Many finches are songbirds and have complex muscles to control their syrinx; many gape in the nest as infants to beg for finch food. All pet owners want to keep their finches healthy. Therefore, in order to prevent an illness, one must not only keep bacteria (and other disease organisms) at a low enough number that the bird can cope with them, but one must also keep the bird strong enough to fight off disease through good finch food. Proper hygiene will also help control the number of disease organisms and bacteria that the bird is exposed to. The most important factor however, is a good diet of finch food. Any bird kept on a seed-and-water-only diet will quickly deteriorate and succumb to illness, whereas a bird kept on a seed or pelleted based diet supplemented with plenty of the right vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients will thrive. An important aspect of a good finch food is to make sure that nothing's missing (so that no major deficiencies such as a vitamin A deficiency occur), and that nothing's in excess (too much can be harmful). Once a good diet has been established for your birds to eat, you must be sure to minimize stress for the birds. Stress is one of the leading causes of lowered resistance, next to a poor diet. If your bird cannot escape the cause(s) of the stress, it becomes a major problem and you must remove that cause immediately. Your bird needs to be in a secure environment where: it knows it can escape from predators (such as you or the house cat), there are plenty of "hiding places/visual barriers," perches, and nests in the immediate area, there is adequate protection from "the elements" (rain, wind, chilling, etc.), there are no rodents, pests, or wild birds, contamination is reduced to a viable level (the area is clean), and lastly where good levels of exercise are available and encouraged (lots of flying space and some swings). Nutra Scarlett Finch Food is a great combination of super clean seeds and fortified morsels coated with orange extract that your finch will love.