baby zebra finches

Eggs laid by the zebra finch hen are about 1,5cm high and around 1cm across. They're usually white or very light blue in colour. Parents start to sit on or incubate the eggs when about three have been laid. Sometimes the finches will push eggs out of the nest. If this happens, inspect the egg and see if it's cracked. If the egg is cracked it is no longer good and you have a 'bad egg' on your hands. Just dispose of it. If not, lay the egg back in the nest gently and the parents should have no problem with it. Both parents sit on the eggs but of course duringzebra finch eggs incubation both sexes need to vacate the nesting box for food, water and exercise. The parents take it in turns to sit on the eggs to keep them warm while the other parent is out on its daily rounds.

It takes about 2˝ to 3 weeks for the eggs to hatch. Try to leave your birds alone while they're incubating their eggs as to disturb them might upset the hatching process.

Babies look like little worms when they are born. They have no feathers, have tiny wriggly bodies and their eyes are shut. Baby zebra finches (like most baby birds) are born blind. Only an inaudible noise (to humans) is present at birth. When they are hungry (roughly about every 4 hours) they call attention to the fact by raising their head and moving it back and forth while opening their mouth. After approximately two weeks have passed the birds gain their eyesight. At this point they start chirping each time they're hungry! The parent birds, if they have a full clutch of 5 - 8 eggs, must deal with the same number of babies chirping all at the same time - every 4 hours! Hard work being a zebra finch parent! During this time the mother and father take turns at not only feeding the babies, but in keeping the nest clean. 

Sexing the zebra finch: Only the cock sings. Males also have a red beak (the hen's beak is orange), flanking, and, depending on the mutation, cheek patches and/or a breast bar. Hens may have cheek patches if they are of the black or grey/fawn cheeked mutations, but otherwise they share no markings in common with the cock, aside from the similar tail coverts and characteristic teardrop (which is not always present, depending on mutation)

Babies' eyes do not open for another 7 to 10 days and they do not have feathers until about the same time. While they're busy growing, they also change their skin colour from orange to black. Their beak colour and the ability to sex them comes around the tenth week. Nesting areas can be quite smelly while the babies are growing up and parents eat the egg shells when the babies are born to keep predators at bay. The parents also line the outside of the nest with the babies' excrement which adds to the smell. There is also the odour of the fluid that they come out of the egg with. Out of the clutch, there will be a few eggs that don't hatch.

To tell if the eggs are good, you may hold one up to a 60W bulb (this is called 'candeling'). If the egg shows a dark area and maybe some veins then the egg is good. If you are not sure, replace the egg back in the box and let nature take its course. If too many eggs are laid (perhaps over six) then take out these extras so that the parents can concentrate on the six remaining.

Cappuccino was born at the beginning of October 2001. Out of a clutch of four baby zebra finches, he's one of two fawns; his two female siblings are white

Babies generally stay in the nest for 3 weeks until they can fly out on their own. They are not very graceful at first but it is interesting to see them when they have all their feathers and to watch the parents teach their young how to fly, and generally fend for themselves. Zebra finches are prolific breeders and it wouldn't be advisable to allow the hens to breed three successive times without giving the females a much-need break. If you wish to stop them from breeding then make sure that you take out all of the nests and nesting material which will help to minimise their breeding instincts. Perhaps even do this before you take the babies away (if this is what you plan to do). The parents will continue to produce eggs, but eventually they will slow down when they realise that their eggs are mysteriously vanishing! Be cruel to be kind, as the saying goes. 

Pet shops have 'nesting and rearing' food as well as egg food; both are suitable for young zebra finches. The food may be mixed with a little water to make it easier to digest by the young birds. It would be a good idea to start to feed this to the parents as soon as you see eggs in the nest so that they have some time to get adjusted to it. Just mix it in with the regular bird seed for about a week so that there is not a sudden change in their diet. By the sixth week, when the babies have started to eat on their own, you can start mixing it with ordinary finch seed so that they can get used once more to a normal feeding régime.

Zebra finch males learn their song from song tutors, usually that is their father or the male that feeds them. There is a basic framework to their song, but during their sensitive phase they will learn and add notes and change the song to create their own. Zebra males that are fostered by Bengalese finches will pick up the song of the Bengalese male and incorporate notes and to some extent the rhythm of the Bengalese song onto the zebra song framework. They can also pick up notes from unrelated species in their environment

 Young finches are usually ready to leave the nest and discover the larger world outside after about 1 - 1˝ months. However, they are still dependant on their parents for food who by now are exhausted from feeding the babies every 4 hours, so they start the process of introducing the babies to seed. Finding it easier to 'beg for food' than to learn to eat seed, the babies start turning to the other members of the flock for food who are usually more than happy to help out. However, the true parents often get angry when this happens!

Around this time the babies' beaks usually start to change colour from the black which they are born with, to a light orange - if the bird is female - or a dark orange, for males. Males too change the colour of their 'cheeks' together with the colour of their chests. Up to this point in time, all baby zebras are 'generic' in that they have no colour in their cheeks, chests or wings. Only the coloured 'tear drops' exist under their eyes (see gallery).

If young male zebra finches are raised by foster parents of another species, the Bengalese finch for example, they will court female Bengalese finches instead of females of their own species. This behaviour is known as imprinting. The offspring imprint on the foster parents during a critical period of development, and then identify with the foster parents

The point that the young birds leave the safety of their nests is a make or break time. Not only are they learning how to fly together with the necessary social skills - how to relate with other birds, how to court, how to preen etc - they must very soon become completely 'seed independent' because their parents feed them less and less as they enter adulthood.

Having 'flown the nest' the youngsters discover the wider world of zebra finch life. The parents feel the urge to return to raising yet another family, but find it difficult as the young zebras do not leave their original nests altogether. To encourage this the parents literally kick them out. Sometimes the growing youngsters return to the security of the nest, but most of the time, they go and make a nest for themselves. As the new breeding season approaches, the young finches start to court and so the cycle begins again.

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