r/Finches

Many of you asked for a video of my set up because you’re curious how it all functions. I finally got around to shooting one for ya just now. Just another normal morning all 13 finches doing their thing at different levels. I caught them at a particularly noisy moment haha

Unfortunately today around 1pm my girl Gloria decided it was her time to fly to the great sky she was surrounded by her husband pingu and her best friends cheep and Chong

She will forever be in our hearts and I would never ask for a better bird

I am happy we had the cuddles we did and the pets I gave you

You was one of the hungriest birds I knew, nobody could eat a coconut swede like you could

Fly forever my girl I love you and have an amazing flight i love you xxx

My dad had kept birds from as early as I could remember - we always had an aviary in the garden when growing up but I never paid much attention.
Sadly my dad passed away last year after a sudden illness. I made the decision to bring his canaries and zebra finches home to live with me with not one single clue on what I was doing. My dad had always made large aviary’s with flights but unfortunately he did not pass on his woodwork talent to me so I cheated and bought a large aviary for the garden. It’s all be very much trial and error as like I said I had not one clue what I was doing (I was also scared of these little birds flying at my head!). Here we are 9 months later and I kick myself for not showing more interest in my dad’s hobby when he was still here as These little balls of fluff have really grown on me - I love sitting and watching the zebras stuff their little beaks with spinach, the canaries splashing around in what I had originally bought as a drinking water bowl (they don’t seem to be a fan of the actual large bird bath I bought them). I have even introduced a pair of Gouldian’s into the flock a few months ago (one of them is a bit antisocial and dives at my head each time I enter the aviary but he seems to get on with everyone else!)

thought you guys might enjoy listening to my little balloon

The Chinese painted quail have started laying these gorgeous and delicious blue and speckled brown eggs. Of course, Ashley Graves had his fill as well as a fried Bengalese finch egg.

The first of the Australian zebra finch eggs and my clutch of Bengalese finch eggs are all due to hatch tomorrow and the surrounding days. I got custom rings with my aviary name. I'm not associated with any registry but it feels nice to put a name to my beloved pets as they travel to new aviaries.

Sadly no eggs from my Lady Gouldian finches as they are all cocks, and no babies from my Chinese painted quail as they are all hens. But I am so lucky for all that I have already, I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. Everything is as it should be.

P.s. - large bags of seed make GREAT chairs.

I adopted a 5 year old male Gouldian in January and he finally started singing last week. I was really surprised to notice how much longer and more complicated his song was than my 1 year old male. Is this normal?

Pixie was my parents' bird, now just my dad's. I noticed earlier she was struggling to hop up to her water bowl, then noticed her foot looked like this. She is around 10-11 years old now. She's going to the vet, but would like to hear what people think before

She does sometimes perch on both her plastic perches or her natural perch, but she prefers to spend more time on the floor and in her bed. She's still eating and drinking, chirping back to us, hopping around, flying, making plenty of noise, and singing*

She does sometimes stumble from her perches if there's a sudden noise or if she's cleaning herself and loses balance

I got her some natural branches, because I don't think those plastic ones have ever been any good. Also some multivitamins on the way

(*Note that Pixie is a male; we've just always called her a girl)

With various local aviary homes lined up I've decided to have a crack at breeding again. I always say "never again", yet every year since I first bought finches I've had at least one clutch. And here Fizzy is, building a nest as if he shouldn't be dead right now, the cheeky little guy.

I've said it so many times that it's getting annoyingly repetitive, but essentially something that is likely a fungal infection has killed the majority of my large flock. Everyone who got it died other than 3 sisters who were so unaffected by it and healed on their own. The vets never gave medicine and we never got a positive test.

One of the sisters unfortunately passed a while back from a stroke - she and another sister were in very bad shape when I bought them. The other sisters flourished into something hardy and beautiful with care. The sisters' chicks inherited their resistence to the illness.

When Fizz got ill, instead of preparing to say goodbye like usual, I tried really hard. Isolation under heat an UV, crushed pellets and suet, deshelling and crushing seeds, antifungal water treatments. I finally had a set up where I was able to do so. I took time off college for him. My parents know nothing about my finches, but when Fizzy showed up with a song for them they knew "It's Fizzarolli!" I loved him so much.

Somehow he got better. Then worse, then better, then worse. But now it seems he's reaching a very slow and slightly unsteady increase in health. Sadly he was already quite ill before I could treat him, so it seems like some parts of his illness will linger with him forever.

It must have affected his brain somehow. The shine in his eye is gone, his charm is dulled, and there isn't a bond between us anymore. He seems nowhere near the notably intelligent finch he was born as. And he's far from old mind you.

As he gets better it seems like he is healing into a new finch. Someone I'll have to get to know again. Someone who, as rude as it sounds, doesn't stand out. Is just another random zebra finch. Which feels as horrible to say as it is. I feel like crying for Fizzarolli to come back, but that's stupid so I try not to.

I remember a while ago begging Buer to heal my birds once or for all or let them die quickly. Either put a stop to it or do not let them suffer. I sacrificed a feather of a bird who died of it. I think my biggest mistake was going to church. Ever since I promised myself I'd never step foot in one, Fizzarolli's gotten better more consistently even with the cold spells that seem to haunt this weak excuse of a spring turning summer.

Luckily, for a while, no one has caught the disease. A chick of the sisters did in early 2026, but he healed himself with a little help from a heater.

I don't think it's gone. I think I'll lose at least one bird to it this year, especially come September. But I do think the flock-wide treatment and the consistent cleaning has helped slow it maybe. Though who knows, I have no real proof.

I feel kinda lost. I honestly have no clue what I'll do if another birds gets it. Stop breeding for one of course. And for real this time. With respect to the inheritance of the sisters' resistance maybe, I dunno.

But once they're all gone, either to old age or the diease or something else, this house is going to feel so empty. I'll have no use for a shed anymore. And it'll hurt to see it when I go to the garden, being used as storage or something, I know.

I'm not someone who can plan the future well, sort of because I panic when I think of the possibility of not making it to the future to live out those plans. I have no dream job, dream house, dream city. But I always made plans of ways to keep the birds, even better than before with more space and plants. And now, thinking about the high possibility of another bird getting ill makes the future feel like it just doesn't exist at all because they were my future and they'll be gone by then.

Anyway, hope everyone's keeping is going well 😊 Best of luck to you all and your finches. And thank you to whoever reads this.

Hello finch keeping people, does anyone here have canary-goldfinch hybrids like these two birds of mine? I took them in as rehomers. They needed a new home urgently, so I had to make a quick decision. It has been diificult trying to find information, so I would love to hear about your experiences. Especially, what kind of differences compared to canaries ( I am used to keeping canaries ).

My biggest concern is the male is chasing my canary male relentlessly now. My birds live together free-roaming in their own room usually, but now I need to the two males separately. Are things gonna be better when it is no longer spring I am in Scandinavia)? The hybrids came here 5 weeks ago, and the hybrid male was friendly at first.

I'd really like to keep the hybrids but I hating keeping my birds in cages. If it is only a few months every spring/ summer, that is okay though.

They are such posers!!