it is my first time raising zebra finches is there anyone out there that can give me all the info about them?

Answer 1

Zebra finches are very easy to breed and it is usually harder to stop them from breeding than it is to get them started. All you have to do is supply them with a nest, nest material, a viaried diet and some privacy. Usually the male will build the nest and the female will fix it to her liking. A few days to a week after the nest is complete the hen will lay one egg a day. The usual amount is 5 eggs but somtimes I have had a hen lay as many as 11 eggs in one clutch and as few as 2 eggs. She will start sitting on the eggs after the 3rd or 4th one is laid. Sometimes they start sitting on the eggs after the first one is laid. It will just depend on the bird. One parent will do most of the incubating (usually the hen but not always) It takes about 10-18 days from the time they started sitting until the eggs hatch. Sometimes the eggs are duds in this case I always wait 4 weeks before removing the eggs. While the birds are nest building it is important to offer the hen crushed egg shells and cuttlebone so that she can increase her calcium supplies for egg laying. Also offer them smashed up boiled egg, sprouts, and other veggies as part of their normal seed diet while they are sitting on eggs. When the eggs hatch the parents will feed the babies by reguritating the food into their mouths. They will need extra protien so continue to give them the egg and veggies you have been offering each day. Within a few weeks the chicks will take their first flight. This is always stressful for the parents so try to observe them from afar until the babies can fly well (usually just a few days). Once they are flying well remove the nest so the parents don't try to start another clutch (which they will). In as little as a week to as long as 5 weeks the babies will be eating on their own and ready to be seperated from their parents. As this time nears the parents will begin chasing the babies, this is normal and as long as they are not hurting them you can leave them in the same cage until they are weaned. You'll know the babies are weaned when you stop hearing them beg.

Answer 2

I've only bred my pair of Zebra finches once, but what an experience! They develop so fast and they're very easy to breed :-).

In short, the pair mate for a few seconds then within a day or two they go to nest. The first thing the pair does, even before mating is the male will build the nest. Sometimes he entices the female to look at it with a small piece of nest material in his beak. The female lays between 2-8 eggs, which hatch roughly a day apart after a 14 day incubation. You have to be careful with Zebras as they're well known for 'sandwiching' their nests. They will lay one nest on top of another. A simple solution to this is to stop giving them nest material as soon as their nest building is complete. That takes a day or two. Nesting material can be anything from twine cut to 1/2 inch lengths and cotton twine or canvas cut to 1/2 inch lengths and the fibers pulled apart. It's one of those things you can do while watching TV :-) . My guys preferred the cloth fibers to anything else, including paper and felt. I suppose alfalfa or timothy hay can be used, too, as long as no rabbits have drooled on it ^.^ .

At 21 days the chicks fledged. If you want more chicks from the parents, offer some more nesting material when the chicks are a good 3-4 weeks old. It's best to remove the chicks from their parents at this point because the parents will harass their chicks. Don't let the parents have more than three clutches and make sure they get a good 6 month rest at least once a year. It helps them relax after a long and hard breeding season :-) .

I'll post my bird breeding web site as a reference. I don't have much info on Zebra finches yet, but I have some basic info that you'll find useful. Good luck to you!

Answer 3

http://www.petsmart.com/global/articles/article_detail.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673332942&bmUID=1151302987064
hope this helps!