Essential Information On Caring For Zebra Finches

There are so many varieties of finches one of them is the zebra finches. The zebra finches are easy on the eyes, wonderful looking and has a soothing and soft chirp. You can expect them to live for 4 to 8 years. But if they have really good genetic breed and are shown care, love and attention they can exceed that and live up to 12 years or more.

The zebra finches are commonly chosen due to the fact that they are more affordable than other finches varieties. They are just priced at $12 to $30 a pair and they are easy to find in pet shops. The common colors that you can find are silver, gray, white, chestnut flanked white. If you want your zebra finches to have another color, you can ask the breeder to do this for you. There are about 17 to 20 colors that you can request.

How to select the finches in the pet store:

Before you choose the bird make sure that they are healthy, take several minutes to observe the birds in the cage. Do not choose a bird that just sits far in the corner. Check for any injuries as well. You would want to get a bird that is alert and visually healthy. Zebra finches are sociable. It would be best to get them in pairs. If you do not like to breed the birds because they do take a lot of effort, you would want to choose both males and both females.

What is the basic diet of the zebra finches?

The basic food that these birds consume is seeds. You need to make sure that there is millet. It is like bread to them a staple food that they need to have every day, to make it easy look for commercially prepared mix. Make sure that the millet is fresh, which is why do not overstock in your home. Buy an amount that will just be enough for one month and then purchase another one the next month. You can provide them with vegetables like carrots and lettuce at time to serve as treat and some apples and peaches.

What is most important is to provide them with fresh water daily. You can choose to place vitamins drops on the water. You also need to make sure to purchase a commercial gravel or grit mixture. These birds do not have teeth and would need the grit or sand in order to be able to feed. Purchase grit that contains minerals like the ones that contain oyster shell and charcoal.

Michael Stanford is an expert on finches. For more info on zebra finches, visit http://www.keepingfinchesguide.com