Aussie Finch Forum

on thursday i found two hens both fluffed up and in a bad way. an OB hen and my tri-coloured parrotfinch hen. assuming both were egg bound i placed both in my carrybox that doubles as a hospital cage, added heat lamps and humidity and hoped for the best.

a day later i found a shelless egg was layed. i was relieved but i'm not sure whom the layer was. in any event both birds are looking much better so i have assumed it was the OB that layed the egg. as the tri has been being constantly pestered by her mate and i figure she has an alternative likely explanation for her poor health.

so my question -

1) i provide my birds with plenty of cuttlefish and shell grit. is there anything else i have missed that may have cause the lack of calcium in the shell less egg layer?

2) how on earth do a manage the tri cocks over zealous behaviour? i had a similar problem with my cuban and separation seemed to work (although i suspect the hen has never really bonded with the cock which is a problem)

any tips would be appreciated.

Is this the OB's first ever egg? I've had young hens lay shell-less eggs and then they go on to be fine, so might not be a dietary issue.
My cock tris chase the hens pretty actively during courting, so not sure if that's the issue. I'd suspect some other underlying illness that may have been exacerbated by the cock chasing her.

Not experienced with this species but maybe purchasing anohter tri colour hen may work. Having a spare hen may share the load as far as agression goes.Its normal for parrot finches to harass hens to the point of exhaustion. I believe having large planted aviaries helps the hens out in this situation.

thanks for the replies so far guys.

to be honest i have no idea how old the OB hen is. she was purchased recently and as always i was told she was "young".

the aviary is pretty well planted. that said, good luck getting hiding form the male. again, my pair was purchased only recently.

as both birds seem to have really picked up i have placed them in my quarantine cage and i'll keep them indoors for a few days to let them rest up. hopefully all will work out i so very hope to breed from them this year!

if all else fails, you could try clipping a few flight feathers from your Tri cock and thus hopefully slow him down a little)

Was going to suggest the wing clipping but wasnt sure if it was just something we parrot keepers do .