Australian Finches
How to Care For and Breed Australian Finches
If you want to keep Australian finches, the first thing you will need to do is to build an aviary or bird room. You can do this by purchasing a completed aviary, building your own, or taking a shed and converting it into a home for your birds. You can also build a flight where they can fly around. Your aviary will require electricity as Australian finches need a certain amount of light year-round to be healthy and happy.
Australian finches, except for zebra finches, do not do well when kept in cages. That’s why you need an aviary which should be completed before you visit a breeder to make your finch selections. You should start out with several different pairs of the same species, not with numerous pairs of separate species.
Among the best Australian finches for beginners are the Hecks Grassfinch, Star Finch, Cherry Finch, Diamond Firetail, and the Chestnut Breasted Finch. All of these can be fed a good basic foreign finch mix. This mix usually includes white, red, and Jap millet, along with panicum and canary feed.
Special mixes of soft food are often used when finches are raising their young. They also like the occasional treat such as dandelion leaves, cress, or spinach. Always have mineralized grit available to your birds. It not only gives them needed trace minerals but helps digestion as well. Some breeders add crushed baked egg shells and cuttle fish bone. The finches will eat what they need and leave the rest. Fill your container with fresh mineralized grit once a week.
Water should be always available to Australian finches and it should be changed frequently. Birds should also have sealed tubular drinkers which protect the water from contamination by their own poop. A good diet and fresh water at all times is a basic requirement for healthy finches. So is cleaning the drinking tubes and the rest of the aviary on a regular schedule.
Use a mix of detergent and disinfectant to wipe down the bird room. Remove all the droppings and leftover food. Also keep food containers clean and covered so that mice and other rodents cannot get into the food. Your bird room needs to have plenty of ventilation and to prevent diseases, any new birds should be quarantined before introducing them to the rest of the population.
Just like you have to cut the toenails on a dog, you have to trim the claws on Australian finches. They can get them caught on various perches and it could cause a serious injury. Don’t get too close to the quick or blood vessels. Sometimes finch care also involves trimming the beak.
Many people buy Australian finches and want to breed them right away. First, you have to let the birds get used to their new home environment. When the birds are ready to breed they will start to look extremely healthy. Colors will brighten and the males will start flittering around, showing off and calling to the hen. If your birds show no interest in mating, they may not be old enough or there might be some other reason such as illness. Remember to give them time to make themselves at home.
You must provide the finches with a suitable nest box. Sometimes a cage will work, or a large plant pot. Birds will make their own nests if you provide them with branches, hay, moss and other suitable nest materials.
If you have always wanted to own and breed Australian finches, you should give it a try. There are many finch-lovers and breeders at online forums who can help answer your questions.