Considering getting my first bird

Hey guys. I usually post in the dog section. Someday I want to get a larger bird of some sort, but right now we have too many pets that would want to eat it and too little time to devote to a really social bird.

So, my daughter's birthday is next week and she has been asking for finches. My sister has some and they are neat little birds. My daughter knows they are mostly for watching, and she likes the little beepy sounds they make. I assumed we would get Zebras, but she saw some Society Finches and liked their colors. Are they basically the same as far as care goes? Do Societies beep like Zebras, or do they chirp?

I also looked at lovebirds and it sounds like a pair might be okay for our situation - but then I worried they might be too noisy for her room.

Can anyone compare and contract finches and lovebirds for me?

Also, how long do finches live, generally? Is it okay to buy from a petstore, or should I try to find a breeder?

Oh, and don't worry about the child angle. She is turning 11 and I already know she is crummy at taking care of her own pets, so I will be caring for the birds. And they will be in her room, so the cats and dogs won't be able to eat them.

 

HI society finch's care is the same as the Zebra finch but they are a little more noisy.

Zebras are relatively quiet as you know they have a little beep sound rather than the other bird types which have higher pitched chirps or screeches.

Lovebirds can be very loud and will make alot of noise if they are startled and this can go on for hours.
Also with lovebirds as soon as they hear noises they start to screech we only have one which i bought for my stepdaughters 14th birthday she is wanting another but i do not think so heheheheh.

Finch's can live upto 14years old some have been known to live till there 20s.

If buying from a petstore is best to observe the birds any birds that are quiet, fluffed up, dirty vent (under tail) watery marks on there eyes or making any funny breathing noises should be avoided chances are these birds are very sick and should be reported to the shop owner.

Healthy birds are usually very chatty will fly around alot and seem very alert and bright looking..

If your daughter is wanting a bird that she can hold and chat too then i would suggest a budgie (parakeet ) they can be easily tamed and trained if kept by themselves.

Finch's if kept in pairs are prolific breeders and they will lay there eggs in the food dish if thats the only place to have them..

I own Cockatiels, Budgies, Finch's and my stepdaughter has a peach faced lovebird


Good luck and hope i have helped a little..

Mike

 

Thanks, Mike! I knew you'd come through for me.

So to confirm, only Zebras make the little beepy sound? Society and Spice finches make a different sound? I just went to PetCo and stood there forever but the silly birds wouldn't talk to me. :lol:

Actually, the parrots were talking away to each other and my son was bonding with one. I'd love to get one and the store person insisted that the bird would teach the dogs and cats manners, but I just don't think we would have the time to devote to such a needy bird and my husband would probably freak out if it pooped on the carpet. :roll:

 

Zebra's are the quietest of the birds they are a little fast but quiet.

Parrots are lovely birds but can be a little moody at times and can give a nasty bite if they are annoyed at something.
Parrots do not usually have a fear of cats and dogs its usually the other way round lol..

Parrots need alot of care and time devoted to them especially if they are to learn to talk or if they already talk to keep it going..

Mike

 

Tell me about your cockatiels! How much attention do they need? Do they live in pairs? Would an active room or cats staring at them bother them?

 

My cockatiels are kept in pairs but they can live on there own.
They are easily tamed and its better if they are bought when still young this helps them bond with there new owner more quickly and also helps them get used to there surroundings and any other animals in the house.

My female cockatiels come out of there cages and they sit on mitzys back which is one of my dogs and they play with her fur and she does not mind.

Cockatiels are very hardy and usually adapt well to any situation but like all animals are usually very quiet for the first few days in a new home or surroundings other than that they are easy to look after.

I change there food and water twice a day and clean there cage every 2days but once a week it gets a good clean out and everything is disinfectend and scrubbed.

Once they are settled and used to being handled they love being around there owners they love being fussed over and there heads scratched..

Mike

 

Do they need to have out-of-cage time on a daily basis to be happy? I have a friend who has a single cockatiel in a cage that I think is too small for him (I wouldn't even put finches in there) and I'm not sure that she rotates toys or anything. He is scared of people touching him, but he will let the daughter coax him out of the cage. But for the most part he seems to be happy sitting in his cage and interacting with people as long as they don't try to touch him. I'm sure he wasn't socialized properly, but he seems content - he whistles at people and can say "Puff Daddy is a pretty bird!" (Puff Daddy is his name.) I would think he would be unhappy in a small cage without enough attention, but he seems fine as far as I can tell.

PetCo sells hand fed cockatiels. They seem to be healthy, as far as I can tell.

I can't imagine Nala letting a bird sit on her back. My dogs get coiled tight as a spring when they see small critters. Even Bonnie is hard to coax away from the mouse cages if we let her into their room. It's the perfect picture of 100% focus and drive. And one of the cats LOVES the mice so I assume it would be the same with birds.

We are working out how we could safely allow birds to live in the family room. They would be fenced off so the dogs can't get to them. I don't know yet about the cats. My sister's cage is hung from the ceiling without any furniture around it. I was thinking of building a wooden aviary, but the cats would go sit on top of it and probably the birds wouldn't appreciate that. I'm still thinking of solutions....

 

I have my birds out all the time and the more birds are handled the tamer they become...

If you decide on building an aviary aslong as the cats can not get into it sitting on the top of the aviary will not bother the bird much as it will know its protected..

Hand fed birds make better pets and are quicker at learning new things.

Mike

 

I'm thinking maybe if I use plexiglass on the front rather than wire, the cats won't be as tempted to try to climb it or stick their paws in, and maybe the birds will feel safer? But then I need to make sure there is adequate airflow.

My daughter is so sad (about various little girl things) and it is her birthday. I am really tempted to change my mind and go get her a pair of zebras. I figure if I do end up with an aviary and more finches later on, they can be moved there if she wants.

If I get a pair of males, will they be okay and not fight as long as there are no females around?

PetsMart has a whole bunch of different finches and they are all so beautiful.

 

I have a friend that built an indoor aviary and it was meshed then he got some perspecs fibre glass stuff abit like what your talking about and drilled holes all over it then used this to cover his whole aviary the top of the aviary did not have any on so the holes and none on the top helped with air flow but stopped his 12cats from climbing it.

The good thing about finch's is that they can live together perfectly when there is no females around so yeah 2 male finch's would be fine...

Mike

 

Hi jamiya i had this picture of an indoor aviary on my website which ithought would help you out design wise..

Mike

 

Ooooh, nice! I'll print it out and show it to my husband.

How messy does it get? My sister says the birds will mess all over the walls, but I have never seen an aviary like that get all messy. How do you clean it and how often?

 

At the back of the aviary you can put plexiglass this will protect walls.

Aviary floors get cleaned twice a week more if there is alot of birds and the whole thing, perches, food and water dishes, toys floor all get scrubbed thoroughly and disinfectend once a week this keeps everything germ free.

The more room birds have the happier they are due to being able to fly around better.

Mike

 

Have you ever had a box-style aviary, with a solid back and sides? Do you know if the walls would get all messy and need to be hosed down very often?

 

I had an outdoor aviary which was a normal garden shed with a meshed flight area attached to that so the birds could go outside.

The shed part was where the birds went on a nite so i could lock them in and what i used to do was if there was any poop on the walls i would scrape it off and then once a week i would scrub the walls with disinfectant.

Mike