BirdLvr.com

Of all the birds I’ve owned, finches remain among my favorite. I affectionately call them “the happiest little creatures on Earth.” Finches are simply the peppiest, most joyful birds out there – and it’s impossible to be unhappy watching them as they chirp and flutter about. Another benefit? Finches are fairly easy to care for. Read on and you’ll see what I mean!

Finch Basics

There are literally dozens of different finch breeds and varieties within each breed. Finches are incredibly diverse in terms of appearance, so if you’re looking for a brightly colored finch, the Gouldian Finch or the Strawberry Finch (yes, they look like little strawberries!) are probably more your speed, whereas fans of more muted colors will enjoy the Spice Finch or the Society Finch.

Finches are small – just a few inches from head to tail. Their lifespan is also relatively short (for a bird), as most have a life expectancy of 6 to 10 years. Their diet is simple, consisting of seeds, fruits, nuts and vegetables. And they don’t require an expensive cage, though their cage should be on the larger end of the small cage spectrum (i.e. a small flight cage) in order to provide plenty of room for the birds to flutter and fly.

Keeping Finches

Finches are social birds and they must be kept with at least one other finch. Various finch breeds can be housed together, but finches cannot be caged with other birds due to their unique dietary requirements and potential for injury when placed with other types of birds.

Finches are essentially ornamental songbirds. They do not relish direct human contact and handling like other birds such as the parakeet. But nevertheless, finches enjoy passive human companionship and many will sing and flirt when their favorite humans are near.

Finches are capable of some very delightful vocalizations and unlike most other pet birds, finches are not prone to unpleasant squacking and screeching.  Each breed of finch has a slightly different “song” and some breeds – like the Spice Finch – tend to be quieter, while the Zebra Finch or the Society Finch tend to be more vocal.

In terms of daily care, finches require little by way of a daily time commitment. Finches require fresh water and fresh food (seeds and fresh foods like fruits) daily. The perches and grate on the bottom of the cage must be wiped down to remove droppings and the cage liner must be changed. Some finch owners also provide a small, shallow dish to serve as a bird bath of sorts – a treat for finches of all kinds. In all, it takes about five minutes per day and about $15 per month to provide quality care for 2 or more finches.

Adopting Finches

While finches can be purchased from many pet stores, the healthiest and best-bred finches are purchased from professional finch breeders. A major benefit of purchasing a finch from a breeder is the ability to adopt a young finch.

Adult finches who have not been in close contact with humans – like the finches found at most pet stores – are frightened of humans, and they will panic if you get too close of if you place your hand inside the cage. But a young bird is naturally unafraid of humans and by regularly placing your hand inside the cage and allowing the birds to become familiar with your presence, the birds will remain comfortable with humans.

A fearful bird can be difficult or impossible to handle for nail clippings and he will be more difficult to catch if he escapes from his cage. A fearful bird will also be more difficult to treat the event of an injury or illness.

Finches vary dramatically in terms of cost. A Society Finch may cost $15 or less, while a colorful Gouldian Finch can cost well over $200. And remember, a lone finch is an unhappy finch, so you’ll need to adopt at least two finches if you decide that this is the bird for you.

Considering a finch? You may also enjoy learning about canaries, another popular songbird.

I have just completed upgrading this blog to the latest wordpress version 2.5+ including the upgrade of many plugins and changed it to the “LVR” series network template!

This was a major upgrade to our MySQL database and certain plugins were not compatible and new ones were added .. so if you see anything kooky – please let me know!

In the meantime, I will be working in the background to better the archives for all the “LVR” series of blogs, and will be starting on the tag cloud in the sidebar! After that, new content will be forthcoming.

Have a good summer 2008!

While most birds have basically the same basic care requirements, lories and lorikeets are quite unique. The thing that sets them apart from other birds is their brush-like tongue. This tongue is designed to collect nectar from plants, while most parrots have a tongue that is perfectly suited to manipulating seeds. Because these birds require a unique diet, lories need very different care than other parrots.

The first thing you should consider when you are caring for lories or lorikeets is your bird’s diet. These birds cannot survive on a seed diet. However, feeding fresh nectar can be so messy and time consuming. While this used to be the only solution for people who kept lories and lorikeets, today there are easier diet alternatives. A pelleted lory diet contains all of the nutrients your bird will need. Dry nectar also provides a less messy alternative to fresh nectar, although your birds may not enjoy it quite as much. Adding applesauce, fresh fruit and vegetables and occasional servings of fresh nectar can make your lories much happier and healthier.

If you feed your lory or lorikeet a liquid nectar diet, you may think that fresh water isn’t very important. However, fresh water is a must for all birds. Imagine how you’d feel if you only drank sweet fruit juice all the time.

The next thing to consider as you prepare to keep lories or lorikeets is the cage. Although many people claim that the new diets make lories as easy to care for as other birds, they are still a bit messier. A standard cage has so many bars and little grooves that cleaning bits of fruit or runny bird droppings from the cage can be a nightmare. Instead of a standard cage, you may want to consider shopping for an acrylic birdcage. These cages are made from acrylic panels with air holes in them and can be cleaned completely in just a few minutes. If you do use a standard cage, add a plastic cage barrier to help you keep the wall behind the cage clean.

Perhaps as a result of all the fresh fruits, vegetables or nectar in their diets, lories and lorikeets tend to become quite smelly if their cages aren’t changed regularly. You should plan to change papers or litter and wash out all dishes on a daily basis. The entire cage should be washed down weekly. If you stop cleaning the cage regularly, you could make your bird quite sick. All of the little pieces of fruit and vegetables that he tossed around as he was eating will become moldy. If he eats them, he could develop a bacterial infection.

Finally, just as with other birds, you should be prepared to spend time working with lories and lorikeets to keep them sweet and tame. These birds have a naturally sweet and cuddly nature and love to groom their owners, but if you never handle your lory, he could become shy and afraid of being touched.