Trying to decide between finches. Please help me!

Susan39 · Post by **Susan39** » Wed May 11, 2016 10:56 am

Hello-

I have never owned a finch before. A long time ago I had parakeets. They were beautiful but noisy. I am looking for a finch that isn't too loud.

Can you give me information on these finches (Gouldian, Society, Zebra, Orange Cheek, Silverbill)?

Which species is quieter? Can you tell me about their personality?

Thank you so much

Post by **Sally** » Wed May 11, 2016 11:04 am

You can get information on the Gouldian, Zebra, and Society finches here:

http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... /index.php

Orange cheeks are quiet but very active, cute personalities. They are tiny waxbills, so wire spacing is important on a cage. I've never had Silverbills, so can't help you there, hopefully others will chime in.

Of the other three, I would say Gouldian would be the quietest, with a pretty little song, Societies would be next, with a quirky little song, and Zebras can get quite noisy. Personality wise, Societies win it hands down IMO.

Susan39 · Post by **Susan39** » Wed May 11, 2016 11:15 am

Thank you Sally for the information. Can you tell me a little more about Society Finches? You said they were quieter than Zebra Finches. That is good to know, because I visited a website that said that Society finches were louder than Zebras. I am thankful that you gave me that information.

Susan39 · Post by **Susan39** » Wed May 11, 2016 11:34 am

Sally, I just checked out that website you gave me. I saw the Cordon Bleu Finch. So cute! Do you have any information on this species of finch? Are they hard to find? Thank you!

dunker817 · Post by **dunker817** » Wed May 11, 2016 11:59 am

Compared to hookbills finches are very quiet. I have 10 finches in a room and all I hear during the day is singing. Which to me is quite relaxing and enjoyable. My cordon bleus sing all day. The parrot finches are very quiet. My gouldians are in between the two.

Susan39 · Post by **Susan39** » Wed May 11, 2016 12:53 pm

dunker817 wrote: Compared to hookbills finches are very quiet. I have 10 finches in a room and all I hear during the day is singing. Which to me is quite relaxing and enjoyable. My cordon bleus sing all day. The parrot finches are very quiet. My gouldians are in between the two.

What are Parrot Finches?

Susan39 · Post by **Susan39** » Wed May 11, 2016 5:22 pm

Can you put two canaries together in the same cage?

paul-inAZ · Post by **paul-inAZ** » Wed May 11, 2016 10:01 pm

Can you put two canaries together in the same cage?

absolutely. Canaries are very peaceful.

Susan39 · Post by **Susan39** » Thu May 12, 2016 9:54 am

Everything that I read said that Canaries shouldn't be in the same cage because they will fight.

Sheather · Post by **Sheather** » Thu May 12, 2016 10:11 am

Yeah I have never had two canaries that would tolerate each other in the same cage - with the exception of one bonded male/female pair. Even my current pair, who have had 9 babies together, don't get along in the cage and have to be kept apart except when actually mating.

mew5280 · Post by **mew5280** » Wed May 18, 2016 2:41 pm

I can give you my two cents on some of the species you mentioned:

Cordon Blues - I love them and the male's song but they are a little more delicate than societies. If you want to breed, they need a lot of privacy, I'd start with a different species.

Societies - one of my favorites, they're just so resilient and funny and although the song isn't very melodic, I like to hear them sing. Very hardy as well.

Silverbills - I just got my first silverbills this year. I have 3 African and 1 Indian (didn't realize the difference until I had had them awhile). As soon as I brought them home, there were eggs and for the first time ever, I watched them go from eggs to birds and they lived and now I have two more silverbills. The male sings but I don't hear mine sing much. I think a lot of it has to do with whether or not they are in a mixed aviary, or alone, or if they have a mate.

I would love to try other species but probably not in my current cage. I have everyone (1 Spice, 4 silverbills, 2 societies) in a Prevue 030 flight cage. I'm looking for a Spice finch right now since mine seems a little lonely being the only one.

Susan39 · Post by **Susan39** » Wed May 18, 2016 10:44 pm

mew5280 wrote: I can give you my two cents on some of the species you mentioned:

Cordon Blues - I love them and the male's song but they are a little more delicate than societies. If you want to breed, they need a lot of privacy, I'd start with a different species.

Societies - one of my favorites, they're just so resilient and funny and although the song isn't very melodic, I like to hear them sing. Very hardy as well.

Silverbills - I just got my first silverbills this year. I have 3 African and 1 Indian (didn't realize the difference until I had had them awhile). As soon as I brought them home, there were eggs and for the first time ever, I watched them go from eggs to birds and they lived and now I have two more silverbills. The male sings but I don't hear mine sing much. I think a lot of it has to do with whether or not they are in a mixed aviary, or alone, or if they have a mate.

I would love to try other species but probably not in my current cage. I have everyone (1 Spice, 4 silverbills, 2 societies) in a Prevue 030 flight cage. I'm looking for a Spice finch right now since mine seems a little lonely being the only one.

When your Indian Silverbill does sing how loud is it compared to the other birds you have?

kyle · Post by **kyle** » Thu May 19, 2016 1:27 am

Susan39
Personally I find the African Silver Bill song very Pleasant both in melody as well as volume. What torture deciding which finches to keep! LOL. So many species to choose from!

slwatson · Post by **slwatson** » Thu May 19, 2016 12:38 pm

Susan39

I personally don't have zebras anymore because they were too aggressive to stay with any other species when I had a pair. I did enjoy their meeping though and they are cute

I love societies and gouldians....the gouldians are so colorful, but my societies are more willing to try new things, love to bathe, and the males crack me up when they sing.

You asked earlier what parrot finches are...there's a variety of different kinds. They can be difficult to breed, but they're very energetic and love to eat. Mine enjoy bathing, and my males do sing, but rarely. They're actually my favorite of all the birds I have. I've attached some images of different kinds, and that's not even all of them....then there are the pied version, and those are usually spotted.