Never owned a finch before

[Finch Fanaticx]

Hello everyone

I'm Emma and I've always wanted to own a few zebra finches ever since I was little. I've done tons of research already and it seems that they would fit in perfectly! I finally think that I'm ready! I've never owned a bird before, just some experience looking after the neighbors lorrikeets next door.

The trouble with research is that there is so much conflicting information out there! For example, lots of people recommend pellets instead of seeds because birds tend to be picky and don't get the nutrition. I'm pretty dedicated to finding the right care for the animals I own and I don't want to make the same old beginners mistakes that I made with my guinea pigs.

I can't believe I'm finally planning on getting them! Every single time we visited the pet shop when I was little I'd go straight to the finches, but I wanted to wait until I was much older and out of school.

I would be so grateful if you'd help me with a few newbie questions
What is the best (healthiest) diet? Do your finches like meal worms? Do they mind a TV on in the same room? Is three a good number? How do you tell the gender? and what gender would you recommend?

Any other care advise would be so much appreciated!

Lovely to be here

[Sally]

Finch Fanaticx Welcome to the forum, Emma! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care, especially nutrition and the Zebra finch. There you will read how to tell the sex on Zebra finches, it can differ with some mutations.

As far as diet, even most avian vets are now advising that pellets should only be a part of a diet. Finches need a good basic seed mix, some veggies, some minerals. You can feed pellets if you wish, but they should not be more than 50% of their diet IMO. Zebra finches don't need mealworms, so I personally wouldn't bother with them.

I have cages in both my living room and dining room, so those birds are exposed to the television, especially at night, and it doesn't seem to bother them.

Three is rarely a good number, especially with a more pushy/aggressive species like the Zebra finch. Two or six or more seem to be the numbers that work. With three, one bird is usually odd man out, picked on by the other two.

Zebras are easy to sex, I've already referred you to the Finch Information Center, where you can read about how to tell male and female apart. If you aren't interested in breeding, you can always get two males or two females, they will get along just fine. If you decide to get into breeding, make sure you have a place for the babies first, as it can get difficult to find new homes for the babies. Zebras are the rabbits of the finch world, and as such, there are so many that are available that it can be hard to rehome them, and pretty soon, you can be overwhelmed.

If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for other members to guide you to where to get supplies, etc.

[Finch Fanaticx]

Thank you very much! I'm still finding my way around so I'll update my profile as soon as I figure out how
I live in New Zealand.
The trouble with diet is that if the birds refuse the pellets, I'll need to make sure that have everything they need in their mix and I'm not sure where I should start.

As far as I understand, they need
-Ground up eggshell
-Seeds mix (not high in fats)
-A little bit of different types of veggies

Or pellets. I suppose if they are to have a varied diet, I could mix it up a bit and do a bit of both. But how do I find a seed mix that is healthy?

I'm not particularly interested in breeding, hmmm, males or females!

Thank you for the link! I'll have a look now

[paul-inAZ]

Welcome.
Like Sally said, keep it simple. In the wild they eat seeds and vegetables, not pellets. Any "finch" seed mix can be OK. I get mine at a farm-type store for much less $$ than the pet shops.
Experiment with the veg. ~you will soon find out what they like.
Add a cuttle bone for calcium.
Mine are oblivious to TV, room lights or normal activities. They settle in for the night when the sun goes down.

[delray]

Finch Fanaticx welcome to the forum! IMO, society finches are the best starter finches! They are the best, super friendly and at night they all huddle together to sleep. The forum has tons of information on all species!

As for to the location, scroll to the top of the page, and click user control panel. Once you are there click profile, then type in your location. Let me know if you have any questions.

Brian

[Finch Fanaticx]

Thank you for all the welcoming replies! I updated my profile Will let you know when I get my first pair of finches! First I have to work through my list of things to buy!

[Stuart whiting]

Welcome to the forum Emma,

I could onestly write a book on this subject but I'd definitely go by Sally's advice as that is very sound advice

Zebra and society finches are probably gonna be yer easiest finches to cater for as these are both quite hardy IE not needing heat, the diet is pretty much straight forward with a good foreign finch mix, fine oyster shell, grated cuttle fish, egg food given when breeding n moulting for extra protein and a little green food IE chopped lettuce, broccoli etc.

Other finches will be a little more demanding and will possibly need heat and extra lighting depending on conditions of housing and are perhaps a little harder to breed depending on the species etc.

If there's any other questions I'm sure that some of us on the forum will help as some of us have a large number of years experience

[ALittleBirdKeeper]

Hi Emma,

Following on from my fellow Brit Stuart, mine are happy on just Johnston & Jeff foreign finch seed - if that's something available in NZ, mine aren't too fussed when it comes to greens and sprouted seeds etc but its nice on occasion. Mine will eat meal worms (I give live as I have a mini worm breeding box) but it may depend on whether they ever saw their parents eat them, not sure if they have the instinct to eat them or need encouragement. So you can only give them a chance and see!

With the tv, it should all be fine but if they came from an aviary they will need a good few weeks to chill out and settle down and not freak out any time you wander near them. So don't be too upset if they're slamming all over the cage for quite a while whenever you are trying to feed them etc.

If you don't have nest boxes the number shouldn't be an issue (cage size dependent). Boys are the colourful-er ones and have the songs rather than the odd "meep" so a cage of boys would be best if you want the visuals. If you mix sexes, go for even numbers, boys will fight over girls but I find girls to be harsher in their bullying of one another. Gender should be pretty obvious, only boys have breast bars and flanks and cheek colours... girls can have cheeks if black cheek but not otherwise.

Think that covered all the questions! Have fun