FINCHforum

Hi I have a large cage and I have a pair of male and female green singer finches I also have a pair of male and female zebra finch's . They have been getting along well without any agresssion for about 4 months. I know that red billed fire finches don't normally get along with zebras but will it work? My zebras are not agressive
Thanks,

Preston

I personally would not add a pair of Red-billed or Senegal Fire finches to this mix. They are quite passive and are likely to be picked on. The ones I've had don't tend to stand up for themselves at all, so they are easily bullied.

Hi Preston,

As previously stated, there are recommendations about what species of finch are aggressive or passive, but even within species, you will find variation. My two star finches, Fruit (now deceased) and Merl have both been exceptionally aggressive, and star finches are usually listed as passive!

Maybe try the birds together and see what happens. Good luck

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

I think it completely depends on how large a space you have to house them in. I keep of have kept all those species together before, but I have an outdoor planted flight (over 3 m cubed) with lots of space and hiding spaces for all the different species.

In a cage set up - I personally would not house the fire finches with the other two. More the Green singers than the zebra. When canaries decide to be mean, they are mean. The rest of the time they can be angels. I have lost birds to my green singers even in a big space. They hound a little bird till it dies from stress, starvation and over exertion.

You can get a pair a try, but be ready with a cage and plan B if it does not work.

My aviary is 8x9x8 and I have, green singers, canarys, African fire finch, forbes, Japanese white eyes, black cap, owls, strawberrys, cut throats, gouldians, purple grennadeens. Red wing pitellas. And probably one or two others I'm forgetting. My green singer and canary have a little tiff every now and then. Other then that no issues. Oh and all birds listed are sets except still looking for a female grennadeen.

Aviary situations are different than cages as far as what species can be kept together. Preston What size cage are you using?

Yes sorry. I look at it like a large cage. When does a cage become an aviary? I'm guessing when a person can walk in??

Learning Finch I think everyone has slightly different ideas of what constitutes an aviary when it is in that grey area between a cage and a walk-in aviary. I tend to call large cages flight cages, and to me, an aviary is something you can walk into. But I have a friend with a really large glassed-in cage on legs, a beautiful decorative piece of furniture, which she calls an aviary and I would call a flight cage. It can be confusing at times.

My cage is 31x20x52 inches

I would call that a flight cage, and I definitely would not put a pair of Red-billed Fire finches in that same cage with the two species you already have. My Fires are quite timid around birds that might intimidate them. I have a male RB Fire finch sharing a cage that same width and depth, but shorter, only about 35-38" tall, with a male Purple Grenadier (a sweet, gentle bird). When I first put the RB Fire in the cage with the PG, the Fire hid in the plastic plants and would not come out, he was frightened of the larger bird. Once he became used to him and realized he was not a threat, they now get along just fine. But single birds are also more accepting of other birds at times, because they want the company, while pairs have themselves and don't necessarily want the company.