How to Breed Gray Singing Finches

In the finch world, gray singing finches fulfill the position of drab ugly ducklings. They have white bellies with charcoal gray speckles high on the breast, dark gray wings and flesh-colored beaks and feet. Their less dramatic colorations belies a beautiful singing voice and surprisingly calm demeanor. Pairs tend to suffer from bullying in a mixed aviary, often driven from their nests by the smaller, faster finches and unable to successfully breed. Hardy birds with a gorgeous song, gray singing finches provide hours of entertainment and delight.

Things You'll Need

  • Breeding cage and accessories
  • Finch seed
  • Fresh foods
  • Nesting box or basket
  • Nesting materials
  • Secondary fledgling cage or aviary
  • Bands
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set up a cage with at least 3 square feet of space per breeding pair of finches. Provide a nest box or basket set up high in the cage, perches in varying sizes and bowls for food and water. Places to hide such as artificial vines or branches make your finches feel more secure.

    • 2

      Acquire and sex your gray singing finches. Vets determine sex from DNA by clipping a toenail or plucking a few feathers.

    • 3

      Provide daily food, water and light. You should provide both a balanced seed mix and fresh fruits and vegetables. Gray singing finches also occasionally enjoy mealworms, crickets and locusts. Remove fresh foods not eaten within four hours. Always provide ample fresh, clean water. Position the bowls so that the finches cannot soil their food and water throughout the day.

    • 4

      Allow your finches to settle in with minimal disturbances. Finches never lose their wild instincts and do not tame down well. They thrive best with minimal interaction and disturbances in their daily routine. It will take time for them to get used to their environment and each other. Changes can disrupt this process.

    • 5

      Provide nesting materials. Gray singing finches go to nest from early spring until late autumn. Some pairs will continue to lay through the colder winter months and even year-round. Provide a variety of materials including grasses, coconut and cotton fibers and white feathers. Gray singing finches can lay two to three clutches per year, averaging three eggs per clutch. The hen sits on the eggs for approximately two weeks, and the babies fledge about three weeks after hatching.

    • 6

      Remove the babies four weeks after fledging or seven weeks after hatching. At this point the babies have reached complete independence, and removing them from the breeding parents prevents aggression and injury. If you have a nervous or anxious hen, wait to band the babies until you have moved them to their own cage. Bands provide information such as year of hatching, breeder identification, ancestry records and other information.