How to Raise Finches

The colorful feathers, cheerful chirping and fast movement of finches can entertain and delight finch owners. As with opening your home to any pet, you must make special accommodations to ensure your pet is comfortable and able to thrive in the new environment. Raising finches can be rewarding, but it is important to realize that a finch owner must be responsible and willing to work hard to take adequate care of the birds.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Cages
• Perches
• Variety of food
• Drinking water bowl and bath container
• Male and female finch (for breeding purposes)
• Nest (for breeding purposes)

1. Provide the finches with large cages. Although the birds are small, they have active natures and require plenty of extra room. If you have a pair of finches, you'll need at least 2 perches mounted far enough apart so that the birds can fly (not hop) between them.
2. Select finches that seem to have similar characters and make sure their cage has ample room for all of the birds you plan to raise. This is the best way to avoid aggression problems.
3. Feed the finches a diet of both dry and sprouted seeds, finch pellets, insects, small morsels of veggies and fruits, and hard-boiled eggs (including crushed pieces of the shell). It is also important to provide clean water at least once a day. The calcium found in egg shells is especially important when you raise birds that are nesting.
4. Provide the finches with clean water in a shallow container for bathing purposes. Replace the container with fresh water daily.
5. Place a male and female within a cage to breed the birds. The cage must have a nest suitable for the birds. The finches will not breed without a nest.
6. Allow the parents to care for the chicks once your finches have babies. They regurgitate their own food to provide nourishment for the chicks. It is important to keep feeding the parents a proper diet including an extra dose of calcium.
7. Relocate the new finches to their own cage once you notice them eating the food you give to their parents. At that point, it is safer for the young birds to be in a separate cage. However, use caution when placing siblings in the same cage. Remove the nest or inbreeding could occur. Birds that are inbred may have health defects.

Tips & Warnings

• If you decide to raise different types of finches. Make sure the species are compatible. Some are more aggressive than others. Visit the Finch Information Center for a list of compatible birds (see Resources below).