... stop your zebra finches from
laying eggs and having babies
Zebra Finches have very strong breeding instincts and seem constantly eager to breed. Since raising young is a demanding job (especially for egg-laying females), it may be necessary to force zebras to stop and rest, particularly if they have raised three (or more)
clutches already.
To stop zebras from reproducing, remove everything that stimulates breeding, beginning with nests, nesting materials, seedling heads and anything else zebras might use for nest building. Keep non-breeding zebras away from other birds with babies because the begging calls from other birds' young will stimulate zebras to breed.
As a last resort, if these measure fail, separate the sexes to prevent continuous
breeding
... ring my chick
Ringing chicks is predominantly to enable identification. Two types of leg ring are used;
'closed' rings and 'split' rings. Both should be of a size recommended for
zebra finches.
Closed rings need to be put onto the leg of the chick at about 8 - 10 days old. They cannot be removed, and serve as a lifelong identification. Members of the Zebra Finch Society can obtain closed rings which are colour coded for year on a seven-year cycle. Each ring has the
member's individual membership code number, and a sequential number (starting with 01). If you intend to exhibit your birds, these rings are desirable
Split rings, as the name implies, can be put onto the bird at any time - even as an adult - with the aid of a special tool.
... know if a zebra is alright after plucking out
feathers from her breast leaving bare spots
After the exterior of the nest is completed, most finches eagerly collect soft materials for use as a nest lining. If soft materials are not provided, finches may pluck their own feathers to place near their eggs or tiny nestlings. When your birds are ready to line their nest, you can prevent feather plucking by offering feathers (saved from your birds' last
molt or from an old feather pillow), plant down (from dandelions or thistles, for instance), bits of white tissue paper, moss,
short pieces of string or
coconut matting
... ensure that the birds will be alright without their roosting nests
Although zebras do like roosting in nests, they will adjust to sleeping on perches if the perches are secure and protected. Try including a
few perches angled in the top back corners of the aviary, and put some hanging
plants or other camouflage near these perches to screen them from direct view. If the perches appear secure and private, your birds should be satisfied to use them for roosting.
... get the right measurements for an ideal aviary
It is very rewarding to keep a small flock of zebra finches in a spacious aviary where these social birds can interact with their
neighbours in a fairly natural way. However, the enclosure must be roomy, because
zebra finches are very susceptible to problems caused by overcrowding (such as aggression, feather picking and breeding failures). For each
one metre of aviary floor space, you can probably house one pair of zebras. For example, a flight
2m by 1m can house four to six pairs of zebras. If you experience aggression or feather picking, reduce the number of birds.
... ensure which live plants are safe to include
in an aviary
Always select non-toxic plants for the aviary as zebras
like to nibble foliage. Recommended plants include: the ficus species (such as weeping fig), ferns (especially Boston ferns, which are fairly sturdy choices), spider plants, palms, schefflera, grape ivy and bamboo. Jade plants, Swedish ivy, wandering Jew and Norfolk Island pine are also safe.
Also try digging up a few wild plants like dandelions to plant in the
base of the aviary, although the finches will peck and eat voraciously the
tender leaves! A longer list of safe and
unsafe plants may be found here.
