Food for Finches

All birds prefer certain types of food; however, most birds eat either nuts, seeds, insects, small animals, tree sap, worms, fruit nectar, fish or tree buds. Some even eat eggs, other birds or scavenge for carrion or other scraps. Finches are in general seed-eating songbirds native to the Northern hemisphere. Finches are usually found in well-wooded areas but some varieties can be found in desert areas and mountains.

  1. Seeds

    • Finches are primarily granivorous birds and their staple diet is seeds. A wide variety of seeds can be used to feed finches and seed mixes are also common as well and widely available in pet stores. Common seeds used for feeding finches are various types of millet, rapeseed, linseed, hemp seed and canary seed. Seed mixtures can also be bought with added supplements and nutrients.

    Bugs

    • In the wild, finches will naturally eat small bugs and insects and in captivity this should be no different. Bugs are an excellent source of protein for finches - especially young chicks. Bugs should not be dug up from the garden as these may contain parasites or toxins which could harm the finches. Maggots and mealworms are ideal bugs but should be bought from a reputable source.

    Pellets

    • Pellets are often used to feed finches and are a mixture of grains, seeds, nutrients and other solids. While pellets can be a good occasional food source for finches they should definitely not be used as the staple diet of any finch. Feeding a finch on pellets alone does not resemble its natural diet and adverse health effects and reduced development could follow a pellet-only diet.

    Other Foods

    • There are many other foods that finches will happily eat if given the chance. These foods include rice grains, avocados and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. Grapes seem to be popular with finches; strawberries and beans can be tried also. Introduce these foods in small quantities along with their staple diet and observe to see if the finch likes to eat them. Other foods that could be tried for a well-rounded, varied diet are natural yogurts, hard-boiled eggs, bananas and apple slices.