of info. we know better.

I plan on moving in the female over the weekend and seeing if I can find inch wide perches. I have a fruitless mulberry in my yard that might do otherwise will have to buy something. Is mulberry ok to put in with birds or should I buy from a petstore? What about the perches made of string (colored with bolts/screw ons) that you find all over? I have one in with the male and he seems to like it.

I also appreciate the info. on the iodine. I went online and there was a site that sold kelp for balding finches. Would that work? I am not sure if any of the bird or pet stores have seaweed or kelp for birds but will check it out over the weekend before I buy online.

Will keep you posted. Again thanks for your help. I post at work during lunch so I don't get on the computer over weekends. My computer at home is down at the moment.

[poohbear]

Mulberry ok, fruit tree wood better,apple etc...just shape the ends so it will fit bars etc.Finches don't chew bark much anyway so most woods safe.I wouldn't trust the woven stuff not with disabled birds.Kelp stuff ok...same source as seaweed for iodine.
Cheers.... Paul.

[Laguna]

Thanks for the info. I just put some woven stuff to stand on in with one of the disabled birds. Will take it out. Will see what I can get for wood perches.
One of the vets I took the bird to gave me some liquid calcium for the water. He said to put it in all the finches water. Will have to see where I can get a bigger quantity as he didn't give me that much and it won't last long with different finches in different cages.

As far as the pet store comment you made 2 posts ago on the saleability of the finches with the missing toes they must have about 10 of these birds. They said they couldn't sell them. They were keeping them in a breeder cage in a back room. I am not sure who was doing who a favor.

Love the bird picture. What beautiful colors.

[Laguna]

I put the 2 finch together over the weekend. These are the 2 with missing toes but both can fly. I noticed today that the female (which was mine) is picking on the male (just got from pet store) whenever they are sitting close to each other. I put the male in the cage alone a few days earlier as I had read somewhere to put the male in a few days before the female. She is going for his head but doesn't actually touch him as far as I can tell. Is this a breeding behavior where she is telling him to leave her alone? Should I split them up? I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with another cage. That little one I had her in is extremely small and good only for a carrier or hospital cage. Do you think they will grow out of it? They have been together since Sunday. Thanks for your help.