I just got my first two Society Finches!

[Susan39]

I put together my Prevue F040 cage yesterday. I love the cage. It is sturdy, well made, functional and big. I went and bought 2 Society Finches from Pet Supplies Plus store. This is the first time that I ever owned Society Finches. They are adorable and fun to watch.

How can I tell male from female?

If anyone can explain to me how I can upload pictures onto my post, I can show you a picture of my finches and the cage.

Thank you!

[FLDoc]

The only way I can ID female Societies is to watch for the dancing, chirping male courting the female. If i want to insure a pair in difficult to sex species, like Societies and Spice finches, I try to keep 5 to 8. That way, my chances of getting a pair is increased. Then you can separate the pair to another cage. However, for those and other passive and less aggressive species, I tend to colony breed. Seems I get better chances of clutches.

[FLDoc]

PS.... Enjoy. I downsized my Societies today by selling all my babies and most of my adults - 15 in all. However, I kept 8. I couldn't help it. To me, they are like little clowns. I had taken out all breeding nests a month ago, but left a couple of plastic wide-mouthed nests in - they tend to not like them for breeding. There were two available, but all 23 crammed into one nest.

[Sally]

Susan39 As FLDoc has said, the males are the only ones that sing. Males will stand up tall, puff out their chests, and sing away, opening their beaks with their song, you can't mistake it. Sometimes, you can get a submissive male that won't sing at all, so you think you have a hen, but if you have one male and one hen, you will have singing and eggs! Congrats, Societies are great little birds.

You can upload photos by following the instructions here:

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=22710

[Susan39]

I believe I have 2 males. They are both singing!

Would it be ok to mix Silverbill Finches with them or should I just stick with the Society Finches?

[Susan39]

[album][/album]

[FLDoc]

Really nice flight. Great for several finches.

According to the species section in the Finch Information Center : http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... erbill.php

Indian Silver Bills have reported to hybridize with possibly fertile young with societies. I would think, then, that so can African Silver Bills as both types of Silver Bills can hybridize with each other. If you keep all males or if you don't include nests, then you are OK as Societies can be pushy only because they like everyone and want to explore all nests, but are generally passive, as are Silver Bills, both Indian and African. If you want either to breed, probably best to keep them separate. Societies can also hybridize with Spice finches. In the Information center. you can click up left on this page, under 'Species', it will tell you who is passive, pushy and aggressive. Under each species, it will tell you who they have been reported to hybridize with. Good luck.

[Susan39]

Really nice flight. Great for several finches.

According to the species section in the Finch Information Center : http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... erbill.php

Indian Silver Bills have reported to hybridize with possibly fertile young with societies. I would think, then, that so can African Silver Bills as both types of Silver Bills can hybridize with each other. If you keep all males or if you don't include nests, then you are OK as Societies can be pushy only because they like everyone and want to explore all nests, but are generally passive, as are Silver Bills, both Indian and African. If you want either to breed, probably best to keep them separate. Societies can also hybridize with Spice finches. In the Information center. you can click up left on this page, under 'Species', it will tell you who is passive, pushy and aggressive. Under each species, it will tell you who they have been reported to hybridize with. Good luck.

Thank you for the input!

[Susan39]

I am already attached to my two Society Finches! I may be biased or not know any better, but I believe that Society Finches must be the best finch to own.

[Sally]

I am already attached to my two Society Finches! I may be biased or not know any better, but I believe that Society Finches must be the best finch to own.

Personally, I believe that Society finches are the absolutely best starter finch, as they have so few problems compared to Zebra finches. The only down side is trying to sex them, but it is really not that hard if you are patient. They have such great personalities, too.

[delray]

Susan39 Congrats on the societies! I have 2 societies, and I love them. They have amazing personalities. A male society puffs up and does a little dance, and it is pretty obvious once you see it. A female is more quiet and does not do the dance. Sometimes it's hard to sex societies, but If you look carefully you can figure it out.

Sorry I didn't see this post sooner, I would have explained how to upload pictures! Seems like you got it, which is great. Please let me know if you have any tech questions, that's what I'm here for. Enjoy your societies.

Brian

[OAvila1986]

Susan39
Another thing you might need to know about society finches is that if you do end up having a male and female and you have a nest in the cage. Then they will breed like rabbits hahaha

Once the 1st clutch has started to be on its own the female will continue to breed and lay eggs while they still have babies in the nest. So if you want to let them do that keep on breeding let her do 2 or 3 clitches in a row and take out the nest for 3 months that way they get a brake. It would do to much stress on the mom.
Good luck any other questions just ask.

[Vera]

You will love your society finches. I bought two shortly after my mom died in February - they really were comforting for some reason. They promptly laid six eggs and all six hatched and are really healthy and happy little birds. Now i have a problem because two of my friends were each going to take a pair and I was going to keep a pair. They both changed their minds so I have the parents and six babies (and I also recently adopted a canary). I have tried to find someone to take a pair but havent had any luck so the plan is four of them will go to a pet store next week when they are six weeks old. I was going to keep two but there is another one I would like to keep, so I would like to keep three and send three to the pet store.

Question: Is it okay to keep an odd number of society finches or are they better off in pairs?

[OAvila1986]

Vera society finches will do well in any size group. But if you still have the nest in the cage they will inbreed. I wouldn't recommend that.
I once had 3 with a nest and they seem to breed with each other. One male and 2 females.

[Vera]

Vera society finches will do well in any size group. But if you still have the nest in the cage they will inbreed. I wouldn't recommend that.
I once had 3 with a nest and they seem to breed with each other. One male and 2 females.

Vera society finches will do well in any size group. But if you still have the nest in the cage they will inbreed. I wouldn't recommend that.
I once had 3 with a nest and they seem to breed with each other. One male and 2 females.

I took the nest out after the babies fledged but the parents seem to have made the seed cup their new nest. I dont want any more babies so will remove the eggs if they have any which I am expecting they will. I am going to keep two of the babies - and four will be going to an aviary/pet store in a couple of days. I wonder if I should put the chicks in a different cage from the parents?