Aussie Finch Forum

Hi all I Just got a pair of Tri Coloured Parrot Finch this was last sunday att the Fairfield sales. the next morning the male was dead. So i jsut got another male yesterday but this morning it was dead again.
I had it in an out side aviary. What am I doing wrong? The hen is doing well. So are the other finches I got the same day. Please help me

Few suggestions....
Were the birds cabinet bred? Being put in an outside aviary might have been to much of a shock for them if they were
Did you treat them with anything?
Too cold overnight?
Night fright?
Possible conflict with other aviary inhabitants?

I know its weird being they were both cock birds.

No they were aviary breed.
Yap that is why It's only the cock bird that die??
they were the only one in the aviary

Well thats two ideas down.
What about temperature and treatments?

the same thing happened to me when i got my tri coloureds. male was dead the next morning. however in hindsight i realised it was largely my fault and it could have been any combination of the following:

the bird was released early afternoon. not in the morning
no quarantine
i faced the transport box towards the wire end of the aviary resulting in the cock flying straight into the wire
it was a cold day followed by a cold night
i put liquid medication on the birds neck
i had no idea if the bird was aviary bred or not

any number of these foolish decisions could have been a rational explanation. and the likely cause was a combination. have a think if maybe you made any of these mistakes.

its worth remembering that tri-coloured parrot finches come from Tanimbar island in Eastern Indonesia. its not cold there. cold nights let alone cold winds are not something this species had had to even remotely evolve defences against. the fact the the female survived doesn't mean that the male did not die from environmental conditions, it just means that the female was hardier or had a more sheltered roost or any number of possibilities.

does you aviary have plastic curtains or other draught/wind protection?

still, i once got a gorgeous pair of cubans that i was absolutely rapt with. the cock was just splendid - the best cock cuban i had ever seen. i bought them from a bird sale and had to fight off about another 3 potential buyers who walked past and noticed them. everything was right, he was alert, bright eyed, his feathers in glossy peak condition. i released him in the aviary early on a warm sunny day. being a cuban he was alert, friendly and went straight to feeding flittering around the aviary feeding and chirping etc. he found water, had a bath in the sun. everything seemed perfect. i came home later that afternoon and he was dead on the aviary floor. not a feather out of place. absolutely no idea why.

i was devastated.

I let him out inthe morning could be the weather it was cold yesterday and last night

there is a big possibility it had been kept or even been born in an indoor breeding cage. it is ALWAYS best to acclimatise and quarantine new birds!!!

as it is tri's are hardly cold-loving birds.... not to sound harsh but I think you need to consider your setup...

Its always the way Toothless . The Red Rumps bought in Orange Sale this year we could have sold to another 3 people , we were asked as we walked if they were for sale .
Got them home and the girl dies 3 days later . Dont know if the boy sensed she was off as they were very distant with each other anyhoo luckily got another girl same day and the new pair preened from day 1 .
I spose everything happens for a reason but sheesh it would be nice to know that reason.

Sorry to hear that your bird died. Always a bit disconcerting.

I like to keep new birds settled for a couple of days before releasing them. I know its extremely tempting to release them as early as possible but don't forget they have most probably been through quite a stressful period. eg. Being caught, transported to a show, housed in a small box, loud noisy environment etc. After all they are tiny birds.

No harm in keeping them calm and rested for a couple of days.

Also I have found buying birds in winter is always a bit hit and miss. I had a couple of new lovebirds (virtually indestructible creatures) die on me after an unusually cold night. So tend to be a bit more wary now.

Releasing birds- especially finches- into new aviaries at this time of year can lead to problems unless they are extremely well protected.
I agree with toothless jaws- you should keep new birds separate for a few weeks to make sure that they are ok.

And birds bought from bird sales, I'm sorry to say, experience much more stress than birds bought directly from the breeder. The really strong ones cope ok but many are not prepared for a sale properly so that by the time you get them home they are stressed, dehydrated and maybe low on energy. That makes it even more important to keep them inside for a few days to make sure they are eating, drinking & look 100% healthy before being placed into their aviary.