European Goldfinch - does he need company and if so which?

[Felicia]

Hello!

We have a very tame young European Goldfinch, but we were wondering whether he needs another finch for company. He's currently very happy with us (he keeps flying onto our shoulders, which seem to be his favourite spot), but as we will not always have time to look after him all day, we wondered if he'd get lonely on his own. We were thinking of getting a zebra finch to keep him company, but we aren't sure if they will get along and whether this would be good for both of them. Could you help?

Thanks so much!

[finchmix22]

I don't know much about Goldfinches, but Zebras can be aggressive. Hopefully, someone with Goldfinches will respond. I would think any bird would be better with a friend/mate, especially if you are not able to give it attention. They become wild like again without daily contact. Good Luck.

[tobyneilson]

I have had goldfinches before,gorgeous birds **hint hint for pics**
I always kept them in the same flight cage as canaries

[jonvill]

Goldfinches and most members of the family of Fringillidae finches, are not social finches like waxbills and other members of the Emberizidae family of finches. If you did want to purchase another finch it would be best if that finch lived in a different cage.

[Felicia]

Thanks so much for all these!

I'll try to get some nice pictures! S/He definitely likes attention (though it isn't spectacularly good looking yet. It's still fairly young, they only get their beautiful red and white head masks when they're older)

Goldfinches and most members of the family of Fringillidae finches, are not social finches like waxbills and other members of the Emberizidae family of finches. If you did want to purchase another finch it would be best if that finch lived in a different cage.

Does that mean it'll be happy on its own? I thought that, given that in the wild they live in pairs or in larger groups (which I found out are apparently called charms, which I thought lovely!) they would get lonely. It demands a lot of attention at the moment, as soon as I open the cage door it makes a beeline for my shoulder and if it gets bored there it'll hop on the laptop or on books we might be in the process of reading, so I wasn't sure whether it'd be ok to leave him alone (we do need to go out and work!).

Thanks again!

[jonvill]

Yes I think your goldfinch will be better off by himself. For the record when I said that goldfinches were not social I meant as social as other finches that like interaction like sharing a perch and preening. Goldfinches are scrappy with their own kind and others.

[Felicia]

Great, we'll just keep him on his own then!

Thanks a lot!

Felicia

[tobyneilson]

Yes I think your goldfinch will be better off by himself. For the record when I said that goldfinches were not social I meant as social as other finches that like interaction like sharing a perch and preening. Goldfinches are scrappy with their own kind and others.

Sorry but I have to disagree there,I see goldfinches in the wild,they are always around the birdtable and tree's around here, yes they can be territorial but they do prefer to be in groups,and as it is a young one I would recomend getting another young one to go with it,as long as the cage is large enough

[Nipper06]

I'd get another young Goldfinch, if you get another finch as a friend. Other species of finch will likely be terrified of you and may undo his tameness. I think it would be better to stick with another Goldfinch.

I had a pair of Goldfinches years ago that I was able to hand-tame by holding thistle (niger?) seed in my palm. Try that, especially after you get a second bird, to keep them tame.

[lou]

they can be kept with other finches
lou

[Don]

I have 2 GF in my mixed aviary, they're a little aggressive at time, chases other bird away from the food, but nothing serious where I need to seperate them. I think if you have another GF would be ok.

[Bird man]

If you get a young goldfinch that is not fulled coloured we call them (pates) because they young and not coloured full. Then he should be ok he would not be used to been around other birds.Then again i do breed them and would have company for him and try and breed with them thats if you are into breeding them 2 cock birds can get very aggressive when put together so watch out i seen them hurting one another over food or if their is a hen finch about.I paired goldfinchs for this breeding season and was putting yellow to buff and the hen fought with the cock bird for weeks every time i took the slide out so i put another cock bird with her and she is as happy as larry feeding the cock bird. You will never know if they get on until they are put together.Male dont always get on with any females has to be right for him or vice versa.