Aussie Finch Forum

Sorry to hear about your parrot finches,ive been looking at getting some...until then,i dont have any answers for you..cheers shan

Slick, sorry should have mentioned, if a parrot finch is not buzzing around the aviary, it is a first sign of sickness, they are a hyperactive bird, constantly on the move, if there not buzzing around feed them with sulfa 3. If there buzzing around could be the cold wet conditions??

i also think that we look at every possible problem sometimes and yet avoid the most obvious one - that its just too cold. i partially understand the arguments for breeding "tough" birds- - but its little consolation when your $100 parrotfinches are dropping off their perches.

i think we do have to pay some attention to where our birds have originally come from - in the case of parrotfinches its the tropical regions of the south pacific. in my opinion its somewhat unethical to expect them to thrive in the cold southern or inland regions of australia where it can get very cold in winter. this year i built a heater and have it on a timer giving them a couple of hours "recharge" starting at sunrise and another hour before nightfall. often 8 or so birds flitter under the lamps the moment it flickers on. this tells me they appreciate the warmth and it likely explains why i haven't had a single death this year, despite not covering the aviary with plastic or changing my feeding routine one iota.

warmth is VERY important to birds. we all know its the first thing we need to provide when they are sick. and its totally probably to me that tropical finches have not evolved a resistance to the sorts of temperate climates many of us are keeping them in.

my advice - bite the bullet and build them a heat lamp. it's kinder and will at the very least the cost will be more than reimbursed by the savings on losses.

Im not a fan of heating aviaries but I tell you this winter has been so cold, and day after day of zero sunlight, that had I lost even 1 bird the heater would be in like Flynn.

Ive been lucky so far and I hope your luck changes too ...you certainly have had a bad run this winter.

I would have to agree with toothlessjaws on this one about heating, I myself have lost 4 hens this year alone haven't lost that many in a 2 month period for a long time, now I add heating just at the coldest parts- early morning. This problem of yours slick could be any number of problems that have been mentioned plus some that haven't such as loss of Sun light vitamin deficiency. I would suggest to start at the obvious two- heat and dry housing and work your way from there. Its very hard to pinpoint nit being able to see your birds or aviery so sorry to say but this is going to be a trail by error. I like you also come from Vic and know how cold it is getting so I feel sorry that your birds are dying but keep your chin up once this problem is resolved you'll be able to conquer it next time, just remember the cold affets the young and older worse than fit prime aged birds.

I have heating in my shed during winter. Gets turned on each morning at 6:30 am and turned off at 7am which happens to be when i'm preparing their daily feed! It's bloody cold down there, don't know how the birds can survive it.

Its got me buggered to Matt .
Ive gone out to check aviaries on freezing mornings to find Lorikeets bathing in water which would have barely thawd out from the night before .

Find it ridiculous that my canaries will bath in the cold also, I wouldn't be caught dead having a cold shower in those cold temps but it is a sign of a healthy bird so I'm told.

in the wild if a bird is cold, so long as the sun is shining, it will move itself to a position where it can take advantage of that. its important to remember that in aviaries birds cannot do this - they are instead completely reliant on the sun coming to them - ie; the position of your aviary. being in a stationary position, even the best aviaries cannot give the birds the freedom to control their body temperature via the sun the way they can in the wild.

often i look out the window and see the sun briefly break through the clouds on a cold winters day and i think "damn - the avairy is still in shade". my birds in this scenario cannot take advantage of this. as they are stuck in their cage on the shady side. the wild sparrows in my yard however are sitting on the roof of my neighbours roof, recharging their little internal batteries, be it brief for the cold night ahead.

realise this - and one can start to understand how the health of a even a indigenous bird species to your area can deteriorate when kept in a cold unheated aviary.

I have found out ( prob ) what's knocked em out. I put my bird bath under a perch to collect there droppings went in to the water. Guess what . Little damnnnnnn worms.. I gave my birds wormout gel never had a problem. But silly me brought pair of parrot finches and didn't give the medication .. Must of passed sickness ..now all birds brought are goin to rehab first for a week.. I'm soo angry didn't cross my mind . Happen to bloke I went with he brought Pf as well he lost 3 .. He told me to put bird bath under a perch they sit under and you will see. Being me I didn't believe him.. First time in 5 years iv lost so many finches. No more silly mistakes.. Last time lost so many birds forgot to lock both trap door & main door 7 birds flew out even my priced singers