Pair of Strawberry Finches

[FinchsRUS]

I LOVE their song.

In the morning, we get woken up by one hollering. It's a high pitch whistle. No song.. just extremely loud whistle. A call to get up. But when the lights come on they start singing the song. My husband calls our bedroom male the little rooster. LOL

[isobea]

Hi finkfinch - I'm not ignoring your post from Dec. 1. I would love to help you out but my male is still not singing very much. I hardly ever hear him singing and he's got a very quiet voice. Also, he stops as soon as I get closer to the aviary, so no way of recording his song. I'm hoping eventually he will a) sing more and more loudly and b) learn not to be so afraid of humans. Maybe then I will have a chance.
Iso

[steve]

Congrats, I would dearly love a pair, but they are far too expensive in South Africa. They cost about R1400 per pair here. That is just a bit less than $130 us. It might seem cheap in US dollar, but in South Africa it is expensive. It seems strange that such a prolific breeder be so scarce \ expensive. People assure me that they breed very easily.

Marius

I have heard that they do not breed well on the Highveld hence the price. I reckon that if you do not mix them with other species and give them enough space they should breed quite easily.

Steve

[BigBear0007]

Hello,

Well I picked up another pair yesterday and big cage.
I know some will say don't keep them together as the males will fight.
I wanted them to have a choice in picking their mates.
Will they pick the mate I got them together or will they pick from the new pair. Right now I am looking for s third pair.

[isobea]

BigBear0007 - I bought my first (and only) pair about two months ago. They are in an outside aviary (nights are 45 to 50 F right now). I gave them several different kinds of nests to chose from but since there are lots of natural branches, they built their own nest in the furthest corner from the entry door. It is so well hidden that you actually have to watch them for awhile to see where they are going. They used amazing amounts of coconut fiber and finished it just yesterday. It is beautiful!
I would love to have a second pair, but I also heard the males are likely to fight during breeding season. With hope yours won't start 'getting any ideas' until spring and you will have plenty of time to see who likes whom.
Iso

[Sally]

I really haven't had much of a problem with males fighting. Of course, where I have an all-male cage, there are no hens to fight over, but even when I have had several pairs together in a flight, there have not been any problems.

[isobea]

Sally - Thank you! Just what I needed to hear. How big was the flight that you had several pairs in? And were they together even when breeding season came? And during breeding season?
Iso

[Sally]

I have two pairs in a 38x19x19 cage, no nests, but the males have come in and out of breeding plumage without fighting.

[finkfinch]

isobea
BB

No problems isobea, i know it is hard to catch them singing but when they are in the right mood they can sing for quite a few minutes.

Thanks BB for sending me your sound clip. Your song sounds very similar to mine, although we are thousands of miles away! The leading two notes sounds exact, the middle trill sounds similar but with some variations. The ending is quite different though.

I have another male in the same cage who has never sang a note so far. He is smaller in size. It is interesting to also note that they have a synchronized calls of "Ti Ti Ti Ti.." where the males and females all call in unison. This is loud!

[BigBear0007]

I will be separating the two pairs in a week or two.
I have a air of goulds with four young in a big cage that will be moving to a flight cage. So far they all get along.

Jerry