Go to any pet shop that sells birds and I am inclined to wager that there will be people around the finch exhibit. These diminutive birds simply charm people with their ceaseless movement and their songs. Many breeds of finches are bold and colorful like the Gouldian finch while others are muted and stately like the Zebra or Spice finches but there is no variety that doesn’t somehow catch your eye.

Finches are energetic, forever moving about their enclosure. It is rare to see them just sitting on a perch. They seem to have to move about constantly. Finches on no account seem to run out of vigor as they follow each other around their habitat all day long.

You will also observe that finches are rapacious eaters. A individual bird will scoff up about one-third of their body weight each and every day. Mostly, finches consume a diet of small seeds. Finches are omnivores, eating both plant seeds as well as animal protein. Adding green, leafy vegetables, cut-up fruit and insect pupae like mealworms provide variety and needed protein for your finches diet.

Their aviary should be large enough for them to fly about, longer than it is wide and without frills. Your finch will normally not be concerned with toys like ladders or mirrors; those things make parakeets cheerful but finches simply see nothing there. Oh yes, you should not expect your finch to be tame like a parrot or parakeet either; they more often than not will not sit on your finger or eat from your hand. Let them out of their cage and you’ll work hard to recapture the bird.

If you are new to finches and thinking about getting a pair of birds for your home, I recommend you begin with Zebra, Spice or Society finches. They are broadly the easiest finches to care for, are almost never aggressive and are easy to breed at home. They also are the cheapest to buy.

As pets, finches engage themselves with song and motion all day long.

Raising finches comes with a serious duty for the health and well-being of your birds. It is an awesome responsibility but one that is easily carried out when you have the tools to care for these wonderful little birds.

Gregg Bowers raises finches for fun and profit. He has done so for over ten years and shares his knowledge of finches including raising finch birds as pets with you. Gregg is currently giving away as a free gift his powerful email mini-course, A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Finches with absolutely no obligation just for the asking. If you are serious about raising happy, healthy finches then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Colors and Determining Sex

What attracts many pet lovers to finches are their bright colors. Different species of finches have different colors. The American Goldfinch, for example, has predominantly golden feathers, as its name implies. The purple finch has a somewhat purple, reddish color with streaks of black on their wings. According to official finches information, most finches come in brown and green plumage, and you will notice a general lack of white colors. Some breeds of finches are dichromatic, which means you can distinguish the gender by studying their colors. The males usually have bright markings as opposed to the paler colors of the females.

Location

While finches are mostly native to the southern hemisphere, there are plenty of breeds that can be found in North America. In fact, there is a family called the American Rose finches, which includes the purple finch, Cassin’s finch, and the House finch. There are finches that migrate to the continental United States at specific periods of the year because of food scarcity and extreme winters. These include the Redpoll and the Pine Grosbeak. You can check more finches information and geography on many authority sites on the internet.

Feeding

Most finches feed on seeds, particularly the American Goldfinch. They love eating thistle seeds as well as the seeds of spruce and pine. Many aviary journals have complete finches information on specific diets for particular specie of finches. Dandelion and chickweed make an excellent meal for tiny birds. You can also feed them eggshells and cuttlefish bone to increase their calcium intake. Make sure to heat the eggshells in order to kill fungi and bacteria. In most cases, your pet finches would be delighted on a simple meal of fruits and vegetables.

Health

Finches have a life span of 4 to 8 years. The best way to maximize their life span is by giving them the best possible care. It is important to spot signs of illness early on so that you can treat them accordingly. Finches information shows that common illnesses include, swollen eyes, fluffed out feathers, loss of appetite, general lack of energy, etc. Bring the birds to a veterinarian for proper care and attention.

Basic care of your finches includes giving them food and fresh water on a daily basis. It is also important to sanitize the cage at least once a week to avoid the birds catching diseases. You must also place a water bath inside the cage because these birds love dipping in water every now and then as a form of their bathing ritual. Breeding finches is an exciting endeavor but you must have complete finches information to do it successfully. All in all, finches are enjoyable creatures that can brighten up your home life.

Kevin is an avid bird enthusiast who and has created a free resource on finch health and care at http://www.PetFinchCare.com. Sign up for a 10-part mini-course and learn about feeding finches, cages for finches, breeding finches, different types of finches, and much more. Visit today and enjoy happier, healthier finches.

There are three varieties of these Finches that are naturally-occurring in coloration. They usually are the black-headed (Genus Poephila gouldiae), the red-headed (Genus Poephila mirabilis) and the yellow-headed (Genus Poephila armitiana). Although these are the colouration varieties that are broadly recognised, there can be any number of colouration compounding’s derived from these basic colours including blue and yellow-bodied variations.

The colour of the male is much more magnificent than that of the female. The male also has a considerably longer centre tail feather. Arguably, these Finches are one of the most extremely colourful birds in the world. Gouldian Finches are a lot harder to care of and breed when comparing heartier finch stocks such as the Zebra and the Society Finches. These Finches are not recommended for the beginner bird proprietor who may have little or no experience with captive finches.

Gouldian Finches, like various finches, do not like to be petted or held. Those who want a pet bird which can readily be finger domesticated should probably stay clear of these Finches. All finches are social and require to be kept in one or maybe more pairs to fulfil their need to be social. Additionally, Gouldian Finches are easy disrupted by frequent alterations in their housing surround or by movement of their cage. When these birds go through frequent tension, it can ultimately lead to worsening in the bird’s immunity to disease.

Finches are real active birds and it doesn’t exclude the Gouldian Finches. Whether or not they are in a cage or an aviary, they need the broadest flying space out of any other finch species. Although that they are only between five and five and a half inches in size, they need a minimal flying space of about twenty inches. Cages for housing Finches can either be metal or wooden. Just make sure the space between cage bars is never greater than one-half inch to keep them from harming themselves or escape.

Brass cages are not suggested for Finches because of their possible toxic qualities. But most cages that are brass in coloration are not actually made of brass. In addition to their far out personalities and their bouncy vigour, Finch lovers also enjoy to hear the background sounds these little birds create. They have an incredible soft chirp but, not all Finches sing.

It is actually the males that sing, and some better than others. Although the tending of the Gouldian Finch is more involved then some of the other finch species, their vivacious colorations and their excellent personalities make the tending and participation in the Gouldian Finches life marvellous.

J Harold dedicated to providing information over the internet.
Finches
Learn more about Gouldian Finches by visiting Gouldian Finches

1. Finch Ownership

Are you ready to own pet finches? Finches are known for ease of care and can be nifty pets for almost anyone, including apartment dwellers, those with kids, and even those with other pets. That being said, you should make sure that other family members are really ready to have finches in the house, can they be considerate and careful around finches, can you keep your current pets under control around the finches, do you have a proper place for their cage, etc.

2. Finch Varieties

Which finch variety should you get? These active small birds are colorful, have varied patterns and personalities. They come in many popular varieties including the Zebra Finch, Gouldian Finch and the Society Finch. Ask your local bird seller for their opinion and recommendations.

3. Keeping Finches

The fact that finches are very friendly birds allows you to maintain them with other of these diminutive birds or even with other hard billed birds if you have a cage with enough space.

Because aggressive behavior can be exhibited by bigger bird species toward smaller bird species, it is not a good idea to keep finches with hook billed birds like parakeets and lovebirds as these birds have a more belligerent nature.

In order to avoid feather picking do not keep too many of these tiny birds in your cage.

Finches are normally social birds but when grouped with other types of birds there may be some aggressive behavior among them. While some species of birds, like Parrots, may sulk when they cannot interact with their owners, these tiny birds are different because they are so gregarious and will be quite happy to play among themselves when left alone.

4. Taming Finches

Because these diminutive birds are so gregarious among themselves, they probably won’t become tame enough to perch on your finger. Although, there are some owners who have successfully finger tamed their pet finches, with enough time and patience. Most finches will not be able to be easily handled.

When you do need to handle your pet bird for performing activities such as nail trimming, the best way to hold your bird is to grasp it over the back and place your thumb and forefinger on opposite sides of its head.

It is rare that a finch will try to bite and even then its bite isn’t harmful or very dangerous.

5. Caring for Finches

Although most finches are very easy to care for, you must make sure that they have enough space in their cage because they are very active. It is important that they be able to fly from perch to perch so keep their cage accessories to a minimum to give them room to move about freely.

All they need is a single toy, a mirror, and a couple of branches or perches that can be changed around within the cage periodically to provide the birds with diversity. Toys that are advertised as safe for parakeets are also very good for your finches.

You should let your finches bathe at least twice a week by placing a bird bath in the cage. This gives your birds something else to enjoy. Wild finches bathe by rolling around in dew covered grass, so you can simulate this by making your bird bath out of damp dandelion leaves or moist grass and putting it on the cage floor for a couple of hours.

6. Enjoying Your Finches

Other species of birds can be more rambunctious and noisy, but these hardy diminutive birds can still be very entertaining. Another plus to owning these little birds, is that they can be less costly to buy when compared to the purchase of parrots and other soft billed birds.

Be assured that your finches will give you lots of enjoyment with their individual dispositions, lovely voices and playful interactions.

Edward Z. Roberts is an avid pet bird enthusiast. He offers a mini-course on caring for finches at finch care.
To learn more about finches go to finch info.