# Needing urgent advice for a Zebra Finch who has lost his 'wife'



## catmanic (Jan 7, 2012)

Hello, please help us! Six years ago we took in two rescue zebra finch. They were male and female and have been like an old married couple from the start. This morning, when we uncovered their cage we sadly discovered that our female, Thor, had passed away in the night. We are devastated, obviously, but now worried about her partner who is left behind as we know these birds suffer terribly when not with other finches.
We don't want to get a young bird as we'll inevitably be left with the same scenario at a later date. Plus, we worry the new bird might bully our male, Jude. A friend of ours has an aviary and tends to bring any disabled or weaker birds to live in her house. She suggested a while back that we could adopt one of these to live with whichever survived their spouse. My husband is reluctant to introduce a new bird too quickly, and is also concerned about how our Jude would take to it. I, on the otherhand, think that for a Zebra Finch, loneliness will be harder for him.
Do any members have any suggestions? We are lost as to what is the best way to approach this and how.
Thanks.


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2012)

To be honest you really have no need to worry.

Best thing to do is wait a week and get a new hen from a shop or something. He will probably dance and sing straight away.

As for the age difference, some zebra finches have lived for 12 years or so. Just make sure he is healthy and no worries.


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

If you don't want to be left with the younger bird by herself when the older one passes then you could get a pair of youngsters.


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2012)

If they were not zebra finches then i would have agreed. But if you put a single hen in with a pair, the pair will most likely kill the spair hen in their effort to mate and reproduce. Regardless of if a nest is available.

Zebra finches are highly territorial. Only one pair to a cage. No others. 

I have 18 zebra finches.


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

Howldaloom said:


> If they were not zebra finches then i would have agreed. But if you put a single hen in with a pair, the pair will most likely kill the spair hen in their effort to mate and reproduce. Regardless of if a nest is available.
> 
> Zebra finches are highly territorial. Only one pair to a cage. No others.
> 
> I have 18 zebra finches.


Couldn't you mix a younger male and female pair with an older demale?

I don't know a lot about finches, so please excuse me if it is a stupid question 

EDIT, Sorry, I misread the original post and I thought is was the male that died.


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2012)

Nope! Zebra finches are highly territorial. They WILL kill a spair hen if in the same cage. 

I had a a cockatiel cage that is big enough for around 15 birds at a push. I put 6 zebra finches in and had to split them in less them a week because they wanted to kill each other.

Unless you have an avairy it is best to only have one pair to a cage. Even if you bought a peacefull pair of bengalese finches to put in with her for company. SHE will attack them because "its her cage".

You have to have a large indoor avairy, or flight to have a flock of them to be able to have them living together and even then they pluck each other.


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

My neighbor has just had exactly the same problem with a pair of gouldians - the cock died over night and they were left with just the hen, she was so depressed and stopped eating, so they had to find a breeder within 2 days to get another. As soon as the new cock bird was added she went nuts and started eating like a horse and chirping away she was so happy. So really I would have said the sooner you get another the better it will be for the one you have, I wouldn't worry about age at all - you can cross that bridge when you come to it!


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2012)

my only arguement to buying a replacement asap is you wont give the male enough time to settle on his own. 

The male might not be willing to accept a new hen and become territorial with her. It is best to wait a week or so and let him become acustomed to being on his own. 

That way he will readily accept her, or should do. Zebra finches are funny things.........


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## catmanic (Jan 7, 2012)

There seems to have been a bit of confusion over the sex of the birdy that survived. My Jude is a boy. It was Thor, (named obviously prior to sexing) that died. Sorry if that's confusing!
But thank you so much for all the advice and support! We only took these finches because they were getting badly bullied and had been housed in a really small cage with budgies and canaries and had been plucked and attacked to the point of baldness. It was very sad. I knew my Mam had an old parrot cage, so we took them in as a temporary, urgent measure, though within a matter of days we were won over by their quirky charm and ended up keeping them ourselves.
I have since purchased books and trawled the internet to learn more about these funny little birds, but the books don't prepare you for their funny little ways and habits quite as well as the experiences of other finch-keepers, especially when it comes to a bit of a moral dilema, so thank you.
We have decided to wait for a week or two and are looking to get Jude a new female friend once he has readjusted. For the moment he seems strangely clingy. He has always been friendly by finch standards and will come to the side of the cage when you talk to him, but the past few days that has gone as far as chirping for us, to which we respond by whistling back to him. When you approach the cage he'll immediately burst into song. He's THAT desperate for company and it pulls at my heartstrings knowing how poor a substitute we must be to him. We have even gone so far as keeping a five minute audio recording of finches in the room with him that we'll play at intervals through the day. He really seems to enjoy this. 
Hopefully he really will be ready for bird company by the end of next week. Fingers crossed!


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