Keeping Small Finches (e.g., Zebra Finches, Society, and Spice Finches) So, you've decided to keep small finches as pets. If this is your first time keeping finches or small birds as pets then hopefully you'll find the following information useful. This article is designed for the beginning finch keeper and what follows is the minimum that you must know before keeping finches.
I know that when I first decided to keep finches I didn't know the first thing about keeping them. I read a few books and asked a lot of questions at the pet store. After learning all I could about them I decided to get two little finches and I created this site so that I could share the information I've learned about keeping finches.
How Many Finches Should You Keep Together?
The first thing you need to know about keeping finches, such as zebra, society, or spice finches is that you cannot keep a solitary bird. These small finches don't thrive when kept alone. You must keep at least two finches or your finch will probably not survive, and at the very least, will be a very unhappy bird.
Keeping even numbers of finches is better than keeping odd numbers. So, you need to have either 2 finches, 4 finches, or 6 or 8 finches, but not 3 or 5. Keeping odd numbers of finches leads to aggressive behavior in your finches.
Housing Your Small Finches
Another important factor to consider is their cage. Finches need a special cage that allows them to fly. This is generally called a flight cage. Their cage should be at least 30 inches long, 18 inches high, and 18 inches wide (76.2 cm long, 45.7 cm high, 45.7 cm wide) . This is the minimum sized cage that you need to keep your finches in. The largest cage you can afford is best.
The reason that finches need a cage that allows them to fly is that they live their entire lives within the cage. Unlike other birds, such as parrots, finches are not tame birds, despite their exposure to humans from birth. Finches don't like to be handled and so they generally don't have "out of cage time" like tame birds do.
I wouldn't keep more than four small finches in a cage of this size (30 in x 18 x 18) and probably one pair of birds is best. You don't want the birds to feel overcrowded. The larger the cage the more finches you can successfully house and a larger cage is always best.
Also, make sure the bar spacing of your finch cage isn't greater than ½ inch apart. Finches are small birds with small heads and they can get their head stuck in between the bars, or even escape from the cage, if the bar spacing is too wide.
Temperature
Finches usually do just fine at room temperature (around 70 °F or 21 °C).
Other Supplies You'll Need
Perches
You'll need a couple of perches of different sizes. However, don't fill your bird cage so full of perches that your finches don't have any room to fly. Two perches is probably sufficient unless you have a large number of birds.
The reason that you need to have perches of varying sizes in your finch cage is so that your finches can exercise the muscles in their feet. In addition, at least one of the perches in your finch cage should have a rough surface so that your finches will wear down their toenails. Otherwise, their nails will grow too long and you will have to trim them. One perch that I use in my finch cage is called a sand perch. It has a rough surface so that the birds will wear down their nails and the width of the perch varies along its length.
Care must be taken when using perches that attach to the cage. I had one pet society finch get her leg/toe stuck inbetween the cage and the perch. When I found the finch she was hanging upside down in the cage by her toe. She injured herself severely by thrashing around trying to free herself. I thought that she wouldn't survive, but finches are tougher than they appear and thankfully she made a full recovery.
Cuttlebone
You can find cuttlebone in all petshops that sell birds and bird supplies. It is inexpensive and is an excellent source of calcium, which your birds need. Cuttlebone also helps to wear down their beak. If finches don't have something to wear down their beak it gets too long and then has to be filed down with an emory board. However, I feel it is best to have an avian vet take care of this rather than trying to do it yourself. A bird with an overgrown beak will usually have difficulty eating.
I generally also use a beak conditioner as well. This consists of a natural lava stone that is placed in the bird cage so that the birds can wear down their beak. These are also inexpensive and you can find these at most pet stores.
Toys
In general, finches don't play with toys as much as parrots do, however, your finches will still need something to do other than hanging out in their cage. What I use for my finches is a nest hair dispenser. This is a round disk with little pieces of string in it. The birds can use their beaks to remove the small pieces of string from the dispenser and helps to keep them occupied.
Small streaming toys for birds are also fun for your finches. I usually use a "parrot pinata." This is basically a toy that hangs from the cage ceiling and has long streamers for your birds to play with.
Food
You can find good quality finch food at your pet store. Buy a food that states that it is specifically for finches. You can also supplement their diet with bird treats, such as honey sticks, and also with fruits and vegetables from the grocery store. You can give them foods such as oranges, apples, grapes, cherries, matchstick carrots, and parsley. Be sure the vegetables have been thoroughly washed before giving them to your birds. Remove any uneaten fruits or vegetables from the cage within a few hours so that the food doesn't spoil and make your birds sick.
Finches will also eat insects - mealworms are a finch favorite.
A finch with a varied diet will usually not need vitamins, however, if you only feed your finch one type of food (such as packaged finch seeds) then you may need to supplement their diet with bird vitamins available at the pet store. However, you must be very careful not to overdose your birds. More vitamins isn't better and may harm your birds.
Finch pellets are often touted as a finch superfood, but many finches don't seem to like them. Even if your finch will eat the pellets I still believe that finches can benefit from a more varied diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables.
For a list of foods that are harmful to finches (and most pets) please see the article Finch Food - When Seed is Not Enough.
Water
Like all living creatures, birds need a clean water supply available at all times. Shallow water dishes are best (about 1 inch deep) and it is best if the water dish is large enough so that your finch can take a little bath in it as well.
It is very important to clean out your finches' water and food dishes daily. Take care not to place your finches water and food dishes underneath a perch or bird droppings will land in it and spoil the food and water.
Nests
Finally, you can buy commercial finch nests at the pet store as well. For finches, the best kind are the enclosed kind with a small opening. You can keep finches without a nest, however, if you intend to breed your finches you will definitely need to provide them with a nest. However, don't attempt to breed young finches - wait until they are close to a year old before trying to breed them. The nests should be hung from the cage ceiling. Each pair of birds you are housing will need a nest if you intend to breed them and to prevent fights over which pair gets to reside in the nest.
However, I've had some pet finches that prefer to take all of the nesting materials and build their own little nest in the bottom corner of the cage floor. The finches that I've had do this have built quite elaborate nests on the cage floor and they seem very happy in the nest they've made themselves and tend to ignore the store bought nests.
If you don't want your finches to breed then don't include a nest in their cage. However, keep in mind that many finches prefer to sleep in nests and so they will be happiest with a nest. An alternative is to remove their eggs and replace them with "fake" eggs, which can usually be purchased at the pet store. However, it is best not to include a nest and encourage breeding behavior in very young finches.
