How long does it take for a goldfinch to sing? Goldfinches at home. How long do goldfinches live?

Goldfinches belong to the finch family. The goldfinch is slightly smaller in size than a sparrow and has a body 12 centimeters long. The weight of an adult bird is about twenty grams. Adult goldfinches have a bright color, but the top of the head, wings and tail still remain black. The forehead, cheeks, belly and rump remain white. In adult representatives of this species, a small red ring can be seen in the beak area. Young animals do not have such a ring, but they have small speckles all over the back and in the chest area. It is impossible to distinguish a male from a female by color alone. It is the same in birds of different sexes, although if you look closely and closely, you will notice that the female’s color is a little duller.

Features of keeping goldfinches

Keeping goldfinches at home requires prior familiarization with all kinds of recommendations for keeping these birds. These birds have many advantages when kept at home. Goldfinches are dandyishly beautiful. Having a bright, attention-grabbing appearance, they are able to cheer up their owners even when they are not singing. But you can enjoy the wonderful singing almost all year round, during the molting period, during which time the goldfinches and canaries become quiet. These birds are also very friendly and intelligent, which also pleases their owners.

These birds, thanks to their intelligence, learn very quickly, and thanks to their friendliness, they just as easily and quickly become tame. It is interesting that the hybrid of a goldfinch and a canary turns out to be very beautiful in appearance and with an incredibly attractive, melodious voice. By breeding and selling hybrids, you can very well replenish your budget. The main thing is not to catch birds in the wild and not to buy wild birds, because, despite all its positive qualities, a wild bird cannot be tamed and trained. And you can completely forget about the sonorous and beautiful singing.

When buying a pair of these birds, you need to purchase two cages - one for each individual. Since the female and the male, living together, do not get along well with each other, and because of their quarrels they may stop singing.

Where to keep goldfinches

Goldfinches should be kept separately, in mesh enclosures or in cages. Birds quickly get used to new conditions. The main thing is to provide them with proper comfort. The length of the cage should be at least 50 centimeters long. You definitely need to choose a two-tier cage. You need to install perches and swings inside. The cage is installed in a room where there are no drafts or direct sunlight, but there should be plenty of light. You also need to remember about the distance between the bars of the cage, which should not exceed one and a half centimeters, so that the bird cannot escape or cause injury to itself.

The cage must be cleaned every day; water for bathing and drinking requires special attention. Every week, a general cleaning of the cage is done, using safe detergents and cleaning products, as well as cleaning the perches, tray and feeder. After treatment with detergents, the cage and all its components must be rinsed with clean water and dried well.

When carrying out general cleaning of the cage, after closing all the doors and windows, you can let the bird out to stretch its wings, which will undoubtedly benefit your pet in terms of maintaining good physical shape.

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Feed

When keeping a goldfinch at home, you need to feed it with grain mixtures. The composition of the food mixture should include in equal quantities: sunflower, plantain, hemp, dandelion, pine, millet, rapeseed, oatmeal, burdock. You also need to remember about mealworms (give three or five per day, in season), and ant pupae. Just don’t stock up on worms right away; as it turns out, not all goldfinches like to eat them as live food. Wet mash and all kinds of cereals will also delight your bird. They should be given no more than twice a week, and during the period of silence, they should completely replace one feeding. Goldfinches eat little by little about twice a day. The goldfinch's favorite delicacy is boiled grated carrots, with breadcrumbs and a finely chopped boiled egg.

Breeding

It should be noted that in captivity, goldfinches reproduce without problems all year round. The female goldfinch needs to be given everything she needs so that she can build herself a nest in a cage, in which eggs will later be laid. For this process, you may need animal hair, meadow grass, lichen, birch bark, bark, and pieces of moss. The female goldfinch lays up to six eggs. The shell of the eggs is blue with purple specks and the same stripes. The incubation process falls entirely on the female. She incubates the eggs in the nest on her own for two weeks. It is important not to forget, after fertilizing the female, to place the goldfinch in its cage. Otherwise, the male will distract the female from the main task - hatching the eggs.

There are rare cases when the female refuses to sit on her eggs. But there is a way out of this situation, you need to keep them under a lamp, like in an incubator.

The chicks develop very quickly. Two weeks after their appearance, they already become independent individuals and can leave their mother’s nest. But in order for the chicks to have the opportunity to fully strengthen and be ready for independent life, they can be kept with their mother for another week.

Diseases

Diseases in goldfinches, canaries and parrots are the same. When a bird does not eat or drink, its feathers fall off, discharge appears in the beak and eye area, the eyes are dull, the gastrointestinal tract is disrupted, then the goldfinch must be urgently shown to a veterinarian to establish an accurate diagnosis. Also, poultry can suffer from diseases that are dangerous to humans. This could be tuberculosis, psittacosis, salmonellosis. You must not forget about personal hygiene after interacting with your pet. Goldfinches can also acquire diseases from humans. The most common disease is gout. The first manifestations of this disease are observed in severe thirst and sudden changes in the bird’s mood. If you follow all the rules for caring for goldfinches, keep the cage clean and hygienic, and feed them properly and in a balanced manner, then there is a high probability that your pet will not get sick.

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Video: Feeding goldfinch chicks day 3

This small bird of the finch family makes a wonderful pet. If you have been thinking about keeping birds at home for a long time, pay attention to the bright warbler - we think you won’t go wrong.

Meet the Goldfinch

The main advantages of this bird are, undoubtedly, its motley plumage (which is scientifically called camouflage) and year-round colorful singing. And also - intelligence, friendliness, lifespan up to 20 years and familiarity with our climate.

The very name “goldfinch” speaks of the brightness and panache of their outfit: white, red, black, yellow - all these colors are present in the bird’s “costume”. Young goldfinches, by the way, are not so elegant, but with age they acquire the “correct” adult color.

As for the repertoire, it is truly large - more than 20 variants of sonorous, effervescent trill compositions. At home, male goldfinches sing almost all year round, excluding periods of molting or stress (for example, due to relocation or conflict with relatives) - early rises with the first rays of the sun and songs are guaranteed. Females do not sing - they chirp and whistle. It must be remembered that in a new place the bird will not immediately begin to sing; sometimes even a couple of months are required for the adaptation period of especially timid and nervous individuals.

Sometimes singing goldfinches are given more “sweet-voiced” birds like canaries as teachers. Goldfinches willingly learn and diversify teachers' songs with their own trills. It is also customary to obtain hybrid offspring from male and female goldfinches - such “babies” are highly valued because of their coloring and singing.

The intelligence of goldfinches is also known among bird owners. It is very easy to teach birds to recognize their owner, fly onto a hand or shoulder, and perform simple tricks. But picking up birds, much less frightening them or suddenly grabbing them, is strictly prohibited - the goldfinch can even die from a broken heart!

Maintenance and care

These birds are quite unpretentious in their care, although there are some nuances in their maintenance.

First about the cage. It is advised to first place a goldfinch that has just been brought into the house for a couple of days in a kuteika - a box closed on all sides with water and food, which will allow the bird to adapt to a new place. Otherwise, there is a high probability that the timid bird will rush around very much in the new cage and injure itself. If your pet is from a pet store, there is nothing to worry about. It is advisable from time to time to let the bird fly around the room, eliminating all traumatic factors (abundance of glass, objects with sharp edges, vessels with water, the presence of pets, open doors and windows).

The cage (preferably an aviary) for the goldfinch should be spacious enough: this way the bird will feel more comfortable. Inside it is necessary to install a system of multi-level wooden perches, a drinking bowl and a feeder. The bottom can be covered with sand or covered with white paper, which you will change as it gets dirty. Periodically, you need to place a bowl of water in the cage where the bird can bathe: goldfinches love to do this.

You should choose a place for the cage that is bright, but protected from drafts and direct sunlight in summer. From time to time it is necessary to carry out a general cleaning of the cage with disinfection using special means.

Now let's talk about food Goldfinches are granivores. The basis of their diet is mixed grain mixtures with oats, millet, hemp and sunflower seeds, burdock, spruce seeds, dandelion, plantain, burdock: about two spoons per day in two servings. It is necessary to add plant and animal components to food: dandelion leaves, grated carrots, apple and pear slices, crushed white crackers, mealworms, ant larvae. A vitamin supplement is recommended. There should always be fresh water in the drinking bowl.

Concerning neighborhood , then goldfinches are quite cocky, especially if the territory is small and there is only one feeder in the cage. In addition, due to conflicts, males may become apathetic and stop singing. Therefore, male-female pairs of these birds are not kept - it is preferable to be kept alone or in a group with other granivorous birds. Although even in a large company, bully goldfinches will try to expropriate the feeder, sitting on it with outstretched wings and fluffed plumage and frightening the neighbors with crackling screams. However, it rarely comes to serious fights - goldfinches prefer only to demonstrate their superiority from a distance.

Otherwise, the goldfinch is an extremely pleasant pet.

Galina Zimina

A worthy alternative in terms of numbers to cat and dog lovers at home are songbird lovers. And, it's not just about. There are other birds whose trills can simply bewitch. For example, goldfinches. And, exactly about the peculiarities of keeping goldfinches at home, about the appearance of these birds, about their diet and how to ensure that your goldfinch does not stop talking– our publication will tell you about all this...

Description of the goldfinch

Birds called goldfinch are usually classified as members of the finch family; the goldfinch’s body size is smaller than that of a sparrow, and the body length from head to tip of tail is 12 centimeters. An adult bird weighs only 20 grams. Adult goldfinches are brightly colored, but the top of the head, wing area and tail remain black, giving them a truly dapper appearance. And, here is the area of ​​the forehead, cheeks, belly and upper tail - snow-white. In the beak area you can see a wide red ring, and on the wings there are transverse bright yellow stripes. Wherein,

young representatives of the species do not have a red ring, but they have small longitudinal streaks on the back and chest.

It is not so easy to distinguish a female from a male goldfinch just by color - these birds look equally elegant, however, the female still has duller plumage and is smaller than the male.

How goldfinches sing

We already mentioned that goldfinches are songbirds, and this is true. Their repertoire can consist of more than 20 variants of melodies, and the sounds they make while singing can be either pleasant and melodic, or harsh and rude. Goldfinches can only compete with canaries in their singing abilities. By the way, like them, goldfinches become silent and do not sing. In addition, it has been noticed that females sing more beautifully than males, so if you want to have a singing goldfinch in your home, it’s better to get a female.

Goldfinches in Nature

In Nature, goldfinches are sedentary birds, but in the north of their habitat they can roam quite long distances. Also, they can fly in small flocks or groups between breeding periods in order to search for food. So, do not be surprised that you can meet flocks of goldfinches in the forest, in a field, in a country house or even in a city park.

These birds build nests in groves, in light forest strips and gardens, as well as in sparse plantings. They can also be found in floodplain forests and copses, especially where there are dense thickets of weeds.

In Nature, the diet of goldfinches is plant-based, therefore, birds prefer to stay closer to those areas that are rich in grass, but even weeds can become food for them if there are no seeds of bushes, grasses and trees. However, despite the fact that adult birds feed on plants and seeds, they include insects in the feeding diet of their chicks.

If you look at a global scale and evaluate the benefits and harm of these birds, then goldfinches are not only beautiful songbirds, but also useful birds that can destroy a large number of harmful insects. Add to this their ability to sing loudly almost all year round, an attractive, catchy outfit, and a friendly character - and you will understand that these birds can be kept in captivity without any problems.

Is it worth keeping a goldfinch at home?

Advantages of keeping goldfinches at home

If you are just considering the possibility of keeping a goldfinch in your house, or you have already got this bird, but have belatedly decided to get acquainted with what your life together will be like, we hasten to please you - there are many advantages of keeping these birds so that you will not doubt the correctness of your decision. Firstly, this is the beautiful appearance of the birds, their beautiful singing almost throughout the year. Secondly, these are very smart and friendly birds that can easily and quickly be raised and trained and turn into public favorites. Thirdly, if you decide to cross a male goldfinch with a canary, the resulting hybrid chicks will not only look beautiful, but also simply sing divinely, and if you decide to start selling such hybrids seriously, you can make good money from it.

Disadvantages of keeping goldfinches at home

If you did not purchase a goldfinch in a pet store, but caught it in the wild, or you were sold a wild goldfinch, we have to disappoint you, wild birds remain wild, and rarely delight their owners with their sonorous singing. Also, if you plan to breed goldfinches or keep several individuals, you will have to take care of different cages for them, since the male and female in the same cage get along poorly and may stop singing due to their everyday troubles.

Features of keeping goldfinches at home

Where is the best place to keep goldfinches?

As we already wrote above, it is better to keep goldfinches in a cage or in an aviary alone. These birds quickly adapt to new conditions, the main thing is that you take care of their comfort. So, the cage must be at least 50 centimeters in length, and it must have at least 2 levels. You should definitely place perches and swings inside the cage. It is better to install the cage itself in a place where there is a lot of light, but there is no direct sunlight or drafts. The distance between the bars in the cage should be no more than 1.5 centimeters so that the goldfinch cannot escape or injure itself during it.

The cage should be cleaned daily, changing the water for bathing and drinking, and once a week you can do a general cleaning, using bird-safe products to clean the perches, feeder and tray. After you have treated all the corners and surfaces of the cage, you should rinse it under running water, allow it to dry and ventilate for several more hours.

By the way, while cleaning the cage, you can let the goldfinch fly around the room - it will even be useful for him to stretch his wings a little. Just make sure that the doors and windows in the room are closed, and there are no pets in the room, for which the goldfinch could become their dinner.

What to feed goldfinches

At home, birds should be fed a grain mixture that includes burdock, oatmeal, rapeseed, millet, spruce seeds, canary seed, pine, dandelion, hemp, plantain and sunflower - all mixed in equal quantities. Ant pupae will also be useful for goldfinches, as well as mealworms - they can be given as animal food, 3-5 daily during the season. But regarding mealworms, I would like to note that not all goldfinches like them, therefore, you will have to focus on the individual gastronomic preferences of your bird. As the practice of the owners of these songbirds shows, they do not refuse various porridges and wet mash, which may be intended for birds that eat insects. They should be given at least 2 times a week, and during the period of molting and reproduction - replace one of the feedings with them.

As for the number of feedings per day and portion sizes, goldfinches should be fed at least 2 times a day and not in large portions.

You can also pamper the bird with the following delicacy - boil the carrots and grate them, add some breadcrumbs and a finely chopped hard-boiled egg to it. This mixture will not only be nutritious and tasty, but also beneficial for your goldfinch.

Goldfinches Health

If you notice that the goldfinch is sitting in the corner of the cage, ruffled, refuses food and water, its feathers are falling out, discharge is flowing from its beak and eyes, the iris of the eye itself has become dull, there are disturbances in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract - the bird should be shown to a veterinarian - he will be able to establish a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. We would not recommend that you self-medicate your bird, trying to guess at random what it might be sick with.

It is noteworthy that in addition to their “avian” diseases, goldfinches can also suffer from ailments that pose a real threat to human health and life. They can infect the owner with psittacosis, tuberculosis, salmonellosis and other dangerous diseases, therefore, it is always worth remembering personal safety and hygiene when caring for and communicating with the bird.

But, there are other cases when goldfinches can suffer from human diseases. For example, gout - its symptoms manifest themselves in metabolic disorders, excess urea and salt content in tissues and in the blood. And, although there are many reasons for the development of gout in goldfinches, most often it is a lack of vitamin A, an incorrect diet, intoxication of the body, poor-quality food, or drug poisoning.

At the initial stage, the disease occurs practically without symptoms; goldfinches only experience strong thirst and sudden changes in mood. Then, owners notice the appearance of white nodules with streaks in the area of ​​​​the joints and tendons of the bird, while the joints look swollen. The disease progresses rapidly, and if the goldfinch is not provided with qualified veterinary care within the first few days, it may die. The main cure for gout in the case of these birds is a strict diet that excludes protein products of animal origin from their diet, but corn flour, berries and greens, on the contrary, will be useful, as they help reduce the body’s production of uric acid. In order to strengthen the bird’s immunity, you can also start giving it vitamin complexes, but they must be prescribed by a veterinarian. Regarding the administration of medications, they are appropriate in advanced cases when time is lost, but they do not guarantee a 100% recovery result.

As for the prevention of various diseases in goldfinches, this means compliance with the rules and recommendations regarding the care and maintenance of birds in captivity, as well as cleanliness and hygiene in the cage and a proper diet, which contains all the vitamins necessary for the bird...

Speaking about the goldfinch, I would like to describe it in a nutshell so that readers immediately understand all the charm of this small fragile creature, a bird of paradise, which cannot be called otherwise. Look at the photo of the goldfinch, it’s just a fabulous living flower.

The goldfinch is a bird the size of a sparrow, eyes like two beads, on a small graceful head there is a multi-colored cap, red in front, black on the back of the head with a black cross on the crown, all this is complemented by brown spots on the chest. The goldfinch's cheeks are snow-white, its beak is most often multi-colored, white or pink with a gray tip, its wings, back, breast and abdomen are mottled with yellow, white and red specks, and its tail is black.

Take another look at photo of goldfinch, and you will immediately understand where the nickname came from - dandy!

Goldfinch - photo of a male and female.

On the right in the photo is a female goldfinch

Goldfinches are the only songbird in which the male and female are practically indistinguishable in color. Photo in the article For those who first decided to buy a goldfinch, choosing this bird is always a problem. What's the difference you say? Who should I buy, female or male?, big! Males sing, and some are no worse, but female goldfinches rarely come across singing females, although experts say that the female goldfinch’s singing is more gentle and beautiful, but try to guess which of the females will sing? But goldfinches, even in captivity, sing a lot, almost all year round, and at the same time live in captivity for up to 20 years.

Goldfinch bird - photo of a female.

There are several sure signs that allow you to accurately determine the sex of a bird:

• The first and main sign differences between a male goldfinch and a female brightness, clarity and purity of plumage color, the female goldfinch is duller;
• The male goldfinch is larger than the female, he has a larger beak, a black frenulum is visible around the beak, and there are also small hairs called “whiskers”;

Goldfinch photo bird male and female

• The black color of the “cap” on the goldfinch’s head, unlike the goldfinch, does not have graying;
• The female goldfinch is always smaller in size, has duller plumage, and the cross on the crown of the head is black and gray;
• The red plumage on the head of the female goldfinch does not reach the eyes;
• Also, as a difference between a female and a male, sometimes in the literature you can find the following description - in males the width of the red stripe under the base of the beak is 8-10 mm, in females - 4-6 mm, but, unfortunately, in some birds this stripe may not be present at all be.

Where do goldfinches live?

In the wild, goldfinches prefer to live on the edges of forests, in gardens and parks, and copses. This is due to the fact that my beloved food of goldfinch and burdock, as well as quinoa, tall thistle and wormwood do not grow under the shade of forests, so goldfinches are forced to scour the village outskirts, looking for food in abandoned farmsteads overgrown with weeds.

American Goldfinch - photo

The goldfinch bird, like other songbirds, for example, makes its nests in trees in the forks of branches, on the edges of the same copses, gardens and parks.

Where to buy goldfinch?

Where do goldfinches come from into our homes? From markets and shops, most often these are birds caught in various snares by amateur bird catchers. I must say that catching songbirds is like a disease. Once you become addicted to it, holding in your hands this small, trembling creature trying to fight with you, you risk joining the ranks of bird catchers forever. Why is this bad, you ask, for example, my father forbade me to catch birds in childhood only because he himself had difficulty “getting over” them, sliding from excellent students to poor students and truants, almost staying in school for the second year.

The father first ran away from classes to check the snares, and then began skipping school altogether. Instead of school, I ran to the wasteland to catch goldfinches. Therefore, I advise you to read the story by Mikhail Prishvin - “The Turlukan Goldfinch”, you will learn a lot of useful things about this smart and proud bird, as well as how goldfinches are caught and how beautifully they sing. Download or read Mikhail Prishvin’s story “The Goldfinch Turlukan”. You can also look video - how to catch goldfinches, it's at the bottom of the page.

Goldfinches have lived in our house since I can remember. In the fall, they most likely appeared from the market; my father did not catch goldfinches in my presence, although the wings and flap cages were always kept in the barn. In winter they lived in a spacious cage, sometimes in an aviary, their chirping always reminded me of summer. By spring, they were already pecking seeds from their hands and flying freely around the house, climbing into the cage only for the night. But in the spring the most interesting thing began: the cage with the goldfinches was hung out on the street, the door was opened, but the goldfinches did not fly away until a flock of their brothers appeared nearby, and the flock arrived precisely at their call.

It was very interesting to watch how our goldfinches looked for a mate. They rushed between the flock and the cage, brought the pair into their cage, flew away, but returned in the evening to roost for the night. This went on for about two weeks, but the most interesting thing is that after about a month and a half, maybe a little more, not only our pet goldfinches, but also their offspring came to visit.

You know, the goldfinch is a surprisingly very contradictory bird, freedom-loving, at first, like the siskin, unwilling to live in captivity, pugnacious, choosing a leader in the flock and unquestioningly obeying him. But meanwhile, the goldfinch is a bird faithful to its owner, able to recognize him and find its home, like a homing pigeon.

Therefore, I recommend reading another true story about Goldfinch fidelity, download and read it. I am sure it will not leave any child or adult indifferent. I myself was impressed by this story about the goldfinch for several days, I remembered my childhood and that is why I decided to write down my memories.

Keeping goldfinches in a house or apartment.

A small addition for those who have decided to get this bird, goldfinches begin to sing in captivity quite quickly, after a maximum of two months, at first quietly and hesitantly, as if screaming or crackling, then louder, and only when they have completely mastered and recognized you, do they produce whole trills, similar to the song of a canary.

Goldfinches understand voice intonations very well and love when people talk to them. They are like parrots, they can butt into your conversation and try to shout over the TV. It is better to keep goldfinches alone, but if you decide to have a pair and keep the goldfinches in one cage, be sure to arrange two feeders and two drinking bowls, otherwise fights between goldfinches can't be avoided. It doesn’t matter if it’s two male goldfinches or a male and a female; for some reason, the female kept in the same cage with the male gets it even worse; it’s better to keep these birds by getting two cages and keeping them at some distance from each other within sight.

Goldfinch bird 15 photos and videos for a better understanding of the description.

You will need

• - canary seed;
• - grain mixture for forest birds;
• - millet, dandelion seeds, rapeseed, lettuce, wormwood, plantain and other herbs;
• - fresh herbs;
• - grated carrots;
• - egg and egg shell;
• - dried rose hips;
• - dried nettle;
• - seeds of burdock, flax, sunflower and hemp;
• - mealworms and ant larvae;
• - water.

Instructions

As the main one, buy ordinary canary seed or a grain mixture for forest birds at the pet store; you can take both domestic and imported ones. The mixture may include millet, dandelion seeds, rapeseed, lettuce, wormwood, plantain and other herbs.

Throughout the year, feed with fresh herbs, for example, dandelion leaves, wood lice, teasel, cornflower, as well as grated carrots mixed with white breadcrumbs, bran and grated. In addition, add eggshells ground in a coffee grinder, dried nettles, crushed corn, dry ground rose hips, etc. In order not to deprive the bird of this pleasure, freeze finely chopped greens in the freezer. Give this mixture to the goldfinch 2-3 times a week.

Please note that goldfinches are very fond of seeds; they can independently extract all the filling from the prickly case. However, before giving seeds to the goldfinch, it is better to clean them from the baskets to avoid unforeseen accidents. In addition, the goldfinch can obtain the fats necessary for its well-being from flax, sunflower and hemp seeds. Give the seeds, not fried or salted, little by little, as a treat.

Try to diversify the goldfinch's food; add lettuce seeds and wild herbs, such as timothy and dandelion, to the food. In addition, goldfinches love seeds from trees, pine, birch, and alder. Sometimes treat the goldfinch with fresh apples or pears - just secure a piece between the rods of the cage.