Finches Question...?

Question

This morning we got a finch so that my other finch wouldn't be so upset talking to himself in the mirror. We got a female, because we wanted Carmel (our male finch) to have a girlfriend. We named her Strawberry Short-Cake (to let you know)... When we first put them together he kept jumping ontop of her back. Is he trying to mate? Or is he showing dominance? I would also like to know if they mated would she lay eggs? How much longer after they mated would she lay eggs? How long does it take for the eggs to hatch? They were pecking at each other but it was only for a moment then they stopped, do they hate each other? Can you tell me everything about this? I don't really know if their showing affection or not. Also if they do lay eggs, how many would they lay and how many might hatch? (This is because if they lay eggs we might keep the little babies). How small would they be if they layed eggs?

Please answer if you know about them...

I'll post a picture of them in a while on here, so you can see the cute couple. Also if they have little babies I'll send questions about them showing the pictures of the eggs and the babies!

Answer 1

Jumping on her back is an attempt at breeding.  If you don't have a home for the babies - you should not allow them to breed or provide them with a nest.

Depending on the species, most finches can lay between 4-8 eggs at one time - which means in about 2 months you'll have between 4-8 babies flitting around in a cage.  If you have no homes for them; this is a problem.

As long as you do not provide a nest, she will not produce *as many* eggs.  But really, if you were looking for companionship and didn't want to breed, getting one of the same s*x would have been ideal.

To answer your questions - eggs are laid (after successful breeding, and assuming a nest is available) about 5-7 days after mating occurs.

Like I said previously, between 4-8 eggs are laid depending on species.  Again, depending on species, it takes anywhere between 11-18 days for the eggs to hatch.

From there, about 21 days to fledge, and after fledging, about 3-4 weeks until they are weaned (eating on their own).

How many hatch can be determined by the type of finch you have.  Some are easily disturbed and abandon eggs quickly; thus none would hatch.  Some are very prolofic breeders (Zebs and Societies) and usually all of the eggs hatch - at most maybe 1 or 2 do not hatch in a clutch (more if the pair are younger and inexperienced at incubating).

So it really just depends.

Knowing what kind of finches you have would be helpful.

Answer 2

1. Jumping on back: he was trying to mate.  If he was trying to show dominance, he would make a hoarse sound in his throat and chase her/peck her

2. If mated: not sure how long until eggs are layed, but pretty quickly

3. Average: 3-6 eggs (sometimes more)

4. Eggs hatch: depends if they're incubating well.  Average is about two weeks

5. I don't think they were pecking - If Carmel was "pecking" Strawberry, would Strawberry sit obediantly and let Carmel "peck" her?  If so, it means they are preening/grooming.  It does not hurt them; it shows affection

6. Egg size: tiny.  About the size of the upper third of your pinky finger

Hope that helped - I have a pair of finches (Alamo and Lute) and they breed every few months.  Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions!  :)

Answer 3

Hello.

When he jumps on her back, yes he tried to mate. If he does , it would take a few days for her to lay eggs . You need to put a nesting box for finches or if you don't have one, get a small Easter basket ( about as small as a hand size ) give them some nesting material such as burlap cut into 1 inch square and shed it out into each string ) .Make sure to give them cuttle bone for calcium, feed the hard boiled eggs ( cut in half serve with shell and all ) . It would take 2 weeks for the babies to hatch . Usually they have 4_ 6 eggs . 21 days for the baies to fly out of the nest . Good luck and have fun. TM.