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Controling Finch Overpopulation at Home

© Mary Wilson

When I started my nonprofit organization, I had no idea of the overwhelming response we would have. I knew there were birds out there that might be in homes where they weren't appreciated as part of the family, but the extent of the issue amazed me. Since it's inception, Finches With Wishes has rescued about 55 birds, which makes an average of nearly 8 birds a month. We've placed a few, but there is more work to be done.

Almost all of the finches that have come to Finches With Wishes have done so through an overpopulation of birds. Someone starts with a pair, or two, of zebra finches, and soon ends up with more birds than she or he can handle. This doesn't have to happen, though.

The easiest way to control bird overpopulation is to not have a mating pair of birds. With finches, since they are social creatures, this is best accomplished by having birds of the same sex. A group of males, or females, will be just as happy as a mixed pair of birds.

The next step to not having babies is to not provide a nest. Although it is cute to see several finch faces showing from the top of a nest, like parrots, finches will mate and produce young when there is a space available. Of course, some finches will have babies in their seed cup, so this is not a proven method.

The last resort is to simply throw out any eggs that are laid. Eggs can also be replaced by plastic "dummy eggs" that the hen can sit on without babies hatching. A lot of the people I talk to sound horrified at the thought of throwing away finch eggs. However this is a practice done by many breeders who do not wish to be overrun by birds, especially zebra finches, and does no harm to the birds psychologically.

When removing eggs, the only thing to watch for is a hen that lays eggs incessantly. In this case you may have to try separating her, moving the cage, or varying the amount of daylight hours so that she doesn't deplete here body's supply of calcium by laying too many eggs.

Controlling the pet bird population is something that no bird owner likes to think about. However, with certain species being prolific, it is something the concerned bird owner must deal with in order to give the birds in his or her care a quality life. There are plenty of birds out there that need our love.

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