Hello, love the forum, thank you for offering your expert advice. My 10 year old zebra finch Frodo passed away 2 weeks ago and we’re trying to find a companion for Sam, our 2 year old finch. Two questions, how would I know if Sam was an English Zebra Finch? he is larger than Frodo was weighing in at 15 grams. I want to insure I buy similar as I know they can bully each other if smaller. And are zebra finches happier in pairs? Thank You!
Hi Jenn,
I’m sorry to hear about your little Frodo. Finches are happier with a companion, unless the finch is a hand tame pet. Two males will generally get along, without a female in the mix. I’m not quite sure when the terms “American”, “English”, & “German” started to be applied to Zebra finches. Much like the Australian parakeet, the Zebra finch has been bred in different countries, with different goals. Americans breed them mainly for profit, so not much thought goes into appearance other than to try to get some of the color mutations. The English in general breed animals for show as their main priority, so they are much more selective with pairings. This results in larger, more robust offspring, sometimes with distinct features. With the Zebra finch, the difference is the size, with the English bred birds being larger. So Sam could be an “English” Zebra, or he could just be a larger bird or have better genes. Other than trying to find a specialty breeder, your options are limited and the background of any bird you find will be largely unknown. Zebra finches are so prolific, almost everyone who gets a male and female will end up with chicks at some point. I would just try to choose a bird of similar size if possible. Most likely the birds will get along after an introduction period where you would have them in separate cages, side by side. Sometimes, 2 birds will not get along, but there is no way to know until you try.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
