Green singing finches - info needed

[kilroy]

I'm a newbie and looking for finches in my area and just discovered that a Petsmart near me has some green singing finches. I'm going to look at them in the morning. I'd rather not buy from a chain store but I've seen green singers somewhere else and really liked them. Apparently they are $34 each which sounds reasonable to me I guess.
Any advice on green singers is appreciated but, assuming I am happy with these at the store and bring home a pair, is my 17" x 17" x 36" tall cage a good fit for these birds? Do they need a nest to sleep in at night? Am I right that they like silk plants in their cage? I want them to feel comfortable.
Also, I've read that it should be fairly obvious which are males and which are females because the males will be brighter but is there anything else to look for. Since I'm potentially buying from Petsmart, I don't feel like I can really trust the staff to be very knowledgeable. (Sorry but it's usually true. Don't mean to offend any Petsmart employees.)
Thanks!
Roy

[L in Ontario]

Hi Roy, Finches need more horizontal space (to fly) rather than height spacing in a cage. So that cage isn't really suitable for a breeding pair - at least not for long. If they have 3 chicks (typical of GS) then suddenly you have 5 birds in there. And they may start their second clutch before the first chicks are fully weaned...

Green Singers are terrific and are semi-easy to breed. Harder than Zebras but easier than Fire Finches. They are pretty quiet too.

[Jan]

The best way to tell the female is she will have a necklace (series of dots along her neck) that the male will not have.. As for the cage, I would say it is acceptable but I don't like tall, narrow cages either.. You will really enjoy their song

[G8love4finches]

I have a male Green Singer, an he has my favorite song.....He sings a few times a day from the tallest point in the cage....Be careful if you by a pair from the same store, as they may be related....You will need an unrelated pair if you intend to breed

[Jan]

you should be safe getting unrelated birds from the big chain pet stores.. Allmost all the finches are wild caught, imported birds.. They are brought in by the thousands so your odds are pretty good..

[kilroy]

That surprises me that finches are still wild-caught. I figured they would all be captive born. Very interesting. If they are wild-caught then I assume they will not have bands and there's no way to determine their age.
As far as the necklace of spots on the females, I remember reading that somewhere now that you mention it.
And a larger cage is definitely on the wishlist. My wife has already said to me "Maybe you should just build a big glass-fronted cabinet cage for finches." It's like she read my mind. heheh
Thanks for the info!
Roy

[ikhom]

If the birds are in a good shape, I don't see anything wrong with buying them from Petsmart. I bought my first finch (Green Singer) from Petsmart and he is still with me and as healthy as he could be. They live long 15-20 years, so age is not a problem. I have my pair for over 6 years and they become better parents with each season.
I have plenty of their pictures here http://www.ikhom.com.
Or you can look at other sites about them here. You can also find lots of information about them here on this forum.

[kilroy]

Thanks for the advice. I went to Petsmart and looked at them this morning. They had 3 there but they just didn't look healthy and happy to me; a lot of ruffled and missing feathers and seemed kind of lethargic. I decided to wait and keep looking. I may be over-cautious but I figured why take my chances.
Roy

[ikhom]

When I bought my male, he was singing non-stop at the store and his feathers were perfect. I wasn't looking to buy a pet bird at that time.

[BigBear0007]

When I was breeding them.
I had two pairs going and they were in canary
cages and they bred fine.
They will breed in a shoe box when they are ready! lol

Jerry

[flrancho]

I haven't had Green Singers myself, but I have read that they can be aggressive. Something you may want to keep in mind.

[BigBear0007]

I haven't had Green Singers myself, but I have read that they can be aggressive. Something you may want to keep in mind.

Only if in an aviary setting.
The males are protective, not aggresive.

Jerry

[Intyme]

I bought a pair of Blk Zebras from petsmart as well, i don't see any reason you shouldn't as long as they look and act healthy. Some people don't want us to buy from there , but sometimes you have no other choice. I live in a smaller town where not to many people have finches to sell or trade.

[lovemyfinch]

I haven't had Green Singers myself, but I have read that they can be aggressive. Something you may want to keep in mind.

Only if in an aviary setting.
The males are protective, not aggresive.

Jerry

I must have a strange pair In my case it is the female that is aggressive. I have many times found the male actually HIDING behind the hanging plants.

[kilroy]

That's the way these green singers seemed to be at Petsmart. There were 2 females and 1 male. The female that actually looked somewhat healthy was pretty mean to the others. I watched them for about 15 minutes and at one point she reached over to the male and yanked out one of his feathers. He looked like he was in kind of bad shape; already missing a lot of feathers.