Some advice on keeping finches please

[Daniel]

Hello everyone! We just lost our hamster and our African Dwarf Frog, and my wife and I have been contemplating getting a couple of finches for a while now. We will buy them in about a month once we're moved into our new home.

I was hoping some folks here could weigh in on a few questions we have.

We are leaning towards getting a pair of gold breasted waxbills. From what I have read, they are pretty hardy little guys that would be appropriate for first time bird owners. Is that pretty accurate, or should we start with a pair of zebras? My wife likes the red-throated parrot finches, but it looks like they might need a more experienced bird keeper. Would be curious to hear your thoughts.

We are planning on getting the You Me and Finch rectangular flight cage (18x18x30) available online, removing the two long perches that come with it and putting in two 10" manzanita perches. We are also getting a JW Pet clean water silo, a Tweaky Clean tidy bird feeder, a cuttlebone, and a skirt for the cage. Are we missing anything?

I have read that the gold breasted waxbills like mealworms, I was hoping those were not necessary unless breeding. Is that correct?

Also, on the topic of nail trimming, I have heard that nails need to be trimmed often and also that only if they get excessively long or are causing the bird distress. What is your opinion? To be honest, the thought of catching one of those little guys, not crushing him, and getting a hold of his tiny leg to trim is nails is pretty daunting.

Thank you all so very much for your advice. We are very much looking forward to having a couple of feathered friends soon!

-Dan

[Fraza]

Daniel hi I’m not goin go to lie to you everyone feels how u are but you will quickly learnt that for such tiny little creatures they are hardy u can catch them in mid air whikst flying slap a net over them and they are fine they are only tiny, tiny if all the feathers are gone also trimming nails is easy I made a post myself the first time I had to but it’s easy to do so don’t worry and get them , also on the topic I do nail trimming I’ve only ever had to trim one bird majority don’t need trimming out of about 30 birds I’ve had one that needs it doing.

And I wouldn’t advise u to get zebs either they can just cause trouble if u get more finches which am Guessing ur gonna end up doing as u will get the finch buzz lol

I used to be so scared of catching them now I go out and catch them for fun sometimes to check them and make sure they don’t have anything wrong with them or check if any are ready for laying,so GET A LAIR AND ENJOY THEM AND BEST OF LUCK

[delray]

Daniel Welcome to the forum Daniel! I have had 2 male society finches since 2014 and I couldn’t be happier! They are one of the best starter breeds for new owners, have great personalities and are just overall great finches. I highly reccomend you look into societies!

If you need any helping navigating the forum, don’t hesitate to ask myself or any of the other moderators!

[Fraza]

delray yeh i do have to agree with u society’s are my favourite

[Flight Feathers]

Carrying on with the "nails" subject, If you have lots of branches in your cage then hopefully the nails shouldn't need trimming. I've never had to trim nails on any of my birds.

[Flight Feathers]

Also if you are planning to breed finches then Zebs or societies would be easiest to breed. If you just want them to look at tho, then you could go for a fancier kind- depends what your aim is.

[Fernando]

Welcome to the forum!

As you are still at the beginning - thanks for asking before you get the fiches !!! - I would suggest to take the biggest flight you can afford. 18x18x30 is far to small.

Take a look at the finch-info pages and ladygouldianfich, too. Always remember that a bird could survive in a tiny room but that isn't enough. A finch must be able to fly at least one meter until the next perch.

Parrot finches need aviaries. They are nervous birds in constant movement. Zebras might be called the least demanding, but I am afraid that it is just what we want them to put up with.

They need room, they need minimum temperatures and they need a few hours of sun each day. Temperatures and light can be replaced by heating and special lamps, but room is a precondition.

[Sheather]

Zebra finches are terrible. Almost always nothing but trouble!

I also recommend society finches. There is no better bird for a beginner.

Waxbills are all a little more sensitive, flightier, and less tame, so that they are more act to react fearfully to you watching them whereas society finches go right about their business. My experience with a number of orange-cheek waxbills (the only kind I have had) is that they aren't great cage birds (everything scares them) and are best suited to an aviary, but people do keep them in cages. If you go for waxbills I recommend a large cage.

Other "tame" finches that adjust quickly to a household setting are Javas, Gouldians, and of course, zebras, but zebras are prone to aggression often passing into psychotic territory. Javas, societies, and zebras are tough as nails while Gouldians can be delicate if you get healthy birds to start they are not really any more difficult to care for.

[Sheather]

As far as nail-clipping some species are prone to need it and others never seem to. Society finches and Javas and other munia family finches like spice finch (the worst offender) usually need occasional trimming though it varies with the individual. Out of a dozen finches I have kept only spice finches ever had nails become dangerously long, to the point they would curl in loops, and snag on the cage, and require trimming every two weeks. Waxbill nails seem to grow a little slower but do need some attention if the birds don't wear them down - I had to trim my waxbills claws every few months. Zebra and Gouldian nails rarely grow too long to require trimming - I never had to clip mine.

My personal hypothesis why some grow long and some don't is that munias and waxbills naturally feed by clinging to vertical grass stalks, so their long hooked claws help to hold on, whereas zebras and Gouldians more often feed on the ground in the wild and so they don't need such curved claws.

[Icearstorm]

Daniel

Other members have covered pretty much everything else, but I'd like to note that goldbreasts are very small birds that may escape from cages with 1/2" bar spacing. 1/4" would be better if you might want to keep them, though I've heard that 3/8" also works.

[artgecko]

I have the cage you mentioned. I currently house a single male canary in it and he is fine, but due for an upgrade.

You might want to consider what I am about to try: Buying 2 of those and attaching them at the ends with zip-ties to make one longer flight. I have read where others have done this and this will be far cheaper than paying for a single large flight cage.

I would also suggest having a couple rough perches in the cage, maybe the JW sand perches that petco sells. Their jw sand swing (the small size) works well for finches too. My finches and canary love theirs.

I don't want to move your topic off-course, but perhaps consider a male canary, if you can find a breeder in your area. My male fife is my favorite bird and seems to have the most personality by far. They do sing, so if noises bother you, then you may not want to go that route.

In addition to the items you mentioned, you will want to get a millet holder (sometimes called a millet clip). They love spray millet and you will want to get some. Also, you may need to have some small dishes on hand for feeding veggies, egg food, or other treats. I also use a jar lid for crushed egg shell and oyster shell.

For cleaning supplies, I really love my "poop off" wipes..They make easy work of removing bird poo from bars and perches. I also use regular unscented wet wipes to wipe everything down after I use the poop off.
Newspaper makes great liner if you subscribe to it or know someone who does. If you can't use newspaper, you can use unprinted newsprint paper or paper towels as tray liner.

[Sally]

Daniel If you want to start with waxbills, the Goldbreasted is probably the easiest. They are tiny. The trouble with the typical inexpensive 30x18x18 cage is that the bar spacing is 1/2" and the bars have a little give to them, making it possible for this species to slip through the bars. I have kept them successfully in cages with 1/2" x 2" mesh or flight cages with 3/8" bar spacing.

They do tend to grow nails pretty quickly and will need trimming from time to time. Though they are tiny, it is not difficult to trim the nails, and once you have done it a time or two, it will not be a problem. They don't need live food if you aren't breeding, and I have even had them breed without live food. They do need a varied diet of a good finch mix, protein such as egg food, veggies, spray millet. I offer mine a mineral mix for calcium, and they do enjoy sprouted or soaked seed.

They are very active, so the bigger the cage, the better. I have mine in a 38x19x19 cage now. Branches from your yard are preferable to the dowel perches that are supplied with cages. I happen to like this vacation seed hopper for the seed mix:

https://ladygouldian.com/Vacation-Seed-Feeder

For spray millet, I just use clothes pins to clip them onto the cage wires.

Parrot finches are very active birds, so they really need a large flight or an aviary, or they will get fat. Zebras can be problematic, some have no trouble with them, but often they can be territorial/aggressive with each other, and they do breed like rabbits if you have a male/female pair. As others have said, Societies are just about the perfect beginner bird, with the only drawback being that you can't sex them visually. If you don't want to breed, they are perfectly happy as 2 males or 2 females.

Welcome to the forum! If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for members to help you. There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find articles on various species of finch, housing, diet, etc.

[Daniel]

Thank you all so very much for all the great advice! What a great community. I appreciate your time.

-Dan

[Phoenix811]

Hi Daniel:) I am new to this forum as well:) there are a lot of breeders on here that can steer u in the right direction regarding care of your potential new finches- I have been given such amazing advice so far. The only point I would add to u, seeing as we are both 'pet owners' and not breeders, is you may want to listen to the 'song' or 'chirp' of your potential bird (especially if he is male/ they have many video's on youtube) as you will be hearing it constantly. There is a VAST difference between the beautiful song of my orange cheek waxbill, next to the loud honking of a society finch/ or repetitive alarm sound of a zebra. So when you or your wife are on the phone keep in mind that noise will be ongoing in the back ground. Many of the breeders here have a special location for their birds, that may not be in lets say a family room- its a point to consider as a pet owner. Best wishes to you!

[Sheather]

Bird songs vary from one bird to another of a species. One of my societies is a melodious singer and my male orange-cheek waxbills hardly sang, it was more of a three note whistle.

But, all zebras are pretty monotonous "singers". They sound like bicycle horns.