do the Goldfinches look healthy

[goldfinchowl]

These r available for sale.
Do they look healthy?

Never owned Goldfinches, I'm a novice birdkeeper, only have society finches

[Fraza]

In my opinion I think they look okay

[isobea]

goldfinchowl - to me they look okay as well (especially if this a recent photo). I don't know where you live but goldfinches usually molt in August/September (mine are molting right now) and considering that, they do look good. Going by the color of their masks, they seem to have been exposed to some sunlight. Are they in an outdoor aviary? If you can keep them outside, the red will become even deeper. How much does the seller want per bird? And do you have access to a good oily seed mix for them? Stay away from the starchy, mostly millet seed mixes for waxbills.
Iso

[goldfinchowl]

Fraza - thank you

isobea - the seller is asking $90 for a pair

The cage I was going to use for them had a problem, so now the only cage I have would be the double flight that has my society finches. Can European Goldfinch pair be in a 63" long cage with the society?

[isobea]

goldfinchowl - the price ($45 a piece) is more than reasonable. Birds Express (one of the bigger importers) is asking $69,50 right now. Do you know how old these birds are? I have enlarged your photo twice but can't see any kind of bands on them. Are they wild-caught? Why is he selling them?
The size cage you have should be fine depending on how many societies are already in there. If only two, that would work well. Goldfinches are very active, like to fly a lot, might even be kind of chaotic/panicky for quite a while when you get close (especially if they are wild-caught). I would only get one pair. And remember they like to be as high as possible. Meaning put their cage on the highest shelf you have. They even like their food dishes placed higher than most other birds.
Iso

[goldfinchowl]

isobea - thank you for the information

It is a breeder/importer in California called Finchzone.
It is a ways for me to travel but he has a variety of birds available at prices that seem reasonable. I'm hesitant on a long trip when I'm a beginner and don't know how to tell good healthy birds, i believe this breeder doesnt allow viewing of where he keeps his birds, just the ones for sale. I especially don't want to bring any health problems to my current birds. And they would all have to be in the livingroom next to each other.
During quarantine I would have to keep them in a 26"-14"-20" cage. I really don't want wild caught. Even if he imports them they still would be very stressed and he wouldn't really know anything about them.
I had thought wild caught was illegal but if it comes through Mexico or another country then it could be considered imported but they may have originally been wild caught. Would make a lot of traveling, making for terrified and totally stressed birds, very likely to becoming ill. I thought wild caught rarely lived very long.
Trying to combine with semi-tame also doesn't seems like a good idea.

What questions are good to ask? Before going? When viewing the birds?

[Sheather]

Wild caught is legal, they come from Australia where they're not native. If you see goldfinches for sale without bands they came from Australia where they net them by the thousand to export.

[isobea]

goldfinchowl - I am pretty sure that these birds are wild-caught, imported from Australia (just like Dylan said). With good care they could still live for many years. Right now I have two pairs in my 16 foot long outdoor aviary and I'm pretty sure one of my males is wild-caught. I've had him for 1 1/2 years and he still freaks out when I enter the aviary to clean, refill the food cups, etc. Every time he beelines to the far end and flies back and forth until I leave again. Once I'm outside, he relaxes immediately, behaves normally and sings a lot.
There is no way of telling how old the birds from the Finch Zone are but most likely not much older than two years. Due to predators, bad weather, insecticides/pesticides, shrinking habitat, limited availability of appropriate food, etc. wild birds often don't live much longer than two years (on average). Whereas in captivity they can easily live up to 8 or 10 years.
Let us know what you decide to do.
Iso

PS: if the owner of the Finch Zone doesn't want you to come to his facility, where would you meet? I would want to see how clean this place is and how and where the birds are kept.
I just googled them and they seem to be the same company as M&M aviaries. You might want to research this, I could be wrong.

[goldfinchowl]

Sheather - thank you

isobea - thank you
yes it seems m&m aviary r the same as finchzone, not sure why the 2 different names. Hard to find much at all about either. Couldn't find any YouTube on it either.

I can go to his place but I don't think I can view his aviary(s)

Since ur wild caught still freaks out after so long, I'm not sure it could adapt well to being inside in close quarters in my apartment livingroom with me. U also have a very big aviary, vs what I could provide indoors. I would love to have a pair but I want birds that I can provide as pleasant/happy an environment for them. A bird that freaks out at my presence would be stressful for both of us constantly. My society aren't tame and they do get upset at times when they hear things outside. They move away when I open doors to their cage but don't get too upset and they will move closer when they see their bird baths. One male will even land on the bird bath before the door is closed tho he flys away as I close the door but not far.
I'm ok with my birds not being tame but I do like it the more they r comfortable with my presence/movement around them.

[isobea]

goldfinchowl - I've been told by two people I trust that I could calm him down considerably by putting him in a really small cage for a few weeks. I've just never done that. It's not important to me to 'tame' him. In fact, I leave my birds alone as much as possible and prefer to watch them from a small patio directly in front of my aviary. Perhaps the goldies would calm down' in your small quarantine cage.
If you don't want to go that route, which other species would you consider as companions for your societies?
Iso

[wildbird]

If the birds are wild caught, they will not tame down, but become more stressed in a small cage. These birds belong in a large outdoor aviary and never should have been caught in the first place.

[goldfinchowl]

Some additional pictures of them
Some I've seen on YouTube they seem lighter colored on the underside almost white

[goldfinchowl]

Any way to tell if they r male or female?

[Icearstorm]

goldfinchowl

Males usually have red extending to or past the eye, while females usually have red stopping at the eye or a little before. It can be hard to tell without comparing them to each other.

[isobea]

goldfinchowl - the Australian goldies very often have a lot of brown on their chests. In Europe they try to breed for much more white, so that's probably what you saw on Youtube. I prefer the whiter ones, too, but it's really not important.
The two birds in your last pictures are a pair. In the first picture the female in on the right side, in the second picture on the left. The red of her mask only goes to the middle of her eye (underneath). The male's mask goes to the end of his eye (his mask is bigger). Very often the difference is much more subtle and then it becomes difficult to tell male and female apart by the size of the mask alone. That's when you have to check the tiny feathers on top of their shoulder. You would have to hold the bird in your left hand and stretch out his/her right wing. Those tiny feathers at the very apex of the shoulder will be black in a male, brown in a female. But a word of caution: this only works with adult birds who have gone through the molt. Doesn't work for youngsters. If you could get a pair like the one in your photos, you could be sure that it is a true pair. Both male and female sing (even though the females sing less) so that would not be a clue as to their sex.
Iso