Hello, I have two pairs of zebra finches. Pair one is a chestnut female and pied male. Pair two is a chestnut female and light gray normal. One of my females seems to spend her time sitting on perches, sitting in the food bowl, and sun bathing. She very very rarely fly's around. Her male fly's a lot and is vocal. She does not even peep ever. Not once. I have had them for 3.5 weeks and have yet to see any mating. I did find one egg in the nest when we got them but it was cracked. Not sure if she is egg bound? Male built a nest but no eggs. The male grooms her but she does not return the favor, she just seems very uninterested. Not sure how old they are, maybe a year? I tried to put the other pair with them but pair one male would not leave the other male alone. I removed him and left pair twos female and she seemed to over power the dominate male. In pair two the female is very active and the male is some what vocal and lazy. Pair two is new to me only two days. The cage pair one is in is a 42 inch long, 22 inch deep and 37 inch tall cage. I am keeping the pairs as they were, same male and females and separated into two cages. Both pairs have a nest in their cage and they spend some time during the day in it but do not sleep in it (which is normal). Cages are inside at about 70-75 degrees at day and no lower than 70 at night. Pair one is also right next to a window. I would so appreciate ANY advice. As we speak pair one female is laying and eating in the food bowl. Maybe I should add a egg meal food to their regular food. I also offer, banana, strawberry, spring mix almost everyday. Let me know of anything that comes to mind. I would appreciate literally any advice/recommendations!
Finch Problems
- Thread starter finchie
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HeatherG
Well-known member
- Apr 25, 2020
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Hi, are you intending your finches to breed? You can end up with A LOT of baby finches.
I think you wrote that you’ve only had them for a couple of days. Were they housed together in their previous home? The quieter female may just be shy, or maybe that pair isn’t as compatible as the other pair or they are moving slower.
Or, she could have some issue, but since they are new to your home, they’re just getting adjusted and probably stressed from adjusting to new surroundings.
Zebra finches need egg food and greens, especially if they’re going to breed. Laying eggs takes the egg calcium from the mother bird’s bones. If you make your own egg food, leave the shells in with the mashed egg. Otherwise make sure they have calcium supplements.
I had a pair of zebra finches as a science research project when I was in high school and spent a semester watching them. They are so active and very cute. It’s amazing to watch them build their own nest, too. I wish I was that clever (to build my own home in a tree).
I think you wrote that you’ve only had them for a couple of days. Were they housed together in their previous home? The quieter female may just be shy, or maybe that pair isn’t as compatible as the other pair or they are moving slower.
Or, she could have some issue, but since they are new to your home, they’re just getting adjusted and probably stressed from adjusting to new surroundings.
Zebra finches need egg food and greens, especially if they’re going to breed. Laying eggs takes the egg calcium from the mother bird’s bones. If you make your own egg food, leave the shells in with the mashed egg. Otherwise make sure they have calcium supplements.
I had a pair of zebra finches as a science research project when I was in high school and spent a semester watching them. They are so active and very cute. It’s amazing to watch them build their own nest, too. I wish I was that clever (to build my own home in a tree).
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Thank you, I have had this pair for 3.5 weeks. They were not housed together previously just from the same breeder. I am hoping that it is just a shy female. My other female with a different male peck each others beaks, the female ended up being the dominate one to the male. I then put the pairs back to their usual pairs as this resulted in 0 chasing or pecking. As we speak my male from pair one is taking things out of his nest to remodel. The female is sitting and watching with her feathers ruffled and making teeny tiny peeps.
