Green Singing Finch

Green Singing Finch
Serinus Mozambicus


ORIGIN
They inhabit semi-arid regions of tall scrub and forest throughout central Africa preferring open spaces to dense foliage cover except for roosting at night and nesting. It is reported that they are usually found where surface water is locally available.

DIET
They feed on seeds of grasses, herbaceous plants and shrubs. They readily take insects, particularly termites and their larvae; especially when rearing young. Sometimes they will clamber up and down the stems of sturdy grasses harvesting green and half-ripe seeds, aphids or other insects.

SPECIFIC FEATURES
This finch is an aggressive species and is usually seen in pairs or small family parties. They are mature at about 4-6 months of age. Males and females may be distinguished from each other by the necklace of small round black dots around the neck of the hens. The species is slightly longer and more streamlined than other finches. Males have a very pleasant song, which is uttered frequently throughout the day.

REPRODUCTION
A small, cup-shaped structure is woven of mosses and plant fibers and lined with tiny feathers and fine animal hair. The eggs are bluish/green with fine brown lining with speckling especially heavy at the blunt end. Incubation is shared by both adults and the young hatch in about 13 days. They are raised on insects and soft seed until fledging around the end of the third week. Independent within two weeks and may stay with the parents or be driven away if a second nesting is eminent.

GREEN SINGERS IN CAPTIVITY

HABITAT DESIGN
Plenty of flight room is necessary if they are to be kept in a mixed species enclosure. They may have fatal fights if more than one pair is kept in even the largest enclosures, therefore, one to a pen is best. Provide tall growth (dwarf trees, tall, dense shrubs) for nighttime roosting and nesting.

Mixed collections should also have at least two or even three feeding stations to prevent Singers from dominating and starving out other co-habitants. They are fond of bathing, so a shallow pond or stream is a good idea. Water dishes should be cleaned daily to prevent their bathing in these fowling their systems if they also have to drink from them.

DIET
Small millets, canary grass seed, amaranth, hulled rice and oats have been taken dry, soaked, and sprouted. The latter two are especially appreciated while raising young and help to stimulate pairs to begin brooding activity. Small mealworms, ant eggs and pupae, waxworms, bee moth larvae, and termites are eagerly taken while raising young but otherwise should be limited because they are too fattening. Green food is also an important element in their diet.

BREEDING
Providing plenty of live food, soaked or germinated seed, and green food will usually induce this species so go to nest. They will build in an open canary nest, an open-fronted finch nestbox or one with a large entrance hole, a dense shrub, on a ledge, and, in one case, on a light socket. They like plenty of soft lining material and natural fiber such as kapok and short cut and shredded burlap work well for this.

Hens are easily disturbed into fleeing the nest when approached but, if used to human intrusion (regular inspections of aviary, etc.), they will return without hesitation. They are not known as deserters.

Green Singers are often hybridized with the domestic canary but there is very little likelihood of this with other commonly kept finch species.

If the enclosure is small, it is a good idea to remove the young of one clutch before the next clutch hatches to avoid possibly fatal aggression from the cock. This can be when they are only a few weeks out of the nest as the hen may double or even triple clutch. The young will be self-sufficient by this time and can be housed by themselves or with young from other pairs. The young cocks will begin to loose the juvenile necklace around 4-6 months of age although they may begin to sing even earlier than that.

My GS is bald and I have tried iodine, egg food, greens etc. to help bring back his feathers. Nothing seems to be working any suggestions?

Sorry to hear this, are you using powdered kelp for the iodine?

Do you think it could be feather mites?

Can you put the greensinger in a seperate cage with a heat lamp, he could be getting plucked by another bird.

This product was on the canaryscience site

Dettol are the best antiseptic products I have found throughout my years of breeding canaries,

• Drinking water: To provide your canaries with clean drinking water, add one drop of Dettol to 8 oz. of drinking water or 1/2 teaspoon to one gallon of water. Dettol will kill any microscopic bacteria that live in the water and it will keep it clean for a long time.
  
  Bath: Add one tablespoon of Dettol to one gallon of water to be used for your canary's bath. It will kill bacteria, fungi, feather mites, and bodily infections that canaries are vulnerable to.
  
  Dettol will work as a great sanitizer for greens and fruits that are fed to your canaries. Wash the greens and fruits well to ensure they are dust free,
  
  then fill your kitchen sink with water, add two tablespoons of Listerine or Dettol to it, put the greens or fruit in the sink filled with the mixture and
  
  then let it soak for 30 minutes. Drain out the mixture and then wash the greens or fruit for the last time with pure water. Rinse it well before you
  
  feed it to your canaries.
  
  
  
  (5) Heating lamp: The red bulb produces heat and is made in a different shapes, sizes, and watts.
  
  
  
  Benefits of using a heating lamp:
  Canaries can use it to dry their skin and feathers after a bath
  
• Canaries can use it to warm themselves when they have drop in body temperature
  
• Help absorb extra calcium and protein from canaries' kidneys
  
• Canaries will have the choice of control their distance from the heating lamp depending on their body need.
  

If there is no feather mites maybe you can try a supplement like this

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

TurboBooster is a concentrated form of energy, coupled with stress relieving vitamin B and the oil based breeding vitamins A, D, E and K. This multi-purpose energy rich oil is best added to soaked multi-grained bread for the aviary birds or into a freshly made soft food mix for breeding pairs. It is soon relished by the birds. They often climb the wire in anticipation of the treat as the garlic cocktail is being prepared. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is added to the mix for greater energy efficiency and many fanciers add the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] at the same time, giving remarkable results. It’s a simple but highly effective feeding system!


TurboBooster can be coated onto a dry seed mix for birds not eating a soft food mixture and then sprinkled with the ePower and F-Vite.

Beautiful sheen and rich color
The amino acid balance and the essential fatty acids in TurboBooster are responsible for the beautiful colors and silky feather it produces within 3 weeks of use. It is also used to rejuvenate damaged tail feathers.

Stimulates fitness and health
This product contains high levels of the essential amino acids (protein) needed for the muscle development of the fledglings in the aviary. The result is vigorous flight that soon produces the heightened health seen with top fitness. The special mix of omega 3 essential oils stimulates the immune system to repel illness and together with the garlic oil offers strong protection against the stress-induced illnesses of the overcrowded young bird aviary.

"Secret" for best of show fanciers
TurboBooster is combined with F-Vite to produce silky feathers with color and life as good as they get. TurboBooster has high levels of the essential amino acids (protein) needed for new feather formation and contains a good mix of special oils, called fatty acids, which produce an extremely silky feather. This has meant that the oil is a favorite "secret" of the best show fanciers in Australia.

Top breeding and show conditioner
Turbo-booster invigorates healthy birds into peak condition and is used on soft foods prior to breeding and the show to great effect. It is also used as a post illness invigorator.

Show condition with very best feather
TurboBooster is given together with F-Vite each day for three weeks prior to the show to give a silky sheen, porcelain like tightness and a deep rich color to the plumage.

Robust babies
TurboBooster, being a very high source of energy and the breeding amino acids, is used in combination with E-powder to produces fast growing, robust and healthy babies. This clever combination enables the feeding parents to maintain their body condition and vitality for a full three rounds of babies.



TurboBooster and the holding cage
The time of weaning and until the body molt is complete is an extremely difficult time for the health of young birds. It is during this time that most fanciers place them into a holding cage and make every effort to boost the immune system during this difficult time. Youngster reared on TurboBooster readily its taste, providing them with immediate health protection. The soaked seed recipe # 2, is a proven holding cage success.

I am giving all my bird pelleted kelp and there is a heat lamp on his cage. He is alone in his cage. I was looking at Turbobooster last night on Lady Gouldian site. I have sprayed him with mite & lice killer.

If you are not seeing any mites than I would try the Turbobooster or something like it, maybe before you got him he had not completed his first molt and needs something to help him since the kelp isn't. You may have to wait until his next molt to see any improvement. The heat lamp should also help. I know you feed all the right foods so that is why I was thinking he needs some type of supplement.

I have the powdered kelp and granulated, if you don't see him eating it maybe sprinkle some on his egg food.

Has there been any improvement in your GS? Do you see him eat the iodine/kelp if not maybe sprinkle it on one part of the his food and see if you can tell if he is eating it. I put it on part of the food and that way I can see which part they are eating. For my birds I put the kelp granules in as free choice but it takes a while for them to try it so maybe your GS isn't eating it. Just a thought.

I have tried everything and the little guy is still bald.