Zebra finches: maintenance, care and breeding

Zebra finches are very beautiful little birds. They are not demanding to care for, so their maintenance does not cause great difficulties. However, zebra finches have their own characteristics and distinctive features, which are important to consider if you want to acquire these birds. In this article, we will look at how to properly care for finches.

Zebra finches are small and cheerful birds. They belong to the weaver family. The homeland of these adorable birds is Australia. In Europe and other countries of the world, they appeared relatively recently (no more than 200 years ago).

Under natural conditions, zebra finches live in a wide variety of areas. It can be forests, meadows, and fields. Birds feel comfortable both in the wasteland and in the immediate vicinity of humans.

Zebra finches are distinguished by a specific beak structure. It is tapered and orange in color.

The color of male zebra finches is bright and rich. Females, on the other hand, are dimmer, less attracting attention. Males have the same "calm" shades of plumage as in females only while they are young.

On average, zebra finches live from 7 to 8 years. Many factors influence their life expectancy in captivity.

• Incorrect breeding and place of purchase. Genetic predisposition plays an important role in the lifespan of birds. A large number of attempts by breeders to develop new mutational varieties of these birds led to the fact that some individuals developed serious congenital diseases. Often, chicks die while still in the egg. The purchase of a zebra finch at a pet store or at the poultry market does not give any guarantees that the pet will be perfectly healthy and young.
• Improper care and maintenance. People who have no experience of keeping these Australian birds often mistakenly add other birds to them. As a result, such a neighborhood ends in an endless struggle for food and territory. In such an environment, finches begin to feel sad, exhausted and hurt. There are also injuries that end in death for birds. Improper care and feeding of zebra birds most often leads to their early death.
• Injury, stress... Frequent and abrupt changes in the environment can seriously harm the birds. Worried, finches refuse water and food, which results in dehydration. These individuals should not be disturbed, especially at first. Loud noise and other frightening factors can also harm birds. Also, in flight, they can get injured that will lead to their death.

To find out how old the birds of this species are, you should pay attention to such characteristics.

• Young zebra finches do not move very confidently, they may lose coordination of movements. They fly poorly, so they sit at the bottom of the cage most of the time.
• In young individuals, the beak is more transparent. There is no damage on it. The skin on the legs is thin, with small, barely visible scales. Claws short and neat.
• Before the first molt, young finches have small feathers. In young animals of certain species, the plumage is dimmer.

Keeping zebra birds is not difficult. In order for poultry to feel comfortable, they do not need to equip a huge aviary, as is the case with noble parrots. An ordinary standard bird cage is enough for them. The height of the structure can be from 0.9 to 1 m, and the width and height - 0.35-0.4 m. The cage must be regularly cleaned, all remaining husks from oats and millet must be removed. Such procedures will be needed at least once a week, otherwise debris and dust will soon be scattered throughout the room.

The ideal temperature for keeping birds is 18-22 degrees. Temperature changes can adversely affect the health of birds. In order for the feathers of finches to develop normally and to prevent rickets, it is recommended to resort to UV radiation with the help of lamps. And in the warm season, the cage can be taken out to the balcony or yard. Better to choose a place with a shade.

Zebra finches need to get proper and regular grooming. This will determine how long the bird will live and what its health will be. The main thing that the owner should not forget is about the level of purity of the cage in which the birds of the species in question live. The structure must be disinfected at least once a month, otherwise dangerous parasites will appear there. Before proceeding with disinfecting measures, all dust and dirt must be removed from the cage, rinsed with boiling water.

Further, all the cracks in the structure of the cage will need to be treated with a disinsectal solution. Such processing must be carried out using a brush. As soon as the cage is dry, it should be washed with hot water and soap. It is important to ensure that no traces of used solutions remain on the surface of the structure.

For the duration of the procedures, the birds must be moved from the aviary to another place. If you neglect such actions, birds can become victims of the down-operator tick, which poses a danger not only to them, but also to the owners.

A drinker should be placed in the cage, in which there should always be clean water. It is advisable to choose closable containers that will not get debris or excrement. Drinking bowls should be washed periodically using table salt or millet.

It is important to fit open swimwear. They are poured with settled or boiled water. Its height should be no more than 2 cm.

Food and drink in cages needs to be changed daily. When approaching a design with birds, you should be careful. You should not make sudden movements, you can talk with birds, but only in a calm voice. Thus, finches are more likely to adapt to people.

In the cage where zebra finches live, it is necessary to place a container with sand. It will also have to be changed periodically.

The room where the birds are kept should not be strong drafts or cold. Temperature extremes should be avoided. You should not smoke near finches, as tobacco smoke and other carbon monoxide can cause serious harm to the bird's body.

The finches in question must be fed properly. Birds should be given food based on a grain mixture of 6-8 elements. The main ingredient should be millet. For 1 kg of millet, you need to take:

• 250 g meadow grass seeds (for example, plantain or dandelion);
• 100 g of mogar seeds, chumiza, lettuce, hemp;
• 50 g flax seed;
• 150 g oatmeal;
• 300 g canary seed.

Feeding zebra birds should be done once a day, 1 teaspoon per individual. Their diet is allowed to be diluted with a variety of cereals (for example, millet, buckwheat). It is important to add fresh greens to their menu, for example, dill or parsley. Fruits, vegetables, berries will not be superfluous.

Finches should not only be fed balanced food, but also eggs in small quantities. They need to be hard-boiled. It is also worth feeding the birds with cottage cheese, live products (bloodworms, hamarus). The latter types of food are especially important for birds during the breeding stage.

In the summer season, feed mixtures should be diluted with chopped leaves of plantain, lettuce or dandelion. In winter, germinated grains of wheat, millet, oats or barley are ideal supplements.

If you do not want to independently prepare nutritional mixtures for these adorable birds, you can purchase a ready-made product in the store, which includes all the necessary components. These foods are available at most pet stores.

There are no significant external differences between females and males, but some color nuances can still be traced, which make it possible to determine the sex of the bird. Males have a head, neck and back of a characteristic ashy shade. They have large tail feathers, black with snow-white splashes. There are dark stripes under the eyes, as if drawn by a make-up artist. In the area under the eyes, males are black in color. The male breast and neck are striped (like a zebra). Also in the color of the male plumage there are brownish sides with white spots.

The color of the plumage of females differs little from the color of the males. The main difference is that they look less bright and saturated. The absence of chestnut scales on the plumage is characteristic. On the female, it will not be possible to find brown areas, she will not have stripes on the chest either. Males have a similar color, but only while they are young. In young individuals, the plumage is also not too bright, the color of the beak is black, brown shades prevail.

Another characteristic feature that distinguishes the male from the female is his singing. Only birds-boys sing loudly and melodiously.

If you place a pair of healthy zebra finches in one cage, then the likelihood that they will not reproduce will be very small. These feathered beauties reproduce very well in captivity. In a home rearing setting, birds begin to produce offspring as soon as they reach two months of age. But experts advise not to rush, but to wait a bit with the reproduction of finches. It is advisable to wait until the birds are six months or a year old.

In captivity, a small box serving as a nest is a good choice for breeding zebra finches. A special braided socket is often used instead. It is necessary to provide the birds with all the necessary materials from which they can build a nest on their own.

Ideally, nesting materials should be provided to the birds. For this, coconut fiber, jute are suitable. These components just need to be carefully placed in the cage where the birds live. As soon as they choose a place for the future nest, they will spend the night there.

Zebra finches will surely rush to furiously protect their nest, chase other birds if they are too close. Usually zebra birds protect their nest with heart-rending cries. It comes to fights and fights in extremely rare cases.

The number of eggs laid in most cases ranges from 2 to 7 pieces. Both birds incubate eggs. The incubation period takes from 14 to 16 days. During this period, a touching sight appears before the eyes of the owners. Once the chicks hatch, they are completely defenseless, fragile and vulnerable. Babies are covered with sparse fluff and are tiny in size. At this time, the chicks are still blind. They usually only open their eyes after a week.

Chicks do not leave the nest until 3 weeks have passed. During this time, they will be covered with plumage, but the color of their beak will not be red or bright orange (like in adults), but black. Its color will change only upon completion of full plumage.

Some zebra bird chicks that just got out of the nest are able to fly well. At the same time, other individuals can remain at the bottom of the cage without rising into the air. Parents will feed them for another 2-3 weeks. An indicator that the youngsters have matured and grown up will be the increase in noise from them.

The content of the birds in question cannot be called too complicated. Even a novice poultry farmer, who has never dealt with finches before, can cope with this. If you want to acquire such adorable creatures, it is worth taking on board some useful tips and tricks.

• With the onset of the winter season, experts recommend giving zebra finches a drop of fish oil. It is advisable to do this once a week.
• When arranging a cage or aviary for zebra birds, you need to make sure that there are secluded places in which the birds can hide from prying eyes.
• As mentioned above, zebra finches are very fond of swimming, therefore, in addition to the drinker, a bathing suit should be installed in the cage.It is worth laying out plastic around it so that the bedding in the "bird house" does not get wet.
• The condition of the birds must be kept under control. If you notice that the birds refuse food and water, behave strangely, become lethargic and painful, then you should contact your veterinarian as soon as possible. A specialist will help determine what the problem is and how to fix it.
• Keeping zebra finches in a huge cage or large aviary makes sense if you are interested in genetics and want to take up breeding work, or plan to become a large breeder and breed birds for sale. In other cases, there is no point in a large structure for keeping Australian birds.
• The ideal dwelling for finches is all-metal cages. They are both hygienic and durable. The sunlight that birds need easily passes through the bars. A good solution is a rectangular cage with a flat top. Such a design will create additional convenience, because it will be possible to significantly save free space and put several cells on top of each other.
• During the moulting period, it is recommended that zebra finches be given special vitamin mixtures. They will promote the growth of feathers, improve their natural color. Such funds must be bought in specialized stores.
• Do not leave food leftovers in the cage with amadins. They must be removed from the structure immediately, otherwise they will start to rot and deteriorate, and this will not entail anything good.
• Disinfectants are important to treat not only the cage itself, but also the pallet, perches, feeders, sand compartments. A 2% solution of chloramine and carbolic acid is ideal for this.
• A pallet in a cage is allowed to be treated with powdered chamomile and pyrethrum. They are simply poured onto the surface of the base in a small layer, thick paper is laid on top and sand is poured.
• If you keep zebra finches at home, you should have transport and quarantine cages in your arsenal. For the first time, a newly purchased bird should be placed in a quarantine house in order to avoid introducing possible infections into the common poultry house.
• When choosing the optimal place for placing a cage with birds, it is advisable to give preference to the area near the window along the wall. The sun should hit the birds at least 2-3 hours a day.
• Zebra finches are very sensitive to temperature changes, so you need to be careful when ventilating the room where the bird cage is. You should also make sure that other pets are not unexpectedly near the birds - this can become serious stress for the finches.

For breeding conditions and care of zebra finches, see below.