Finches I've Kept and Their Care
I purchased my first pair of Pied Zebra Finches over 10 years ago. From the first moment I knew my love for birds would grow. Over the years I have housed and bred Zebra Finches, Lavender Waxbills, Orange Cheek Waxbills, Cordon Bleus, Owl Finch, Star Finch, Red head Parrot Finch, and Lady Gouldians. I ended up down-sizing my finch collection and specialized in breeding the Lady Gouldian Finch as they were always my favorite! Currently I do not breed finches but maybe one day I'll start up again.
When keeping Waxbills it is a necessity to have meal worms. The smaller they are the better so its best to start growing your own if you plan on breeding the birds. For two seasons I was unsuccessful getting my Lavender Waxbills to sit a nest full term while offering only seed, veggies and eggfood. Once I decided to bring "bugs" into the picture they were happy as could be and were prolific breeders with three or four offspring per clutch. Another interesting thing to watch was how the male built the intricate nest. I supply long coco fiber for all my finches to use as nest material and the Lavenders would build a nice size nest with a long tube entrance pointing downwards. They would always enter from the same perch.....jump off into a dive and then swoop upward into the tube and into the nest. Impressive show!
Most other finches I have kept in the past have similar keeping and breeding requirements. Most accept a typical wicker domed nest you can purchase at any pet supply store. I mainly used a home made 6x6x8 nest box using 1/4x6 poplar plank purchased from the local building supply or craft store. My Gouldian finch preferred this nest style so the other finches grew to like them. Before you decide to breed finches read everything you can! The key to success is a happy healthy pair to start off with. Make sure the water source is cleaned a few times per day as they tend to bath in it. Ensure your pair are well fed with a variety of seeds, millet, fruits, veggies and cuttlebone then start offering eggfood for extra protein.
There are manufactured egg food products but I prefer to make my own. I hard boil 2 eggs, grate them with a fine grater into a bowl, mix in 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs or manufactured egg food to dry the mix out, 1 spoon powdered vitamins, 1 spoon Insect Essentials and top off with Spirulina powder. Mix up until the egg is well blended and offer it in small dishes to the finches. There is usually nothing left to clean up after a few hours. You can offer a hard boiled egg cut in half and they'll eat it up just the same but I like to mash it and add the extra vitamins to ensure they are getting everything they require in their diet.
When I started keeping finches I had many small cages but as time went on my hobby started to become a chore and that is never fun. I built a few flights to house a mixed variety of finches. I found this was much easier to maintain without seeming like a job. I had two main flights. Flight one was 7'tall x 4'wide x 5' deep and mainly housed breeding birds including gouldians, cordon bleus, owls, lavender waxbills and star finches. Flight two was 7'tall x 5'wide and 5'deep and this flight housed babies, older birds and extra hens.
Keeping and breeding finches can be a very rewarding hobby if you have time and patience. Just because they are little birds doesn't mean they don't have much to offer! There is lots to learn when watching their social behaviors and listening to their songs. Every bird has its own personality and if you've decided to keep finches, you'll find out on your own how much enjoyment they can be.
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