breeding

Zebra finches form strong monogamous pair bonds (although some birds occasionally cheat on their mates). Males court females, females choose among their suitors, and the formation of a pair bond is marked by 'clumping' when two birds perch so near together that they appear to merge in a ball of feathers. The male builds the nest and then the breeding process begins.

The breeding process is actually very simple. The mates sit on a perch next to each other and 'talk' together. The male will then hop on the female's back to fertilise her and flutter his wings to keep balance. The whole process takes about one minute and the routine is carried out a number of times.

The Zebra finch will hybridise with a number of different species. Although they are often kept in mixed colonies, they rarely will choose a mate outside of their species. The only exception to this would be the Timor zebra finch, a subspecies of the Australian zebra finch. These will readily hybridise and should not be housed together. Those hybrids produced are fertile. The Australian zebra has been hybridised with Owl finches, their closest relative and Bengalese finches, another very common domesticated finch just to name a few. The hybrids of other species are infertile

Once fertilised and after nesting, the hen will lay between three and eight eggs; one each day. After a couple of eggs are laid, the pair will begin sitting on them. The brooding and incubation process lasts around 11 to 14 days or more. The two parents take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young until they are independent. Young birds are uniformly grey and have black beaks; they begin to assume their adult plumage between 30 and 45 days after hatching. The whole process from building a nest to the young fledglings achieving independence is approximately two months. Most novice zebra finch owners are caught off-guard by the speed of this process. It is important not to allow finches that are closely related to produce offspring. Inbreeding will result in a weakening of the offspring and eventually the breed. It's important too to become familiar with the change in dietary needs of the parent during the nesting and birth process.

Occasionally breeders come across young or inexperienced zebras that fail to incubate eggs or feed the young the way that nature had intended. In this case, Bengalese finches could be utilised to foster the young or the eggs. They do not even have to be a mixed flock.

The following is a short guide to breeding zebra finches:

  1. select a suitable male/female couple in good condition and place them in the same cage
  2. if the birds are in good condition they will usually start to build a nest immediately, and within a few days the first eggs will be laid
  3. check the nest every day in order to follow the progress. Be sure to let the birds know you are coming. If you frighten them, they may accidentally destroy the eggs in the confusion. If the birds are unwilling to leave the nest, don't chase them off unless you are worried something might be wrong
  4. around the time when the third egg is laid, the birds will start sitting on the eggs
  5. after approximately 2 weeks, the eggs will start to hatch
  6. at this time you should start to provide a rearing food (nestling food). This can be bought in a pet shop or you can make your own. You should continue to feed the regular seed mixture as well
    Zebra finches can be used for fostering other species. The more closely the species is related to the zebra finch, the more likely they will be successful in raising that species. Owl finch hatchlings are nearly identical in appearance to zebra finch hatchlings. They only way to distinguish the two is by mouth markings. For some zebras used as fosters though, this may be enough for them to reject any Owl finches that are mixed with their own. Therefore, it is advisable not to mix species or ages of chicks that you wish the Zebra finch to foster
  7. when the birds are around 8 or 9 days old, they should be fitted with a closed coded ring for later identification (if you wish to mark them for identification)
  8. when the birds are about 2½ weeks old you should generally stop nest checking in order to avoid the young birds leaving the nest early. However, if you suspect something is wrong, it would be safe to look them over. In that case, great care must be taken not to frighten the birds
  9. when the birds are around 3 weeks old, they will leave the nest for the first time
  10. around one week later (at 4 weeks) the birds will start feeding on their own
  11. at this time, the nest should be removed unless you want another clutch. Generally, a pair of zebra finches should not be allowed to rear more than 2 - 3 clutches per year
  12. around 1 - 2 weeks later (at 5 - 6 weeks) the birds are self-sufficient and can be removed from the parents' cage. If you leave them with the parents, they may interrupt the next clutch. Additionally, the parents' may chase off the young birds and pluck their feathers
  13. at this time, distinguishing features should start to emerge, enabling you to distinguish males and females. Beaks should have started to change from black to a lighter colour (which will eventually turn orange or red)

See more on baby zebra finches here