February 25, 2022
rescued finch
hi i recently rescued a zebra finch that’s on his own and i’m concerned about it being on its own should i get another one or will the bird not like it because it’s been on it’s own for so long?
Question:
Answer:
Hi Ellie,
Ideally he needs a companion, and it can even be another male. You can get a female, but do not give them a nest unless you want to deal with eggs and breeding. If you get a second bird you need another cage, because you can’t just put them together and hope they get along. To begin with, any new bird should be quarantined for about a month to be sure it’s healthy. Then you can put the cages side by side to let them get used to each other. If they start to spend most of their time sitting near each other and interacting through the cage, then you can try them together, but under close supervision. Always have as many food & water cups as you have birds in a cage, plus one extra. This keeps one bird from claiming the food and water. If they get along and eventually share everything, you can do away with the extra cups. But if they tend to squabble over food, it’s best to keep extra in the cage. There is always the chance that they are not compatible. But generally zebra finches are social with each other as long as you leave nests and breeding out of the picture.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
