Coconut nest

[Atomiklan]

Any suggestions on how to encourage my new finches to use their coconut nest? I know there is a lot more to consider regarding encouraging/discouraging breeding with and without a nest, but I guess I will cross that bridge a little later. Still not even sure yet if I have a male female pair. Need to get them DNA sexed soon. Can anyone recommend an easy online DNA service? Ok, back to the original question. I want to go ahead and give them a nest regardless. I am not a fan of the typical wicker open and closed type nests. I found this coconut hut and crossed my fingers that with time they would accept it. Currently they have just been perching on top of the ball of nest material I originally hung in the cage. I have since moved that ball down onto the floor to discourage them perching there at night. I also read that it is advised to spread a little nest material around the cage and put a little inside the hut to get them started. Also shine a little light into the hut so they can see inside initially and investigate. Can anyone else make some suggestions. I really would love for them to get attached to it. Crossing my fingers. Here are a few pictures. I moved the nest to the corner and put it as high as possible. Please ignore placement of some of the others items in the cage. I am still working on cage logistics.

 

[Featheredfuffs]

Any suggestions on how to encourage my new finches to use their coconut nest? I know there is a lot more to consider regarding encouraging/discouraging breeding with and without a nest, but I guess I will cross that bridge a little later. Still not even sure yet if I have a male female pair. Need to get them DNA sexed soon. Can anyone recommend an easy online DNA service? Ok, back to the original question. I want to go ahead and give them a nest regardless. I am not a fan of the typical wicker open and closed type nests. I found this coconut hut and crossed my fingers that with time they would accept it. Currently they have just been perching on top of the ball of nest material I originally hung in the cage. I have since moved that ball down onto the floor to discourage them perching there at night. I also read that it is advised to spread a little nest material around the cage and put a little inside the hut to get them started. Also shine a little light into the hut so they can see inside initially and investigate. Can anyone else make some suggestions. I really would love for them to get attached to it. Crossing my fingers. Here are a few pictures. I moved the nest to the corner and put it as high as possible. Please ignore placement of some of the others items in the cage. I am still working on cage logistics.

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That seems great! Trust me, those finches will be using the nest in no time

Just be warned, society's will nest in just about anything! My society's have nested on top of their nesting box, not in it, and in their food dish


Something I thought I'd mention is to consider not DNA sexing, as little finches can bleed out quite quickly.


You'll be able to tell their sex with time, as the males sing and the girls don't

 

[Atomiklan]

Yeah I just caught the lighter brown finch singing and pivoting left and right like a German Cuckoo clock haha. Looks like Emma is actually a Charles and Charles is potentially an Emma More time will tell I guess. For DNA sexing, I was considering using the plucked feather method. Some of the newer services it seems are able to get enough info from a plucked breast feather. I have not brought myself to catching them and plucking one yet though. I figured I would wait a little bit for us both to settle in and to get feedback from everyone here on the forums. Here is a video I just took too:

 

[Featheredfuffs]

Yeah I just caught the lighter brown finch singing and pivoting left and right like a German Cuckoo clock haha. Looks like Emma is actually a Charles and Charles is potentially an Emma More time will tell I guess.

Yeah that sounds about right! Was Emma-turned-Charles singing, hopping and pivoting towards the darker finchy? If so, that means the darker finchy is probably a girl!


Congrats on the new finches!

 

[Atomiklan]

Still not 100% positive on which is which. I keep getting some mixed signs (highly likely just my inexperience in recognizing). I think they are really starting to get more comfortable with their environment (and me). I've been working from home ever since I got them and I have since moved shop from in front of the backyard sliding glass door (watch wild birds), to sitting next to them all day and observing. They are definitely getting a lot more comfortable. I am a little concerned about the lighter brown one. Does not seem as active. Puffs up occasionally. I have not seen anything yet that makes me think he/she is really sick, but I do notice a difference between the two. Even though I thought the lighter brown one was now the male, he/she seems more submissive, less adventurous, doesn't seem to be eating as much. In fact just a few minutes ago, I saw a few times what looked like the dark chocolate finch feeding the other. So now I don't know what to think. Is one getting sick, or is this potentially the start of courtship? To complicate things further, we have a SUCCESS. The lighter brown finch seems to have moved into the coconut. I would be happy if it were not for my concern now over the health. The lighter finch is just kinda being lazy in the coconut right now. I guess it is past their bed time though. Hopefully they will both snuggle in there together tonight.

 

[Featheredfuffs]

Still not 100% positive on which is which. I keep getting some mixed signs (highly likely just my inexperience in recognizing). I think they are really starting to get more comfortable with their environment (and me). I've been working from home ever since I got them and I have since moved shop from in front of the backyard sliding glass door (watch wild birds), to sitting next to them all day and observing. They are definitely getting a lot more comfortable. I am a little concerned about the lighter brown one. Does not seem as active. Puffs up occasionally. I have not seen anything yet that makes me think he/she is really sick, but I do notice a difference between the two. Even though I thought the lighter brown one was now the male, he/she seems more submissive, less adventurous, doesn't seem to be eating as much. In fact just a few minutes ago, I saw a few times what looked like the dark chocolate finch feeding the other. So now I don't know what to think. Is one getting sick? To complicate thing further, we have a SUCCESS. The lighter brown finch seems to have moved into the coconut. I would be happy if it were not for my concern now over the health. The lighter finch is just kinda being lazy in the coconut right now. I guess it is past their bed time though. Hopefully they will both snuggle in there together tonight.

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I would definetly keep watching. It may just be the stress of coming into a new home, but you never know...


Could it of been beak nuzzling? Finches sometimes do that to show affection to each other. I've never seen any of my finches feed each other...

And based on what your saying, I'd say with some certainty that the lighter guys a boy! They will claim nests and try to invite any females to show their "handiwork", and that guys probably staking his claim to the nest site.


Some of my boys are super submissive... some not. It really depends on the bird
Puffing up occasionally is normal, it means that he's just cleaning dust from his feathers.

What diet are they on?

 

[Atomiklan]

Could it of been beak nuzzling?

Yes, now hearing you say that makes me think the same. It is probably just beak nuzzling. I was thinking to myself each time it happened, man they are super quick and clean about feeding each other. Didn't look like the behavior I have come to expect/see in other species.

They will claim nests and try to invite any females to show their "handiwork"

I just read this as well on a few other sites. Hearing it again here makes me feel a little better about which is which.

What diet are they on?

So currently I have one covered bowl (The large porcelain glazed bowls) of food which is a mix of seed and pellet (Could not find just pellet on short notice). They can't get enough of this stuff. They are going to that bowl constantly! I also put out a plate in the center of their cage today with a mashed red grape, mashed blueberry, roman lettuce leaf, spinach leaf, bean sprout, and broccoli shoot (All raw). For half a second one of them nibbled on the lettuce. They did not touch anything else. I count the lettuce taste test as a fluke. Will need to do a little more reading on how to get them to eat more veggies. Will also see about ordering some true pellets. For the time being though, it seems they LOVE this food. For water I have an identical porcelain bowl with water and two tube type water dispensers. Eventually I would like to get the nicer glass water bottles with the nice rubber stoppers as the build quality is fantastic, but I need to read some more to see if they have it in sizes for the small birds and if finches will even drink from it. Seems finches are much harder to work with and train unlike parrots where it seems you can fairly easily show and convince them where and how to use the water bottle.

 

[Atomiklan]

Now that I think about it. Tomorrow I need to do a test. I will remove all the seed from this mix and see if they are eating any of the pellets. First time I cleaned the cage, there was a lot of pellet in the tray. I didn't have the porcelain glazed bowls at the time though so I attributed it to just a LOT of waste making its way to the bottom. Maybe they are just picking out the seed. Will know for sure by end of tomorrow probably.

I just put them up for bed tonight too and noticed something interesting. They don't appear to be perching together tonight. Huh... Neither are in coconut either. I guess it is still too new. I wonder why they are not together though. I guess they had an argument and one of them got booted to the couch.

 

[Featheredfuffs]

So currently I have one covered bowl (The large porcelain glazed bowls) of food which is a mix of seed and pellet (Could not find just pellet on short notice). They can't get enough of this stuff. They are going to that bowl constantly! I also put out a plate in the center of their cage today with a mashed red grape, mashed blueberry, roman lettuce leaf, spinach leaf, bean sprout, and broccoli shoot (All raw). For half a second one of them nibbled on the lettuce. They did not touch anything else. I count the lettuce taste test as a fluke. Will need to do a little more reading on how to get them to eat more veggies. Will also see about ordering some true pellets. For the time being though, it seems they LOVE this food. For water I have an identical porcelain bowl with water and two tube type water dispensers. Eventually I would like to get the nicer glass water bottles with the nice rubber stoppers as the build quality is fantastic, but I need to read some more to see if they have it in sizes for the small birds and if finches will even drink from it. Seems finches are much harder to work with and train unlike parrots where it seems you can fairly easily show and convince them where and how to use the water bottle.

The way I get mine to eat their greens is to hang it up so it looks like a fun toy to explore

Ive tried a whole lot of stuff, my guys only like romaine lettuce, kale, and sometimes mixed greens. And sometimes they don't even eat it, just grab it and use it as nesting material

The lettuce taste test was great! Finches are a lot more flighty and nervous of new things, next time you put it out the finch will nibble it for 2 seconds, and so on. And it one does it, the other will follow

My finches started out the same way, now if they see me carrying lettuce or kale, they get all exited and wait by the cage door



My guys pick out the seed too... I just leave the dish out for an extra hour or two and they usually will eat the pellets.

 

[Atomiklan]

Got the cage cleaned and a little more optimized today. Just going to add one more rope perch on left side so they have an opposite perch to fly back and forth from and I think we will all be happy. Also added one of my Ristra peppers. They are now officially NM finches Dont worry, the ristra is not decorative. Its straight from organic farm, sun dried and untreated, by myself personally. Will be cool to see if they nibble at it. If not, it will just make for a unique hanging toy. Also built a quick and dirty LED to help light up the coconut nest. Its just a simple standard 5mm white LED (Max forward current 20mA continuous, 5VDC Max reverse Voltage. 3.0VDC (min) Forward voltage drop.) with a 1 ohm resistor and two 1.5v Lithium Batteries. Only the LED is inside the cage, and nothing toxic really for them to chew on, but this is just temporary anyways. It might not even work. Lighting up the inside of the nest this much may actually spook them. We'll see how things go today. Still no change on food yet. Obviously can't expect changes over night. I will keep offering them different types of fresh food. I'm sure they will take to it at some point. Also, I did a little better job this time of adding some initial nest material to the coconut. Made a little patty and stuffed it in there. Looks comfy Lastly I re-secured their nesting material to the top of the cage, but this time I used zip ties and pulled it up tight into the corner so they cannot perch on top. Once I get that other rope perch in there, they should be able to stand on that to pick from the material without having to latch onto it and hang sideways (Not that I have seen them do that yet anyways...). Pictures to follow.

 

[Atomiklan]

Yay! Sat with them today for several hours. Charlie turned in an hour or so ago (inside the coconut). Emma was still pretty active and taking a lot of second guesses on the nest. Hand fed her some millet (been working on that too) and afterwards she finally snuggled in with Charlie for the first time. They are now both in their coconut for the first time yahoo. I'm sure in coming months I may be regretting it, but very excited that they are finally getting comfortable. Did not snap a picture. Didn't want to risk disturbing them tonight. Have a good thing going right now. Going to let them head to bed and will get some cute pictures another day. On different note, glad this finally worked out too regarding their ceramic food bowl. I think Charlie was trying to nest in there at first. I decided to replace the ceramic food bowl for now. May not make a difference. He may still use it at some point in the future. Is this a possibility? Or once they select a nest, do they remain pretty loyal to that spot? Thanks!

 

[finchly]

Societies are so easy, if you offer a different nest they may move just for fun. I'm not sure why you are anxious for them to use the coconut, did you buy them intending to breed them? If so are you set up to house 4-6 new societies every few months? And some separately, as you can't always keep the juvies with the parents who have eggs or new babies?

If you do not want to breed, do not supply a nest.

Also you mentioned one seems puffed up, is she still? You don't want a sick bird to start nesting because it saps their energy.

Finches are notorious for picking out only the foods they like and tossing the others. They may be tossing pellets out. To get them to eat pellets, provide only pellets for a few hours a day, removing seed. To get them to eat a variety of fresh food,start out by offer the same chop every day for a week (remove it after a few hours so it won't spoil) ... they will start nibbling at it. I find that finches who aren't used to chop are suspicious of every small change I make in it, so I offer the same thing for awhile, then make a minor change. In a couple months' time they wil; look forward to breakfast (or whatever meal your chop arrives).

They LOVE to play with lettuce leaves, but if theyre eating too much lettuce you may see some diarrhea.

Also, a small suggestion. Since your cage is not huge, and they need to fly to stay healthy, I would remove the 2 long perches. I normally set everybody up with a perch on each short end so that they have to fly back and forth (across the long side). Hope this makes sense. The rope perch on the right and tree branch on the left are good choices and would probably be enough.

We are on a forum with mostly bigger bird people and they set up their cages with all the bells and whistles, but finches mostly need flying room. That is what keeps them strong.

 

[Atomiklan]

If you do not want to breed, do not supply a nest.

Yes, I recognize this too. I'm sure I will have to remove it at some point. I am interested in breeding at least once and understand all that entails including expansion.

Also you mentioned one seems puffed up, is she still?

I think Charlie is just unique lol. Perhaps he is a little chubby. At first I thought he was puffed up because of his size compared to Emma. I also originally thought his wings were drooping. Originally he seemed to be breathing really fast too. The breathing seems to have normalized. He does seem to hold his wings differently than Emma. He is not lethargic though. Very happy and active today. Let me see if I can get a picture of each so you can see the difference in how he holds his wings. Perhaps you will see something different. Not the best pictures in the world, but you should at least see the differences.

They LOVE to play with lettuce leaves, but if they're eating too much lettuce you may see some diarrhea.

What is the best way to provide lettuce? Hang from ceiling, wall, cut up in bowl? Going to try hanging from ceiling today.

I would remove the 2 long perches.

Yes I agree. Its hard to tell, but I tried to setup the cage so they had perches and stuff pushed more towards the back, leaving the whole length of the front of cage open so they can fly back and forth. I finally added the other rope perch too. They love going back and forth between the two of them. I have not been a fan at all of the supplied dowel perches. I tried to make them work on the bottom but I think they are just taking up valuable space. I will probably remove them today when I do a cage cleaning. I am also considering moving them to a larger cage here soon too. I recognize this is definitely on the smaller end of the cages.

Thank you by the way for all the help and attention!

 

[finchly]

Some say the wing/stance indicates male and female. I'm not sure it means anything!

The lettuce I occasionally clip to the side but my normal way of serving veggies is on a small paper plate so I tend to put it on there. They drag it around or line the nest with it.

I could not tell you had space in the front from the photo, but that's a clever idea. Many finches would love to have such a nice home.

 

[Atomiklan]

Some say the wing/stance indicates male and female. I'm not sure it means anything!

Sounds like you don't see anything concerning in those pictures then.

The lettuce I occasionally clip to the side but my normal way of serving veggies is on a small paper plate

Hung it from the ceiling today. We'll see if they nibble on it. I tried a plate the first few days. Will have to try it again.

Many finches would love to have such a nice home.

Thanks, I'm trying

 

[finchly]

Sounds like you don't see anything concerning in those pictures then.

Not at all! I see 2 cuties that like each other and live in a castle, complete with a private servant.