August 3, 2020
Egg laying
Please discuss how to prevent egg binding and what to do to help a momma bird keeps laying eggs with no mate?
1)How can we help her?
2) Also how much room do finches need? (Gouldin finches)
Question:
Answer:
Hi Sheri,
We recently hosted two webinars on hormones and pet birds, and I will provide those links below. Viewing these will help you with your single egg layer. I’m not sure if this is also a finch or a parrot? Basically if this is a bird you handle, you need to limit any petting to the head – when you pet a bird on the body, this is a hormone trigger. You should never give an adult bird a nest, box, hut or anything it can get inside of or view as a nest. Adult birds only use a nest during breeding season and a single bird does not ever need a nest. You can also try limiting the daylight hours to about 8-10 daily by covering the cage early in the evening. Also limit fresh food offerings to a couple of times a week. And you can move the cage to another spot in the room every week as well as rearranging things in the cage.
As far as how much room for finches, I recommend the largest cage you can have room for. It’s hard to give a minimum – maybe 20inX 20in X 32In cage measurements and of course the bar spacing needs to be small enough for birds. I would check websites for Gouldian breeders to get their recommendations. Since the birds do not get out of the cage, a larger cage is best.
Webinar: “Spring Is In the Air: How To Deal With Your Pet Bird’s Hormonal Behavior!”
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
