Animal-World > Pet Birds > Types of Finches > Spice Finch

Spice Finch

Nutmeg Mannikin Family: Estrildidae

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Lonchura punctulata Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   Spice Finches, also called the Nutmeg Mannikins, are excellent for the beginner. Besides being gentle and hardy, they are inexpensive and adjust easily to cage or aviary life. They are easy to keep and will live for many years.

  The Spice Finch gather in small groups in the wild. They are very peaceful and sometimes their groups will be mixed with a variety of other small birds. Spice Finches are very hardy and dealers in India have been known to dye this little bird different colors, especially green, and offer them for sale as "painted finches". This must not be confused with the real Painted Finch (Emblema picta)!

For more information about the care of Finches see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Finch

Description:
  Spice Finches reach a size of 4 3/4" (12 cm). They have a bluish-black bill. The head, throat, and neck are a chestnut brown, going into a chocolate brown on the top and sides of the neck, and usually darker on the head. The under parts are a whitish buff. The breast and sides are a brown with a dark brown scalloped edging to the feathers.

Distribution:
   Spice Finches are widely distributed throughout India, Southern Asia, Ceylon, and Malaysia.

Care and Feeding:
   Fresh food and water must be provided daily. A good finch seed mix will provide their everyday preference for a variety of millet and grass seeds and is readily available at a pet store. In a separate cup you can offer green foods, such as lettuce, spinach, celery tops, and chickweed. Other supplements include green seeds, sprouted seeds, egg foods, and mealworms. Finch treats of seed with honey, fruits and vegetables are fun for your bird too, as well as nutritious!
   Grit with charcoal is essential to aid in digestion and it contains valuable minerals and trace elements. Grit should be provided in a special cup or sprinkled over the bottom of the cage floor. Provide a cuttlebone because the calcium it provides will give your bird a firm beak, strong eggshells when breeding, and will prevent egg binding. The lime in the cuttlebone also aids in digestion.
   Offer your finch a bath occasionally by providing a bath dish that is 1" deep with a 1/2" of water, or a clip on bath house.
   Their nails may occasionally need to be trimmed, but be careful never to clip into the vein as the bird can quickly bleed to death. Bird nail trimmers and styptic powder to stop the bleeding are available at pet shops.

Housing:
   Spice Finches do well indoors in a cage, but will need to be in an aviary if you wish them to rear young. Place the cage where it is well ventilated though free from drafts, and against a wall at eye level. It should have good light but be away from doors and windows where direct exposure to sunlight can make it overly warm.
   Provide two or three good softwood perches about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter. Tree branches of a similar size also make good perches and will help to wear the claws down naturally. Provide separate dishes for food, water, treats, and grit. Place paper on the cage bottom that can be sprinkled with grit, or use a grit paper.
   Spice Finches also do very well in an aviary or a bird room. The screening should be 3/8" square mesh. Dishes for food, water, grit and bathing water must be included along with perches and nests. Leafy branches, tall grasses and reeds, and dense bushes will make the space more enjoyable for the finches as well as providing nesting materials.

Maintenance:
   Although finches require very little time, a clean environment as well as fresh food and water daily is a must to prevent disease and illness. The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Every two to three days change the paper on the bottom of the cage and sprinkle it with about 1/8" of fresh grit. Weekly wash and dry the entire cage, including the perches.

Social Behaviors:
   Spice Finches are social, peaceful birds. They naturally live in groups and easily adjust to other birds in a spacious aviary.

Handling/Training:
   Finches are simply enjoyed for their antics and play rather than training. When you need to handle your finch to examine it or clip it's nails, place your palm on it's back and wrap your fingers around the bird with your thumb and forefinger on either side of it's head.

Activities:
  Spice Finches are always active and energetic.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Spice Finches are not too difficult to breed in an aviary and there you can house them in groups. However, they generally will not breed in a cage. It is difficult to tell the differences in the sexes, but the male will perform a courtship dance to his mate. They like voluminous nests and will build them using nesting materials such as long grass leaves, plant stems and coconut fiber. They will line the nest with soft materials such as moss and feathers.
   The female will lay a clutch of 3 to 7 eggs and will need to have lots of green seeds, sprouted seeds, greens, egg food, and mealworms to feed the hatchlings.

Potential Problems:
   Spice Finches are very hardy birds and almost all illnesses can be traced to improper diet, dirty cages, and drafts. A balanced diet and plenty of exercise will prevent most illnesses. Know your bird and watch for real drastic changes as indications of illness.
   Some signs of illness to be aware of are droppings that are not black and white, feathers that are ruffled, lack of appetite, wheezing, and acting feeble and run down.
   Some of the common illnesses and injuries your finch could contract are broken wings or legs, cuts and open wounds, overgrown beaks and nails, ingrown feathers, feather picking, confinement cramps in the legs from a cage that is too small, weight loss, heat stroke, shock, concussion, egg binding, diarrhea, mites, colds, baldness, scaly legs, sore eyes, tumors, constipation, and diarrhea.
   First you can try and isolate the bird in a hospital cage where you cover all but the front of the cage and add a light bulb or heating pad to keep the interior of the cage at a constant temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove all perches and put food and water dishes on the floor. If you don't see improvements within a few hours, take the bird to an avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

Availability:
   Spice Finches are readily available in the pet industry and are very inexpensive little birds.

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Latest Comments
Hey, man I am very happy that I have succeeded in breeding my wild birds (spice, silver bill, and red strawberry finch) in my cage. My spice finch laid two eggs but only on baby came out. The silver bill laid 4 eggs and I got 4 chicks. But one, I don't know how, died. Now only 3 chicks there. And the strawberry finch laid 5 eggs. She did not hatch the eggs she laid the until the final, then I got 5 chicks. My finches are wild in Pakistan. People caught them in fields, then sold them in the market. I also have a wild tricolored nun pair, many more zebra finches, and only one society finch male. I don't know from where I will get another society one, in our market there are no society finches. Hassan 2008-09-01
Found a spice finch nest in a busy street in Maldives, the nest was blown away from a tree by the strong monsoon winds. I have brought them home and I have been hand feeding them, two of them almost fully feathered, others half. it's very easy to feed them by syringe compared to all the species of parrots and finches I have hand raised. I know these little birds are very active and wild, but its been few days already and they beg for food every time they see me. I'm sure they will fly to me when they can, it would be a nice feeling. I hope to release them to my huge planted aviary, since spice finches are rare here and were introduced years ago for pet trade. ximan 2008-07-23
My spice finch has started nesting, while the male every time remains singing. These spice finches are wild, not pets. I have a wild silverbill pair, male and female, both are heated but no mating. I also have red strawbery finches and they have started mating, but the zebra finch tease them when they start mating. My zibra finch is a great prblem for my red strawberry finch pair. I decided to buy society finches so that i can get hybridization production. I put all these finches in a cage, not and aviary room. My cage vertical size is 4 feet while horizental wise it's 4.5 feet and it's width is 3feet. I know its small but not too small. Hassan Farooq 2007-09-18
I was disappointed to learn that I could not handle my spice finch, but this is a very informative guide. If I do manage to teach it how to perch on my hand, I'll definitely come back and share it with everybody. Thanks for the extra help! Ariana Kam 2007-08-22
Right now I'm looking out my window and watching 12-15 Nutmeg Mannikins feed from my feeder. They've been here the last three years and are breeding. Each year there are more and more. There are several juveniles that are just starting to turn the darker color on top and get their striped feathers underneath. They're adorable little birds. They arrive in a large flock to feed in the mornig and again in the afternoon and early evening. I live in Fullerton, California. Kathy Pratt 2006-09-30
Some of the coolest comments:
Hello: In the southern part of the island of Puerto Rico, in the city of Ponce were I live; there are flocks of the spice bird. We can see it in the urban area, also picking the seeds left by the pet birds. They eat the seed of the called "Hierba de Guinea", which is a grass originally from Guinea in Africa; brought by the spaniards to feed cattle. Eduardo Rodriguez Ponce, Puerto Rico Eduardo Rodriguez 2004-12-10
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
Hi, I am really young but I wish I could save up my money for a little bird; but I would have save up for all of this stuff like it's cage, a LOT of food and of course it's play toys, because I know that finch's need a LOT of things to play with. (I learned from reading!) I would also like a small bird for a pet. I just hope my dad lets me! So, I would just like to thank this website for giving me this information and it has really helped me want a finch MORE! My parents will definitely love that! Hehe. Thanks a lot! -Finch Lover abigail 2007-07-21
its a nice site who help us in many ways. i have spice, silver bill, red strawberry, zebra finch, silverbill and spice finch. In pakistan there are a lot of house sparrows. I have two, a male and one was flying but they are still not nestling. i have zebra, spice finch, and silver bill with them. Hassan 2007-07-02
I have 24 birds, and most of them are finches. this was just the perfect site for me. This website really helps me in training my birds, feeding, and breeding my birds. I'm probably going to visit this website often. I just love it! Rody Davis Jr. 2006-10-26

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Author: Clarice Brough, CAS