Gray Singing babies

[Sally]

My Gray Singing finch hen has been incubating three eggs in a 2"x3" mineral cup! She first laid two eggs in the cup, which I transferred to a wicker canary nest, but she refused my interference and abandoned the eggs. She then laid 3 more in the same cup, so I left her alone. I just went out to clean cages, and normally she has been coming off the 'cup' nest everytime I get close. This time, she sat tight. When I pulled out the bottom tray to clean, she finally came off the nest. I grabbed my little inspection mirror, and there are two tiny babies! Lying on my mineral mix! I'll have to play this one carefully--they can't stay in that mineral cup, babies will be falling out, not to mention how uncomfortable it will be for them, but a transfer may cause her to abandon again. The other strange thing is that I thought hens did all the incubating, feeding, etc., with this species, with the male feeding the hen. Up till now, I have never seen the male do any incubating, but now, with babies, I just caught the male sitting. Keep you posted.

[L in Ontario]

Wow - congrats and good luck!

[dfcauley]

Isn't it always something new with these finches?
I don't think I have ever seen a gray singing finch. I hope you will
post a picture when you get a chance.
Good luck with this one Sally. If anyone can pull it off, it's you.

[mickp]

congrats Sally, these little guys must be related closely to zebras - nest anywhere

[Sally]

I've had birds use seed cups, etc., to lay eggs, but usually only when there is not a nest present. I'll have to try to get a picture. Gray Singing finches are in the Serin family, closely related to Green Singers and canaries. However, they are often overlooked, because they are very nondescript little things, just a light mottled gray color, no distinguishing markings, nothing--until the male starts to sing his glorious song.

When I first got into finches, back in the 1970s, I had a pair of Gray Singers. Not knowing any better, most sunny days I would carry all the finch cages outside to the patio, then bring them in that night. My Gray Singer male would serenade the whole neighborhood. The local mockingbirds would try to imitate his song, but they couldn't even come close. This little male is practically mute--hardly a sound out of him. I was convinced he was a she, the first time I separated them, he still didn't sing. I decided to give it a second try, and finally heard that wonderful song for the first time in decades. While separated, his little mate laid her first egg, so I set them up in a breeding cage, and now he doesn't sing anymore.

[Sally]

This morning, the hen was off the mineral cup, so I was concerned. Sure enough, the two babies were dead. Their little necks were so skinny, there was no food in their crops. The third egg never hatched, it was DIS. I took out the mineral cup, hoping she would start using the canary nest. Instead, every time I check her, she is sitting in the seed hopper. If she tries to use that, I will switch to a tube feeder.

[dfcauley]

Oh...so sorry Sally....
They can sure be stubborn can't they?

[Nipper06]

I have Green Singing Finches, which are related to Grays, and the female does all the incubating - which seems weird - but I confirmed in books that that is normal for them. So it's probably normal for Gray Singers also.

I got my Green Singers to use open canary nests. Being canary family birds, like Grays, they use open nests and not nest boxes, like most other finches.

I just put in lots of shredded coconut fiber and short strips of burlap (jute?) in the bottom of the cage (both sold as "nesting material" in the on-line bird stores). My pair quickly used that to build a nest inside the plastic canary nest. Before I put the plastic canary nest in, I found a smaller wicker insert - which I wedged into the plastic canary nest - which made the space even tighter, which they seemed to like - and it's actually on top of that wicker insert where they built their nest. So it might be a canary nest is a little large - if you can't find the wicker insert I found, you might just pre-stuff the canary nest with some coconut fiber or jute strips to make it smaller and give them the idea they can nest in there (then again, they might like building the whole nest from scratch - in any case, the nesting material seemed to stimulate them). Also note, I got some viney plastic plants to put on top of the cage where the nest is and I let some hang down in front of the nest for added privacy. I think having the cage against the wall helps make them feel secure also.

Here the cage I have my Green Singer pair in - you can see the nest in the upper right.


Here is my female on the nest - you can see the wicker inset sticking up.


And here are some photos of their single baby last year (I banded him a little late and had to use the next size up that was for my Gouldians - but the band has stayed on):




Here he is a few weeks later - no longer tame!


My Green Singers, even though closed-ringed (=proves they were captive bred) seem to want to breed in the late summer and fall - which would be springtime in their native Africa. They are on eggs right now. Last year, their baby was 2 weeks old before I even knew he hatched - so they can be very quiet babies - they are sneaky breeders!

I'd definitely give your Gray Singers more opportunities to breed - they sound very interested - they will get it right eventually.

[Crystalpotamus]

I love grey singing finches. Unfortunately, there are none available that I could find in my area. I guess most people aren't interested because they aren't very flashy. Hopefully, I will be able to come across one soon. I hope things work out better for you next time.