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Hi everyone,
I'm glad I found this board and all of the talk about finches. I've read some of the posts and learned a lot.
I am 'new' to finches. I recently bought 3 zebra finches (2 males, 1 female), and 4 society finches (I can't tell the female from the male). LOL Anyway, they both started laying eggs as soon as I placed nests in the cage and now I have 7 little finches.
Unfortunately I waited too long to remove the babies from the cage and I can't seem to 'capture' them even with a little net. My question is what if I leave them all in the same cage and let them live their lives out without letting them hatch any new babies? And does anyone have a better solution as to how to catch them? The only solution I can think of is to put them in a very small room where I might catch them with a butterfly net.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hi Scout, and welcome to the wonder world of finches! You've chosen two of the "easiest" breeding finches, which means you are in for a great deal of work keeping the population under control -- but a great deal of fun watching your guys & their offspring!

Leaving all your guys in the same cage depends on a couple of things. First, how big is the cage? Finches do need enough room to move around & feel they have some territory of their own, so unless it's a very big cage, you will probably want to do some separating.

Second consideration is, of course, inbreeding. Left to their own devices, those sweet little baby birds will soon start hooking up and making MORE sweet little baby birds. Zebras, in particular, are notorious breeders so unless you want to have a whole flock rather quickly--and an inbred one at that--, you'll want to put some time & effort into separating your chicks.

I know catching the little guys is tough but if you're patient, you can manage it. When using a net, take all the perches, nests, etc. out of the cage -- gives them fewer places to "hide". Often, if you just put your hand in the cage and hold it very still, you can eventually grab somebody as he flits by. If none of that works, wait til night. As you already know, finches are very still at night; in a darkened room, using a flashlight as necessary, you can usually just reach into the cage and pick them up off the perches.

As for birdie birth control, we always made a point of housing our baby finches in separate "dormitories" for hens and cocks. The parent pairs remain together, of course, but we do constant "egg patrols," removing new eggs every day or so. We sometimes save the old eggs til we're sure they're no longer viable, then substitute them back for the fertile new ones we're stealing. That gives mom & dad the opportunity to tend a clutch for a few days, which slows down the laying process.

If your hens are laying regularly, make sure they get plenty of calcium in their diets or you may have problems with egg binding -- the eggshell doesn't harden and the hen can't pass it. Just yesterday we had to "hospitalize" one of our Gouldian hens who was egg bound. A small separate cage, some warmth (we use a heating pad on low - medium heat) and a little mineral oil rubbed on the vent work well for us; Pepper will be rejoining her flock later this morning.

Hope this helps. Let us know how your babies mature!

Cheers,
Pat

Hi Pat,

Thanks for all your good advice. And I'm glad that Pepper will be returning to the flock...I'm sure she feels 'relief'. LOL

I had not thought of trying to catch them after dark. I will give it a try.

I have them in a flight cage at the present time. At sometime in the future I'd like to build an outdoor avairy as the little fellows are messy and fling seed hulls and water everywhere. LOL But I don't mind cleaning up after them.

I have removed all of the nests and they have numerous ( and different sizes) tree limbs to perch upon. The hens have not layed any eggs since I took out the nests.
I 'serve' them crushed eggshells that have been microwaved, fresh greens, and when the babies were 'growing' up I boiled eggs everyday and mashed the yolks; but since the babies are now eating seeds I have stopped that practice. I also have the cuttlebones in the cage.
And I pick tender grass that has grown on the ground outside where I've thrown out the used seeds/hulls. They love picking through it.

I have another flight cage available for the babies when I get them separated. I do have a question about leaving the brothers and sisters together- what about inbreeding there? Does it matter????

Societies are really sweet when you have a few,and they are in a regular cage, and you interact with them. When I was in college, I had a pair in my apartment. The cage was about 30 inches long, 12 inches wide, 12 inches deep (although 18 inches high and wide would have been better).
I handled the babies regularly, and allowed the parents out of the cage when I was studying, and they looked forward to that routine, and it was not a problem to pick them up and put them back in the cage. The male used to sit closeby and sing !

Yes, inbreeding does matter! If you plan on keeping them all, you can seperate the males from females in different cages, or if it a really large cage, with a wire divider down the middle.

Thanks Christie, I will find a solution and separate them. I don't want them to inbreed.

Hi Alhee,
I bought these birds from a pet store and they were not real tame.
Don't get me wrong, I like the little birds but I'm not much for handling them. I enjoy watching them interact. I handled the babies once and they felt so warm and cuddly.

Thanks for you all's input.

Most finches aren't really tame. I have several myself! It is difficult to catch them, but the idea about doing so after they have settled down for the night should work. Persistance and a small room is key!

I chased my finch Houdini for well over 45 minutes around the house one day because I didn't close doors!

The main thing is that you are enjoying your birds, and you are doing your best to care for them. I really need to emphasize that societies are naturally tame, in their own way, even birds just out of the pet shop. One of their characteristics is that they recognize their home or cage, so there is very little chance of these birds flying away and getting lost: they always (in my experience) choose to get back to their home.
Just before I got my "college pair", I bought a pair for my parents, and the hen got loose and flew across the street. A couple of hours later, she was back at the cage with the male, and she had brought back a blade of grass to build a nest. So you can see, there is a special place in my heart for societies !
I'm glad that you were able to get a pair, as I think that you have a greater chance of picking up 2 males, as breeders tend to hold back the hens that they can identify.

Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying the antics of the little birds. I can sit and watch them and all the stress seems to go away. They are always sooooo busy!
If trying to catch them at night doesn't work, I do have a small bathroom that I can try to transfer them to a different cage. One way or the other I am going to get them separated (and not hurt them).

I'm glad your little bird flew back home. I never realized that they would recognize their cage, etc.

I will keep in touch with the board and let you all know how things go.
Thanks for all the information!!!!

alhee wrote: I really need to emphasize that societies are naturally tame, in their own way, even birds just out of the pet shop. One of their characteristics is that they recognize their home or cage, so there is very little chance of these birds flying away and getting lost: they always (in my experience) choose to get back to their home.
Just before I got my "college pair", I bought a pair for my parents, and the hen got loose and flew across the street. A couple of hours later, she was back at the cage with the male, and she had brought back a blade of grass to build a nest. So you can see, there is a special place in my heart for societies !
.

Interesting! I've never had society finches, so didn't know this. I wonder if it's because they've been domesticated for so long. I don't think they occur naturally in the wild, do they?

Scout, I have to tell you that Pepper was so glad to be back with her flock! She zoomed out of the hospital cage, had to try out several branches before she could settle down. Brad (who has decided she is his mate since his Angie died a few months back ) was right by her side and didn't leave her for some time.

Cheers,
Pat

pat:
That is great news about Pepper's return! They may not can tell you how happy they are but you can tell it by watching their actions.