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Feeding Your Pet Finch

Feed a good quality finch seed mix, although this should never the sole diet of your finches. Sprouted seeds are an excellent way to boost nutrition as the seeds are at the peak of their nutritional value at sprouting. Ideally they should be fed just as they begin to sprout.

Several pellet brands are available such as Zupreem, Kaytee, Pretty Bird, Harrison's, Lafeber's and Hagen. Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential in moderation. Finches enjoy romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, kale, and spinach (in moderation), along with a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits (NO avocado, though).

Eggfood is a supplement that is very important for breeding birds but that can be fed in moderation to non-breeders as well. Millet sprays are a favorite treat for many finches but should be given sparingly. To supply calcium, your Finch should have a Cuttlebone in it's cage at all times and you can also add Crushed Egg Shells.

Your Finch should have water readily available at all times.

Finch Health Tips

Cage cleanliness is the foundation of good Finch health. The Finch's droppings should be removed daily and the bottom of the Cage disinfected at least weekly.

Use Gravel Paper already cut to size and made especially for bird cages. This is the cleanest and easiest low maintenance way to go. It will absorb spilled water and droppings.

Once a month you'll want to disinfect the walls of the cage to protect your Finch's health. The Water Dispenser and Feeder Bowl should be rinsed out daily and disinfected weekly. This helps protect against harmful bacteria. Cage Cleaners disinfect and dissolve hard dried-up droppings.

Trim the nails of a pet finch. If you do not feel comfortable trimming the finches nails yourself, an avian veterinarian will do it for a small fee.

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A Pet Finch's Personality

Finches love to have visual contact with people, however, typically do not like to be handled.Talking and whistling to a pet finch will be enough interaction for them. They are not good at talking, learning tricks or cuddling. They do not really enjoy interacting with people, much preferring the company of a fellow finch.

Provide perches of different widths, diameters and textures to help keep their feet healthy. Place a finch's cage off the floor, away from drafts, open windows and the kitchen. Finches are sensitive to smoke and strong odors. Cover the cage at night to prevent drafts.

Finches like to sleep in wicker nests. Put clean grass hay or straw inside the cage and they will use it to line their nests. To avoid fights, there should be several more nests than birds inside the cage.

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Origins of a Finch

The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. These mainly seed-eating songbirds are found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere, with one subfamily endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – found only in the Palaearctic. The scientific name Fringillidae comes from the Latin word fringilla for the Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) – a member of that last subfamily – which is common in Europe.

There are many birds in other families that are also called "finches". They are generally Passeroidea and thus not too distantly related to true finches. These "other" finches include many species in the very similar-looking waxbills (family Estrildidae) which occur in the Old World tropics and Australia, and several groups of the bunting and American sparrow family (Emberizidae) are also named as finches, as are Darwin's finches of the Galapagos islands, which provided evidence of natural selection and are now recognized to be peculiar tanagers (Thraupidae).[1].

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