Finch pairs in cages

[Dulciean]

Hi. I have a pair of zebras that are in a medium sized ‘flight’ cage and they are hardy and happy. I saw some goldfinches at my local bird place and decided to try keeping them. I bought a flight cage about 90cm long, 40cm wide and put in plenty of foliage ( eucalyptus, wattle, bottlebrush and some grass plants) Bought niger seed mix, pulled up loads of dandelions and a hung up a couple cup nests. I have a male and female pair of goldfinches but I don’t think they are very happy or doing so well. The male is especially flighty and tonight I was worried he looks poorly. I’m beginning to suspect maybe goldfinches are much harder to keep and I’m probably out of my league. An aviary is not an option at this point. What do I need to do to make these dear birds comfortable?

[starman]

Hi Dulciean,

Welcome to the forum.

It's likely that your Goldfinches are wild caught birds. Regardless of this, even aviary bred birds will be restless and flighty in an enclosure of that size. They are a bird that needs some specialized knowledge. Read all you can on Goldfinch care....they are beautiful birds but can be quite challenging.
A few on the AFF keep them, and may have some suggestions to help.

[finchbreeder]

When you say you put in plenty of plants? Can the birds fly freely from end to end of the cage? They will want to. Can you completely cover one end of the cage? About a third of the front? To give them somewhere to hide? For the size cages you are useing. 1 pair of birds only. Zebs of different colour types may be your best bet. But canarys or bengos are also good. Enjoy.
LML