Aussie Finch Forum

Greetings fellow hobbyists
Sorry about the length .. I see most introductions are fairly short .. I tend to be long winded sometimes

Now that I am old and retired I thought I'd get back into bird keeping.
Kept budgies in the past in external aviary but had to give it up due to work commitments and hordes of cats that used to congregate all around scaring the poor things to death.
Got a spare room inside, built a small aviary 49 29 40 , thought I'd try finches, smaller size , less noisy.

Back in the days when I kept budgies there were Pet shops all over the place in the Dandenong area, you could always find them in the various Malls
So I went back to all the ones I remembered, every one closed, went home ,started ringing, automated message "this number has been disconnected"
What happened ..is Keeping pets a dying hobby ?

Finally located one .. Called Living Jungle (I think) that had a few birds.
After extensive reading and Youtubing I thought I'd like to start with Gouldians but at $160 a pair ..... To expensive for a starter pair in case I screwed it up.
So got a pair of Zebras for $30.... Released into their new home and I was surprised how quickly they settled in.

First observations..
Energetic blighters .. They are at it for most of the day flying between the two top perches with variations ... Onto swing , onto various size gum tree branches
All the time they make the peep peep sound with the male often breaking into amazing melodious tune where the female sometimes joins in.
They seem to spend a lot of time ??Preening?? Between their feathers like they are removing ticks or whatever finches have.
I don't know if that's normal finch behaviour or if I should give them something?

Food
I have standard canary seed and TRILL which is supposed to be all a finch will ever need with capsicum, grit, vitamins, millet and so forth.
They do not show any particular preference.
Every day I put (variations) of sprouts, boiled eggs, broccoli, corn on the cob microwave egg shell and all the other things I've read that finches like.
ZERO interest ..tried Taking out the seed dish and leaving the goodies there ..still ZERO interest..
Fresh water and food every day, they get a bath container every 2nd day
In one corner I put handfuls of seed grass from the back yard which they like nibbling on

Decorations
Back of cage has various gum tree branches with leaves, two high perches at either end, 1 swing (they like) and a few mid height perches, thick and thin which they like hopping between
Pull out tray at bottom where paper gets replaced every second day.
I had no intentions of putting in a breeding box (YET) until they mend their sloppy ways and start eating other things rather than seed which I've read they'll need to lay eggs and raise young.
Also read that finches like sleeping in nest ???
Had an old 8" hanging basket which I put high up, with an open top I was told they wouldn't breed ...something For them to play with.
Went out for 1/2 day, came back, half the grasses from the floor were missing and the male was continually flying to the hanging basket.
Great I thought, they will have a nice safe place to sleep in.
Next day ..1 egg , day after (today) 2 eggs... Noticed that now they spend a lot of time on the goodies dish, munching egg shell, crumbled biscuits and they prefer the egg whites.
Maybe they sense it's what they need
They tricked me, had no intention of breeding for a few weeks yet till they settled in completely ..on The 8th day they started without permission.
May be a false go ..I Noticed that neither seems to sit on the eggs, they just keep at their flying singing their great tunes through the day.
It has been very warm however ..about 25 C in the room for most of the day.

Conclusion (hooray)
I like my Zebras, they are so cute.. Used to my presence now, cock their heads sideways when I approach with a dish and fly down even before I close the door. Did the # of birds for size calculation ..it Said 4-5 , I definitely want another pair, not necessarily Zebras but someone they can get along with.
I have already made plans and assembled materials to extend the cage to 80 29 40 which should be Ok for 4 birds.

Its been 9 interesting days ..so Much to learn.

Thank you for your patience

Welcome to the forum! Lovely to hear that you are enjoying your birds

Zebs will nest in anything you give them (or build their own nest if they have enough material). This could be a false start, but sometimes they won't incubate the eggs for several days after laying. Some greens that my birds like are chickweed, spinach, silverbeet, and endive, though your birds will probably have their own preferences.

I must say that you have overpaid for the zebs- greys, fawns and whites usually sell for $5-10 each (though rarer colours are of course, more expensive) if you buy from breeders, though pet shops will charge a lot more. Normal coloured gouldians should set you back $60-80 for a pair, and this goes up with different colour mutations.

Hi Arkov & Welcome to the Forum

Thank you for the welcome.
Regarding prices I sort of knew what I should be paying but the $160 for pair of Gouldians sort of put me off ..didn't seem right.
If the price had been $60-$80 that would have been acceptable
My problem is that it was either pay the $30 for Zebras or do without since after a week of fruitless searching there was just the 1 shop in my North Dandenong area.
My problem is that due to medical reasons I am not allowed to drive so my range is limited.

Cheers

Hi Arkov and welcome to the Forum.
Jack

Welcome to the forum!!! Hahahaha!!! You can always rely on Zebbies. After the bubs hatch and fledge, you'd better build another cage as soon as the bubs are independent (maybe even before!!), they will want to nest straight away again. They won't appreciate the company of their youngsters at all. Good luck!! Finches are very addictive I'm afraid

Hi Arkov.
Welcome to the forum. Zebras are a good start.
Cheers,
Loz.

Welcome to the forum. I like your story style, nice fun reading.

An interesting development re eggs.
As I said I didn't expect any action with an open top hanging basket and hadn't got to that part yet re my reading.

I was wondering if the first two eggs were viable since they did not incubate them at any stage.
From what I've found out eggs can survive for several days alone and finches won't sit till several or all have been laid.
After the third egg I noticed a lot less flying and playing and a lot more sitting.
The count is up to five now and the hen sits on them almost the entire day except for short stretching and feeding breaks
Noticed the female sometimes dipping her rear feathers in the water bowl and wondered what that was about.
It seems that the eggs need moisture and occasional turning which she seems to provide.
The male sits on the adjacent perch and often sings ..maybe nervous like an expectant father?

When you buy from a pet shop one has no idea re age or even if they are related so it will be interesting how they do with their first batch assuming any hatch and survive.

One of the downsides is that I have put the cage extensions on hold so not to disturb them (give the babies as much chance as possible.
When it is finished it will be 80 29 41 which according to the calculator will do for 10 birds.

Interesting 1 week to go before any (hopefully) results come through

Happy New Year

Welcome to the forum