Painted and Diamond info

[PrettyBird]

When I got my GBW today, I saw beautiful purple grens, bullfinches, and euro gf, then I saw a red painted finch pair , and then heard this buzzing sound, turn around and see a little diamond sparrow.

I know there are a few of you that own these finches.
Curious as to how much painted finches cost?
and how much do the DS cost?

How easy/hard are they to care for? Diet? Is breeding difficult? What other species do they get along with?

TIA

[Dayna]

I dont know much about painted finches other than they seem to be quite rare in canada.
Diamond Sparrows I was thinking about getting so have done lots of research on them. What I have found about diamond sparrows is:

Diet is pretty straight forward and easy. They don't need live food and like seed with lots of different types of millet and canary grass seeds. They love egg food and sprouted seed and readily eat different vegetables.

They do not do well in cages. If you do use a cage the smallest they should ever be put in is a 30 X 20 X 20 flight. They do best in a very large flight or aviary. They can be aggressive and will get especially aggressive during breeding season. Just like every species every individual bird is different when it comes to aggression. Some do quite well with other species including their own while others can only be kept with a mate. They like lots of plant to hide in.

Breeding is difficult. A pair needs to be bonded in order for them to breed. If they are not bonded they will not breed. Once you have a bonded pair they bond for life. Your best chances at breeding them are putting 1 pair in a large planted aviary but you can sometimes get away with putting them in a large planted flight. They prefer deep nest, dark nest boxes where they can lay and hide. Nesting material includes coco fiber, feathers, dried grasses and shredded paper. They build the nest themselves and will not nest if you start it for them. They need complete privacy and if they see you they will abandon the nest so nest checks are out of the question. The hen lays 4 - 6 eggs and incubation is 14 days. The babies fledge at 21 days and are independent at 42 days.

[PrettyBird]

Thanks for the info Dayna. Hmm dont think the diamonds would do too well in my home with little kids running around

I was really attracted to the red painted finches when I saw them yesturday. He wasnt afraid of me at all, and actually jumped down to the front of the cage and was singing away.

I was reading up a bit about them last night, and I guess they arent as flighty as other finches, and will nest pretty much anywhere/accept any nest you give them. They are happy with reg finch seed, but also appreciate some live food and greens.

I would love to have a pair, but first I would like to hear about them from people on the forum. And how much they sell at.

[PrettyBird]

found out that the painted finches are 500 a pair!! yikes. theres no way I can afford that

[Dayna]

Really? Wow that's crazy. I thought they would be pretty pricey since they are pretty hard to find but had no idea they would be that much! Wow!

[dan78]

Hi Dayna, having kept both speices I personally would pick painteds over diamonds any day for a few reasons 1/ really docile 2/ easy to feed and breed 3/ mix well with most other finches. These are just to name a few, don't get me wrong diamonds are also a great bird but my personal preference are painteds. Here in Australia I need a license to keep diamonds and since I no longer hold a license that is one of a few in which I'm no longer allowed to keep. As for prices here I know won't help are"$40-60au pp for painteds and $80-100au pp for diamonds