Help! Rescued two finches from the pound:

[mizchriz]

Hi there! I'm so glad to have found this forum.

I rescued two very sad-looking finches from the pound this week. I have never cared for finches. Here's what I knew when I adopted them:

1 Zebra Finch, male, 5 years old
pure white, orange beak
dirty
a few feathers pulled out around neck

1 Spice Finch, 5 years old - gender unknown
horribly overgrown nails
dirty

The person at the animal shelter said the woman who surrendered them was very cryptic about them. She didn't know their names or genders, except the Zebra finch, and the story changed a bit in the telling. She said only she couldn't take care of them anymore.

Here's what I've done so far:
Cleaned up their cage which is 28"long x 16"wide x 42"high
Put in multiple perches in differing diameters and a swing
Researched food and made an egg and sunflower seed mix (found on this site)
Introduced vegetables and fruits (So far: broccoli, eaten; applesauce, carrots, not eaten)
Purchased finch seed and introduced that
Clipped the Spice finch's nails - first trim, not too close

Here's what has happened since:
They are much less stressed - I can tell. They didn't chirp for a day. Since then, they have both preened and bathed in the water dish and have started chirping.
The Spice finch seems to be the more pushy one. The white one generally avoids it until they sleep, when they huddle together on a perch.
The Spice finch doesn't eat much of the fresh food, but mostly seed
The Zebra finch eats mostly fresh food

Questions:
Is it possible that the pure white one is changing color before my eyes or was that just a good bath? There's some tan appearing on the feathers around the neck and on the top of the tail.
The Spice finch - any way for me to tell what gender it is?
I'd like to put a live bamboo plant in - is that advised?
Do finches like toys? If so, what kinds?

Thank you so much! I will keep you posted on their progress, and I'm happy to post more photos if it will help. I want to give these dearies the lives they deserve.

[wildbird]

They're very pretty! They were lucky you adopted them. You're doing really well with them for not having cared for finches in the past. I'm sure those who have this type of finch will reply soon.

[GouldianGuy]

I'll leave the rest for the more seasoned... but for the most part all toys do is get in the way of your birds from flying! Which is what they really wanna do!

[Sheather]

Great job so far taking care of these birds, you have done everything right.

Male spice finches will sing. Usually they have quiet songs you can hardly hear, but they will puff up and have a very characteristic singing posture. Females won't sing. Both sexes chirp pretty noisily. I used to have spices and love their sounds.

Spice finch nails grow faster than those of any other bird I've ever kept and usually need monthly trimming at the least. I've never had a zebra get overgrown nails, though.

The zebra is probably plucked from his cagemate. If it's only a few feathers, don't worry about it unless you see the spice finch really bullying him. Some finches are just overzealous when it comes to preening. If feathers start to vanish from his back or his sides, you may have to separate them, as that is malicious aggressive plucking, not over-preening.

The zebra also won't have new colors appear that it didn't have already, but a good bath can reveal markings hidden by filth. Finches love to bathe and will do so every day if you let them - no harm in that, but a few times a week is sufficient too.

Regarding fresh foods, that your zebra already accepts veggies is great! Birds who have never had them can be reluctant to accept them. Skip the applesauce for sure, and my birds aren't big on carrot either. Offer broccoli tops and a variety of leaf vegetables. Sweet corn is also a favorite. The only finches I find enjoy fruit, like apples, are canaries. Seed mix, egg food, and greens are a complete diet for finches, and they will thrive on it, though I also feed a pellet food in addition as an extra source of vitamins. And don't forget to include a calcium source, such as a cuttlebone or a cup of crushed dry eggshells.

Your cage is a good size. You normally want 30 x 18 inches, but the extra height of yours makes up for being a little short in length and width, and it is plenty good for two birds. If you can let your birds out of the cage in a safe area, though, they would definitely benefit from out of cage flight time. I have always let my finches free fly - indeed, at the current time my bird room is entirely free-flight, finches included. They come and go from their cages as they please. Initially they will have a hard time figuring out how to get in and out of the doors, but they quickly figure it out and once they do, they love to come out and fly. Out of cage time reduces the likelihood of plucking, as the birds won't be as bored and can burn off aggressive energy by flying around. As far as other toys, finches won't use them like parakeets and even some canaries will, though some like to preen lengths of string tied to the cage roof near a perch.

Don't give them a nest, as one or the other will probably become aggressive defending it. They will get along best, as different species, if they don't get in the mindset of nesting. While given a choice finches always prefer a partner of their own kind, different species will befriend each other if they are all they've got. If these two have been together five years then they should have gotten over their differences and are probably bonded, so they can likely stay together.

A bamboo plant should be fine in their cage. I kept one in my first finches' cage and it was really pretty. Beware, though, that they'll probably gradually tear it apart.

It is great that you rescued them, and I'd love to see more pictures. I recently "rescued" four finches inadvertently - three zebra and a pintailed whydah. Someone in the neighborhood left them in my backyard in a filthy, nasty cage caked in waste. Like yours, they're older birds, but they still have a lot of spark in them. Being dumped was the best thing that ever happened to them - no longer stuck in their own waste, scared of everything, they've learned to take baths, eat their vegetables, and fly outside their cage and explore, and they've blossomed into such happy little birds. Yours will too in time, with proper care.

[lem2bert]

mizchriz

Hi and welcome from Massachusetts . I am not a finch owner but you seem to have gotten a lot of information already. Those two little birds were lucky you found them. Good luck with your new little pets.

[mizchriz]

Thank you so much, everyone! I just caught the pair huddled together in the daytime, so it can't be that bad between them, right? It's just a few feathers out of the Zebra, and I haven't seen any picking since I have had them this week. With the addition of perches, they're definitely able to get some vertical exercise and they have fun with the swing. I'll think about how I would let them out.

I'm starting to wonder if the Spice finch is female. I have not heard any singing, just chirping.

It is interesting to see their personalities emerge so quickly. The Spice finch is a bossy spaz who wants nothing to do with me, and the Zebra is a little slower, more trusting, not as energetic, and very keen to when I put the food in in the morning.

I'll post more pics as soon as I get the cage looking a little more like a habitat - I'm on the search for foliage.

Thanks, again, everyone! Everything I've learned this week is from this site!

[Shannylee]

mizchriz, lucky birds

[Zebrafincher]

Nice little birds! They're very lucky you adopted them! Give them time to come out of their shells. Finches are generally very hardy, happy little birds and make a lot of tweets, beeps, meeps, twitters etc and will reward you with a lot of happiness.

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

[Sally]

mizchriz Kudos to you for taking in these lucky little birds! It sounds like you've already gotten them off to a great start in their new home, and other members have given you good advice already. Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at http://www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care and nutrition. Please keep us posted on how they are doing.

[lovezebs]

mizchriz

Thumbs up to you for rescuing these two little guys.

I have rescued some finches from the Humane Society in the past, and they have adjusted very well, and indeed thrived in a good environment with good food and some tlc.

Good luck to you.