How to Rear Finches

Finches are naturally outgoing and work well in cages with other birds. They come in different colors and sizes and do not require daily interaction. Ensure your adult finches are in good health so they will be able to raise their young properly. If the nest is abandoned, however, hand-rearing is an acceptable form of rearing finches. The older the finch is, the more likely hand-rearing will be a success. You can acquire young birds that have molted for the first time in the fall, just before the end of the breeding season. However, you can raise the finches from an even younger age.

Things You'll Need

  • Syringe
  • Electrolyte formula
  • Commercial bird feed
  • Small bird brooder
  • Soft bedding
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Instructions

    • 1

      Nourish the bird's digestive system with electrolytes and simple sugars. Feed the bird a tiny drop of warm electrolyte formula, such as Pedialyte, through a syringe with the needle removed. Feed the bird with this formula alone for the first three feeds. Space the feeds two hours apart.

    • 2

      Feed the bird through the needle-less syringe every two hours from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. following the initial three feeds. Outside of this time frame, allow the bird's digestive system to empty in preparation for the morning.

    • 3

      Use a rearing food mixed with Pedialyte for the next five days of feeding. Use brands like Quiko, Biovit or EMP, all of which are essentially a dried egg-and-biscuit mixture. If you want to make your own rearing food, mix some warm milk with whole grain bread from the grocery store to a very thin consistency and add Pedialyte.

    • 4

      Keep the finch warm in a small bird brooder with soft bedding at approximately 86 to 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Change the bedding at every feeding. When the crop shows as a yellow nodule at the base of the baby finch's neck, you will know the bird is full. Only feed it when the crop is near-empty and do not overfill it.

    • 5

      Thicken the rearing food until the fifth day. From the fifth day, you do not need to continue using Pedialyte. After the seventh day, start spacing out feedings to three-and-a-half-hour intervals. The chances of success of rearing your baby finch will significantly increase from then on.