Newbie asks: Why not one of each?

[BeepNbuzz]

Hello Everyone!
New Finch-owner here. I hope this is not a silly question, but I'm wondering...
Are there types of finches that would be okay in each others' company- NOT in pairs of the same type? For example, could a person house in one generous cage: a cordon bleu, an owl, a green singer and a society finch? I'm imagining all females or all males. Could their social needs be met this way- could they become friends? Or does each kind only ever really bond with its own distinct breed?

The reason I ask is: I know I will only be able to ever fit one habitat into my small living space, and it's so hard to choose! They are all so pretty and interesting. I'd really like a variety.

Thanks for your advice.

[Zebrafincher]

Hello Beep N Buzz,

I have three males (Canary, Star finch and Zebra finch) all in separate cages and they get on well. You will generally find finches (even canaries) will "pally up" with other birds. My Zebra finch and canary hang around together. Merl, my star finch, is very much in love with his mirror, and doesn't seem to miss having another bird around. All three tweet and talk to eachother. Seems to work out fine.

Good luck

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher
Proud owner of:
*Kevin aka “The Old Man” – very cranky canary – 13 years old and rules the Roost!
*Beaky aka “Beaky Beak” the Zebrafinch – 1 year old – and a real, real cutie!!!
*Merlin aka “Merl” the Starfinch – 3 ½ years old – and “bossy as anything for such a small fry!”

[KarenB]

That's the problem; they're like potato chips.

I would think you'd be okay doing that, but there are more experienced folks here than me who could probably better answer that question. I got pairs when I started because the birds were already paired. I started with three pair. I now have ten pair, soon to add another pair.

You know, you can stack cages on top of one another and get more birds that way. Justbeinghelpful.

[finchmix22]

BeepNbuzz
Welcome to the forum! How big is your cage/flight? If you are limited to less than 6 finches total, I'd suggest getting Owls, Parrot Finches, and maybe Green Singers or Stars. That give you a nice mix of color and they get along pretty well. If you can have 3 pairs, for six finches, with this mix you'd have yellow, green, blue, red, and brown/black. They're all active finches and are fun to watch in pairs, even if you don't want babies. If you really don't want a chance of babies, you could get all hens or all cocks. I'd go with all hens if you don't want it too loud, but if you want the song and color, I'd go for all cocks.

[lovezebs]

BeepNbuzz

Hello Fellow Calgarian.

Regarding your questions.
My first question would be, what is the size of your cage. An (d)18/(h)18/(w)30 inch cage is good for a pair of Finches, with the emphasis on the length or width of the cage. Finches need room to fly from side to side in their cage.
If you are thinking of several Finches/ Wax bills, you need to consider a fairly large cage/flight. The rule with bird cages, is that 'bigger is better'.

As in regards to Species.
Finches are usually very Social creatures, and they enjoy the company of their own kind. So Technically, you could have one of this and one of that, but... they are definitely happier with one or more of their own species.

As in regards to male or female.
With females, you might run into problems with egg binding. Hens will lay eggs even without males around.with males, you won't have worries in that area. So my recommendation, if you don't want to breed, would be all males.

Regarding species, that is a personal choice. If you are considering wax bills, then Orange Cheeks, Red billed Fires, Gold breasted, Cordons, Red Ears are good choices and will exist fairly well together. If you're thinking a little bigger, then Societies, Stars, Parrot Finches, Gouldians and Shaft Tails, are good choices and very attractive. Then again, there are endless choices and possibilities. I do believe that you mentioned Green Singers, that's one of the species that you cannot keep two males together, they will fight.

Goodluck in your bird choices, and welcome to the Forum.

~Elana~

[Sally]

As others have said, a lot depends on the size of the cage. All males would usually work a bit better than all females, especially since with many species the males are more colorful and are the ones that sing. Green Singers may be aggressive to others of the same species or even the same color (yellow), but a single male should be OK in a mixed flight of other colors. I often mix species when I have singles due to some birds losing their mates, and they will buddy up with other species.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on housing, diet, and compatibility of species.

[MiaCarter]

I've kept many different species together over the years.
Lots of my birds (finches and others) have been rescues, owner surrenders, re-homes, etc., so not nice pairs.
And, of course, individuals die, leaving the widowed mate single.

To be honest, I've never had any problems and I don't hesitate to get a singleton if they need a home and/or I like the bird and there's not a second one available.

They do seem to prefer their own species, but in the absence of their own species, they do really nicely with others. I currently have 2 finch pairs that are inter-species. I've had many over the years. Spice and zebra, gouldian and zebra, gouldian and parrot finch (fairly close on the finch family tree), owl and zebra, owl and star, society and black and white headed nuns (also munias, so not a big leap there), zebra and society, zebra and Af/In silverbill and so on.
(I don't think I realized how aggressive zebras are supposed to be before I came here onto the forum! I guess I've lucked out over the years, as I've never had significant problems. I've never hesitated to pair zebras with just about anyone! LOL)

In short, I wouldn't hesitate to get one of species A, one of species B and so on.

You don't really tend to see problems unless they're very different species of significantly different size, different intelligence level or have very different physical features/abilities.

For instance, I wouldn't put a cockatiel with a finch and expect them to be buddy-buddy, just as you wouldn't put a corvid like a pied crow with an African grey parrot and expect them to hit it off.
Those odd couples do exist, but they're uncommon due to the significant differences in intelligence level, size and the way their bodies work is just very different (e.g. hookbills have very dextrious feet and use their beak as a hand of sorts and climb a lot more than they fly. Finches have little dexterity, don't use their beaks in the same way and they tend to fly rather than climb.)

But with finches of different species or finches and canaries, for instance, they're much more similar and tend to do really well.
I've even seen finches with other small birds, like tanagers, dacnis and honeycreepers. Not ideal as their dietary needs are quite different, but it can work.

So indeed, I wouldn't hesitate to mix species. The key is to ensure that the dynamics work with the cage or aviary that you have. Some more dominant species need more space, otherwise they get snippity.
And as the others mentioned, if you opt for males of a species that tend to get aggressive, you need to ensure that they don't get paired up with males of another similarly colored species.
There's a great compatibility chart here:
http://www.finchinfo.com/housing/compatible_species.php

[BeepNbuzz]

Wow! All of this insight is so helpful! Thank you so much, everyone. Currently I have two zebra finches, which I just got from someone else, and I am very much enjoying them. They are in an embarrassingly small cage (I won't say how small!), but I have ordered a larger one and am so eager for it to arrive. I will stay keep my Zebras as I'm sure they are the easiest to 'learn' on, but I so long for some variety, too!
Thanks again for all your help!