Thursday, December 9, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Zebra Finch Sexing
Zebra Finches are easy to sex. Males can be visually distinguished from females. Male Zebra Finches have a black breast bar, chestnut flanks speckled with white, orange cheek patches, a scale-like pattern under the chin, and of course the red beak. Females on the other hand are totally lacking in any of these male markings and their beaks are a lighter and more orange color.
Zebra Finch Breeding Problems
2-) The placement of your cage might not be safety. You should but your cage to a safety room without to much voice and people (what a sentence)
3-) Nests might be unsuitable for breeding.
Zebra Finch Breeding
Zebra Finches are easy to sex. Males can be visually distinguished from females. Male Zebra Finches have a black breast bar, chestnut flanks speckled with white, orange cheek patches, a scale-like pattern under the chin, and of course the red beak. Females on the other hand are totally lacking in any of these male markings and their beaks are a lighter and more orange color.
Building a home (Myra Markley)
Having a cage that is large enough for only two birds is fine if you do not plan to breed, but once you start breeding Zebra Finches, you soon will have not two, but three to six and eventually many more. Your breeding cage must be large enough to accommodate your breeders and their babies without crowding.
An adequate size breeding cage is approximately 2' L x 1' W x 8"H, but giving a pair more space is even better. Zebra Finches can breed in small cages, but I do not recommend it. They need exercise to stay fit and healthy. Cramped caging can create many problems. Cage length and width are more important than the height of the cage because of the birds' natural flight pattern.
Next, the pair will need a place to lay and incubate their eggs and hatch their babies. There are several types and sizes of Finch nests available. Many people use the bamboo woven nests. I use them because they are inexpensive and I can buy them at any pet store that sells birds. The bamboo nests come in two sizes, regular and large. Both work well but the larger ones are best for birds that tend to produce large clutches.
Another popular nest is the wooden nest box. They can be mounted inside or outside of the cage. (If mounted outside the cage, an opening in the cage will allow the birds to get to the nest box) These nests are easy to clean and make it very easy to count eggs and check on the chicks as they grow.
People do not always agree on what type of nesting material is best for birds. Zebra Finches are not particular--if they can lift it, they will use it in the building of their nest.
I like to give my Zebra Finches small strands of burlap and shredded Kleenex tissue to use for nesting material. It is important to make sure that what you give them is not so fine that they can get it tangled around their legs or around the chicks. Birds can die if they become badly entangled in the nesting material.
We have eggs! (Myra Markley)
Eggs usually are laid at the rate of one per day. Incubation starts after the last egg is laid, and the eggs start hatching about thirteen days later. Zebra Finches can lay between one and eight eggs, but most nests have between two and five eggs on average. The female does most of the incubating but the male will also take his turn on the eggs to give the female a chance to stretch, eat, and drink.
If the eggs are fertile, they will turn a darker color after the first week. If you cannot tell buy looking at the eggs whether or not they are fertile, you can candle them. Candling eggs is really pretty simple but if you are very nervous about it, do not attempt it. To candle an egg all you need is a pen light or a small flashlight. Put the light behind the egg and look for small red veins inside the egg. If the egg is a week old the entire contents of the interior of the egg might appear red, and by this time, you probably will not be able to distinguish the actual embryo.
Handling the eggs is safe if you wash your hands first and do not handle them a lot. The oil from human fingers can clog the tiny pours in the shell that the chick needs for the exchange of air. I try to only candle eggs once if at all. If there is room in the nest, you can hold the small light gently against the shell for a brief period to look for signs of life. This method does not require that you handle the eggs at all.