How old should a zebra finch be before I buy it?

Question

My canary recently passed away, sadly, and I'm considering buying a pair of zebra finches.

But I'm not sure how old a zebra finch should be before I buy it, as I want to ask this question when I go to the pet shop to make sure that they're not lying.

And can I keep two female zebra finches together or do they have to be a boy and a girl?

thanks to everyone who anwers with good information

Answer 1

i always had zebra finches when i was younger and they are great.

Why is the age an issue, generally in a pet shop they are always quite young. I had a female and everytime she ate that white fishbone stuff, she would nest and lay an egg. It was amazing to watch.  If I were you I would get 2 females...thye are gogeous as they are love;y and white with that beautiful orange beak.

My finch got an awful fungal disease on her feet so watch for that as it is common in zebra finches, she lost her feet but lived for years as a very happy cheeky little bird!!!

Answer 2

any finches you get should be over three months old . You can keep any pair combo you want . You can keep two females together or two males together . good luck .

Answer 3

Sorry to hear about your canary :o(

The zebra finches should be five weeks old so they can be tamed and will settle down

Their beaks should be black when young then at the 7 weeks old  and older the beaks are dark red for males and light red for females.

Any older you wont be able to tame them and they wont settle down at all.

You can have two males or two females or one of each. Its up to you.

Make sure you mix their seed around everyday because they wont find any seed because of the husks and they wont think that there's seeds under the husks so they will go hungry instead of digging like your canary :o(

Sorry to hear about your canary :o(

The zebra finches should be five weeks old so they can be tamed and will settle down

Their beaks should be black when young then at the 7 weeks old and older the beaks are dark red for males and light red for females.

Any older you wont be able to tame them and they wont settle down at all.

You can have two males or two females or one of each. Its up to you.

Make sure you mix their seed around everyday because they wont find any seed because of the husks and they wont think that there's seeds under the husks so they will go hungry instead of digging like your canary :o(

Cherubwingsaviary @ yahoo . co .uk in exeter UK Experienced breeder of zebra finches £4 each and budgies £15

Please email me (above) if you live near Exeter UK

Answer 4

As long as the birds are fly weaned, you're god to go. Finches and some of the smaller birds tend to wean very quickly. Usually by 4-6 weeks instead of 8-12 or even longer for larger bird species.

You can keep 2 females if you wish, or 2 males. Its when you start getting odd numbers (like 2 males, 1 female, etc) that fighting occurs. (or if you try to have too many in cage that's too small)