Chris is very passionate about his Birds, that's how I am with my societies, and I have a male zebra which is all white what black drops on his eyes he likes to grow my societies and he gets along very well with my societies it talks up a storm sometimes and sometimes he gets a little jealous when I talk to the other birds he has got to be one of the happiest Birds I've ever seen in my life and believe it or not he likes to play tag with me he flies up to the bars and flies away and comes back so I pretend like I'm going to try to catch him this goes on for about 2 minutes maybe 3 I start getting tired LOL I love these little guys they put on a big show for me all the time
All 5 Black Cheek Zebra are growing and doing great. Mom & dad are doing a great job feeding and keeping them warm! They should be out of their nest soon.
Just finished putting leg bands to the baby chicks. They are all healthy and doing good! 3 of the 5 should be leaving the nest by the weekend. Mom & dad are doing a great job taking care of their babies.
You are so lucky.ive had a pair 3 years.no babies.they have a coconut house to lay eggs.thier cage is in a window so they are happy.i raise it a couple inches so they get fresh air.
Update: 5 eggs have all hatched. 25th-26th -27th-28th & 29th. Mom doesn’t leave the nest. She’s a tight sitter. Daddy is feeding mom and 5 chicks. So far so good. All 5 chicks are good size & doing well & healthy. Pretty active babies. Mom & dad are doing a fantastic job. I’m so proud of them. Can’t wait to see what they’re going to look 👀 like, their Coloring, and how many females & males. Will let you know how they’re doing down the road. Your videos have helped a lot, learned a lot. I thank you for that. So Chris...did Santa get you the phone stand. 🎄. 🥳 Happy New Year to you & your family. 🥂🥳
Yvette Ortiz that means.... were u d Santa that sent him d stand. if so that was really so sweeeeeet of u to gift him that phone stand. God bless u n yr fly. 😘😘🤗🤗🙏
Hey Chris,lovely zebras,im looking at your zebz & would love to see you breed zebz with lacing...just an idea,im looking forward to this season of trying it with my gouldians👍🙏
Update: Elvis & Bella had 2 females & 3 males. All doing excellent. They will be 2 months old on the 27th of February. Will be selling a few. Will be getting a pair of Gouldian Finches to breed soon.
Some great advice pal, thankyou,I've just got myself a pair about a month ago and I love them, I've just got them starting to land on my hand to eat meal worms,they seem to love them, maybe I'll post a video soon, I'm deffo gonna do the nesting box like you have,I tried the wicker one in there cage but they didn't seem to like it.
Hi Chris, I've got zebra Finches and most of them are breeding well, I've got plenty of nest boxes but there is one pair who keeps laying their eggs in the food bowl
Yeah sometimes they choose to not use the nest boxes. Keep removing the eggs as they lay them and they will eventually choose a different nesting site.
Hi! Really insightfull video! I would like to know what egg food is made of, is it only used during the breeding process? (Sorry if it is a dumb question...) Thanks!
It can also be used during molting. However you have to be careful of ingredients because stuff like honey for example which isn't necessary or always good for the birds.
I the video when you talk about cleaning the nest “after they breed” does that mean before the female lays her eggs and if so how do you know if she has eggs or do you clean it after she lays her eggs but not before they hatch or is it after the babies fledge? I was at a feed store and as I was in the checkout line I heard these sweet little sounds from the back of the store. I left my place in line and followed birdie chatter and squeaks and to my surprise I found that the store owners had an aviary. I couldn’t help but be drawn to the little peppy feathered friends. I ended up going home with a pair. I’ve had them less than a month and have noticed that they are busy in more ways than one. 🤣😂 They also started building a nest in their seed cup and I lucked out I found a basket in some of my crafting supplies and made a home for their there little family.Now my fingers are crossed hoping that I will soon have little squeakers..This is all foreign to me so I have been doing a lot of RU-vid videos and scouring websites trying to educate myself. BTW, I love your channel and will appreciate any advice.
Good luck! It's fairly simple. Buy an extra cage to separate babies into once they are weaned. It's also a good idea to feed them sprouts. They must always have food and fresh water while they have babies. Also try to find natural perches because dowel ones aren't really good for birds feet and can cause arthritis.
Thanks for video. One of the well detailed videos you made. Though, I don't have Zebras, I enjoyed this one! Great one! The trick you invented for making the bands is fantastic. PS:This is the second time that you have appeared on the video. Good to see you man!
Zebra finches and easy to breed, but as soon as thy go out of the nest the mom at some stage will chance them. Because she wants to lay eggs again. That is when I take her out , separate her , so the dad can feed them until. Thy eat them selves. I have got a white pair exactly like yours. I wanted the whiter ones and breed them as well. Thy are really very cute birds , thy like to sing when I go close and attend to them, very nice birds. Small to handle and thy don’t bite. Like my budgies or my lovebirds. My canneries also don’t bite , and are also nice to handle . And as you said , some nests or the compressed hairs, can brake there legs or pull of there toes. Also budgies, I don’t put any chain or small fluffed out hangings there , thy get tangled and die, or thy ripoff a limb. But mostly by the time you look thy have died from struggling to get free. So I don’t put anything g that will get there toes hooked on. For all my birds.
Hey I have a pair of zebra finches 1 male for sure and one I thought was a female but know having second guess and is like Cotten balls good for nesting. My female s completely white but has faint flanks and stripes in its chin there very faint so idk.
I am so happy to see your aviary. I love it. My dream project to do a aviary. I have a question for you. If we keep different Finches of birds(Love birds, Finches, Cocktail, badgries) in one aviary do they bread ?? Will be waiting for your answer ...
Wow! Your video is very informative. I need to watch your other videos. I have never had small little birds. I have had experience with Eclectus and Macaws. I always wanted some finches but they look so fragile, that I was scared to own any. Then a worker at the pet store told me you can scare them easily to where they will just die. So that really freaked me out. But now I see you banded the baby and he didn’t die. I think I am going to get some Gouldian Finches!! 🤗🤗 Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! I think I could love these little finches.
Hi Chris, thanks for such an informative video. Thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I have 2 Gouldians and hoping that they'll breed when the weather warms up. Are the rings you use, plastic? That's certainly an easy approach to be able to put bands on such small legs.
My Black Cheek Zebra birds started to build a nest. Please tell me step by step what I should be doing. What food should I feed them. When do I start feeding them egg food. By the way, they didn’t like the wooden box with the hole. They went for the plastic nest box instead. It has a wide opening. It sits outside the cage. They are both building the nest. Super cute! Thank you.
Great congrats. You don't need to do much with zebra finches just leave them to do their jobs and they will do the rest. You can start giving them very small amounts of egg food right now. When the chicks hatch give them eggfood every day in a little bit larger quantities.
birdnerd Thank you for fast response. On lighting. Do I leave the light on all night for them. Also after the chicks are born, do I leave the light on all night.
I really didn't even mean to breed my zebras all I had was food a cage and water with perches they started coming out the cage and going to my bathroom and taking toilet paper they then made s nest at the bottom of their cage and now I have six zebra finches
For zebra finches they will breed all year round if you let them. I would recommend to not let them breed until spring and summer months when it’s warmer so that the chicks don’t get cold.
Hi Birdnerd, I have 4 male finch and I have bought them coconut hair and sterile cotton for nesting and they love it. I am going to get some more wooden boxes for them thank you for the info.
Ok....so this is what I did with my Black Cheek Zebra babies. I went ahead and left the female to wean 4 of the chicks. Removed the nesting box. Placed my male in a cage (30x18x18) next to my female and chicks. The last egg that hatched the chick is small. All the other chicks are a good size. Mom was too busy taking care of 5 chicks. So, I went ahead and removed the small chick & placed the chick with daddy. My male is feeding & taking care of the small chick now. He’s pretty happy taking care of his baby. He wasn’t doing so good, all by himself in the cage! He’s feeding the chick and the chick seems to be doing much better. My concern was that the chick wasn’t being feed that often. by mom. Now mom & dad are happy and the chicks are all being feed and taken care of. He no longer plucks the feathers of the baby. My female and male are excellent parents. This is their first time having chicks. My female Bella is getting a rest from breeding! Elvis is a great little stud...lol Very lovable little guy. Will keep you posted as things progress.
Hi Chris,love your channel so much and decided to adopt a pair of zebra finch. And now the hen laying eggs,but i have a problem. When i give them greens and eggfood they dont touch it,and pick only the seed mix. I'm afraid of nutrition deficiency,any tips or i should just offer the eggfood and veggies wether they eat it or not? Thank you
I would continue to offer the eggfood and veggies to them in hopes that they will come around and start eating it. When the chicks hatch there's a good chance that they will start eating the egg food and feed that to their chicks.
All babies have fledged from their nest and are doing well. Dad is plugging feathers from the babies! Should I wait until they are weaned before I remove dad to a different cage! My concern is that he will be by himself when I move him. I’m giving mom a break from Breeding her. Once they’re weaned I’ll be separating the males and females. Thinking of getting White English Zebra. I like to get a female and breed her with my Black Cheek Zebra. Any thoughts would be helpful. Thank you.
Remove the female into a separate cage and remove the nest. The male will finish weaning the chicks and with the female out of the cage that should deter the male form plucking the chicks more. That would be great if you get a white English zebra I would love to see it if you do get one.
Finch seed , fresh water, and egg food consisting of green veggies, carrots, and hard boiled eggs with the shell. Chop all of those together and give it to the birds
Hi ! I have four finches in one big cage and discovered eggs ! Do I separate them and there looks to be about 6-8 eggs in their coconut nest ! Can I touch the eggs to move into a box to observe or just leave and let nature do its thing ! What does momma feed the newborn babies ? All 4 birds go in that nest too so should I be worried about that ? Thank you !
Quick question: I'm planning on getting a fawn female and pair her up with either a charcoal male or a black cheek male, what kind of babies could I get from that pairing?
I don't use a humidifier. Some people do and have liked them. I do live in a dessert region with very low humidity and I usually don't have too much of a problem with babies not being able to hatch out. I will also give them water to bathe in daily and that helps raise the humidity for birds sitting on eggs.
if they are zebra finches you should have a good chance of them breeding for you. I would place the cage in the corner of the room so they feel a little more secure and they should breed for you.
Hi Chris I’m having trouble with my zebra finches they have built a nest but it has been 3 weeks and I still no sigh of eggs.. I am very confused and I was wondering if I am doing anything wrong. It would be lovely if you could get back to me
Still no eggs from your zebras? Do your pair go into the nest frequently? Usually they will lay their eggs about 1-2 weeks after the completion of the nest. Let me know if they still don't have eggs
hi, I have a question, so my zebra finch laid her first clutch. but idky she doesn't sit on them for the past 2 days neither does the male. what should i do and is it normal?
Hello, I have a question my zebra finches is the first time I have them and the first time the laid eggs there were 3 but just one hatches but died, now she laid a clutch of 9, 4 have hatched but they died I do not think they know how to feed them is this normal? Do I need to do something? They are about 6 months old now.
Yes definitely young birds. For zebras I’d wait until they are at least 9 months old or older for better breeding results. They are just young and inexperienced.
Hello bro, I have finch female and male I changed their location lately, how much time they need to fit with the new location ? And is there a method to help them to get used with it so they can breed ASAP ?
I began watching videos and they’re really good and informative. I have three finches that were given to me. I can’t tell their gender. Do you have a video or could make a video to show their genders ?
I have some of my videos that talk about the genders. The best way is to follow me on Instagram @birdnerd4 and send me pics of your birds and I will tell you the genders of them.
Both my Female & Male - Black Cheek Zebra Finches will not touch their Cuttlebone! I’ve placed it on all 4 sides of the cage. No luck. Then I placed the Cuttlebone on the ground. My male stands on it....but no luck. Any suggestions....would appreciate any. Thank you. They’re about 8 months old.
They probably won't touch the cuttle bone until they are ready to bree. I have some birds that wont touch it at all. Just hang it on the side of the cage next to a perch so it's available and leave it up to them to eat it or not.
Very informative video!! I have a question. I have.a lot of Zebra finches that I am trying to get to breed. Currently the cage is outside in a covered patio. Would it be better if I put them in a garage to let them have more privacy? Thank you.
It depends on the climate you live in I'm not Chris but I know a lot about finches maybe they just need a little time to get used to their environment if it's too cold out on the patio and then put them somewhere where it's warmer that would be the best idea I can give you right now why would you want to put them in a garage I mean really don't you want to enjoy them and watch them putting them in the garage you wouldn't want to be in a garage would you LOL
I bought them from a breeder several years ago. But if you check out the shop tab on my website I do have these same cages posted. www.littlebirdnerd.com
Have you ever had two Finches who made eggs together and after they started fighting for the egg? Mine do that Another thing they do, is pluck their own feathers though they have everything they need...
Are they a pair or are they both females? I have seen females fight over eggs or birds who are not a true pair fight over eggs or the nest that the eggs are in!
birdnerd They're male snd female They both protect the nest weirdly. If he get in, he wants to fight her. If she gets there, she protects it. Then, suddently, they get well together and stay both inside. Then suddently they wanna kill each other again. Then they groom again, then they lay eggs, then they fight for the egg, then they keep it warm, etc
Love orange cheek waxbills. They are super energetic and nice finches to have. They are a waxbill which means you do need to provide live insects to help them raise their chicks. They are not dimorphic which means you can’t visually sex them so it is harder to find a true pair and your best bet is to colony breed them.
Thank you! I don't have zebras but society. Am watching them to see which is male/female. I didn't plan on breeding though you've shown a wonderful tutorial. I was hoping to have males but smaller one may be a female. At about what age do they start laying eggs, breeding? Mine are supposed to be young but didn't get their hatch dates. Only have 2 & are so enjoyable to watch. My first finches, had small parrots years ago.
Society FInches can become sexually mature around 6 months of age and will lay eggs then. Although I wouldn't recommend breeding them until they are about 12 months old. I really enjoy the society finches.
@@birdnerd I may need to. The bigger one which I believe is a male is having fun playing with paper towels at bottom & flying to highest perch holding it. He keeps getting in feed dishes & sitting. I think he's trying to nest.
Hello, I learned a lot today. I have a question if you could answer it, My Zebra finches ( couple) lay 13 eggs within two weeks. They sit on them, but once I check if the eggs are fertilized, I think only two are fertilized. Should I keep all the 13 eggs in the nest for 2 weeks? Or remove no fertilized one?
