FINCHforum

Hi fellow finchers! New here. Name is John. We've had love birds for about 10 years, but #2 son loved our last one so much he took him (Biff) with him when he (#2 son) fled the nest.. leaving us birdless. So, we found a wonderful pair of finches in an amazing cage owned by a loving woman who had to down-size.

Anyway, can someone please identify Mr. and Mr. Finch for me? I've looked around and am a bit confused.

Thanks so much.

John

They are some type of female Zebra finch, but I don't know which variety. There are several kinds of Zebra finch mutations, but lucky for you there are many Zebra finch experts on here who will be able to tell you exactly what you have as soon as they read your post
Welcome to the Forum, BTW

Ditto, zebra finch. I'm sure one of the experts will come in soon.
Welcome to the forum

Yep, Zebra finches, but I don't know enough to get more specific. Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care and especially the Zebra finch.

JSHRAM

Hi John, and welcome to the Forum.

If you're a bird lover, I'm sure you'll find all sorts of Info here to keep you interested.

Prior to getting into Finches, I had Lovebirds as well (for something like twenty years). My last one, passed away at eighteen years of age, and I was never going to have any more birds......
......Until a lovely little Canary boy came my way...... I never looked back, and now have some fifteen or more different species of finches (including a bunch of rascaly Zebras).

Yes your birdies, are Zebra Finches, and I hope you enjoy them them.

Elana

One word of caution, unless you want to be up to your ears in tiny cute as can be babies, I would not be in a hurry to supply your new feathered kids with a nest .

Thank you for the welcome! Well, Mr. and Mrs. Zebra Finch were a breeding pair before we got them and the cage has all kinds of places to make nests (it's a very fancy 6' tall glass nick-nack display cabinet that has had the back replaced with four screen doors for access). Mr. Finch will work at wire, plastic or anything that even resembles a stick trying to pull it out for the nest.

I'm sure we'll have puppies...

But, cute finches coming out my ears has got to be better than these stray grey hairs that keep finding their way in there these past few years...

So, AFTER these puppies, then just disassemble nests? We certainly can't separate them, they are very lovey-dovey. They'd need counseling, and we just can't afford any more sessions.

Thanks!

John

The male at the top of the photo appears to be a "Saddleback" Pied grey. He is missing all of his usual "male" markings due to the Pied gene essentially replacing his colouring with white.

I'm not sure what mutation the female is. Possibly a grey Isabel? She is missing the distinctive tear stripe that most mutations have, so it should be able to be narrowed down by someone more knowledgeable.

JSHRAM

Well, if 'puppies' you want, 'puppies' you'll get !
Or rather, egg babies, lol. Zebra finches, and Society finches, are the rabbits of the bird world.

If you want them to begin a family, offer some nesting materials. Personally, I offer some hay, some strips of kleenex, bits of wild grasses and white feathers.

Before you know it, you will have a nursery in the making, and then these funny little things....

Elana

I like the nest suggestions.. we've done grass and sticks and dryer lint (which they love)....

Been reading up and have learned a bunch on diet and stuff... Kindof fun.

I really like the finches, they are so fun to watch and listen to. The Love-bird was very personal and extremely smart.. he could cuddle and crawl into your coat or shirt, fall asleep, wake up and tell you it was time for potty.. but he did screech a lot, not very pleasant to listen to. These guys are like listening to the ocean, calming. I like to lie on the floor and just listen.

Anyway..... wondering if we could put a couple more finches in this large cage... the calculator says I could do 6-8, but am thinking 4 would be enough, and maybe different types, but I read Zebras can be a bit of bullies.. suggestions? Course if I keep the puppies.. anyway, just thinking.

Thanks,

John

JSHRAM

What size is your flight?

If you think Zebras sound like the ocean, lol, then you would be in heaven with a Canary, and the lisping song of Gouldians, would make you think of paradise. However housing these together with Zebras, might not be the greatest idea, although it can be done (depending on individual personalities).

Yes, Lovebirds, do have quite a... er.... song isn't the word for it.... They are loud and proud, and believe that if you can't sing well, then screech as loud as you can .

As to what (or rather who) can be housed with Zebras..... Society Finches, are sweet, easy going, and undemending little creatures.

Elana

Cindy - is dryer lint an acceptable nesting material? I'd be worried about the chemicals from detergent and dryer sheets being on them...

JSHRAM
You have said; it's a very fancy 6' tall glass nick-nack display cabinet that has had the back replaced with four screen doors for access. I'm not picturing it being very deep, what is the depth and width?

@Colt
I've known quite a few that have used dryer lint without a problem though there are those that say it's a no no. If you don't use dryer sheets I wouldn't worry about chemicals.

JSHRAM

Would love to see pictures of your cage. I also have a cabinet that we converted to a bird cage and am always looking for new ideas. (Especially as our zebras just double the population and are quickly outgrowing it.)

The cage has thick, curved (in a wave shape) glass (not plastic, pretty amazing) on three sides. What used to be the back (was mirrors) has been replaced with wood frames and four screen doors so you can open any section you want vertically without opening the whole back and inviting the birds to fly out.

We bought it from a Hispanic woman who loved these birds.. personally I think this idea is genius. She made it and bought the shelf thing new then converted it. She also made the "house-tree" inside, which is fun. The birds can easily fly top to bottom. It is 72" tall and 24" wide... it has a light in the top too. We keep their food at the bottom (per the lady's recommendation) so they are constantly going up/down... until you get too close then they rush to the top and look at you.

We have a puppy egg....

John

And yes

They are loud and proud

is a great description of our love bird.. if you weren't doing what he wanted he would chase you down (we clipped his wing so he would do this funny penguin walk really fast) and screech until you picked him up and put him on your shoulder.. and if that wasn't fast enough for him, he'd screech in your ear just to teach you a lesson.. then he'd calm down and cuddle.. he really is super smart, pretty amazing really, which is why son #2 loves him so.. he takes the bird all over the place. No can do with the finches, but I'm good with that.

John