Just finished putting leg bands to the baby chicks. They are all healthy and doing good! 3 of the 5 should be leaving the nest by the weekend. Mom & dad are doing a great job taking care of their babies.
All 5 Black Cheek Zebra are growing and doing great. Mom & dad are doing a great job feeding and keeping them warm! They should be out of their nest soon.
Chris is very passionate about his Birds, that's how I am with my societies, and I have a male zebra which is all white what black drops on his eyes he likes to grow my societies and he gets along very well with my societies it talks up a storm sometimes and sometimes he gets a little jealous when I talk to the other birds he has got to be one of the happiest Birds I've ever seen in my life and believe it or not he likes to play tag with me he flies up to the bars and flies away and comes back so I pretend like I'm going to try to catch him this goes on for about 2 minutes maybe 3 I start getting tired LOL I love these little guys they put on a big show for me all the time
You are so lucky.ive had a pair 3 years.no babies.they have a coconut house to lay eggs.thier cage is in a window so they are happy.i raise it a couple inches so they get fresh air.
Update: 5 eggs have all hatched. 25th-26th -27th-28th & 29th. Mom doesn’t leave the nest. She’s a tight sitter. Daddy is feeding mom and 5 chicks. So far so good. All 5 chicks are good size & doing well & healthy. Pretty active babies. Mom & dad are doing a fantastic job. I’m so proud of them. Can’t wait to see what they’re going to look 👀 like, their Coloring, and how many females & males. Will let you know how they’re doing down the road. Your videos have helped a lot, learned a lot. I thank you for that. So Chris...did Santa get you the phone stand. 🎄. 🥳 Happy New Year to you & your family. 🥂🥳
Yvette Ortiz that means.... were u d Santa that sent him d stand. if so that was really so sweeeeeet of u to gift him that phone stand. God bless u n yr fly. 😘😘🤗🤗🙏
Hey Chris,lovely zebras,im looking at your zebz & would love to see you breed zebz with lacing...just an idea,im looking forward to this season of trying it with my gouldians👍🙏
Some great advice pal, thankyou,I've just got myself a pair about a month ago and I love them, I've just got them starting to land on my hand to eat meal worms,they seem to love them, maybe I'll post a video soon, I'm deffo gonna do the nesting box like you have,I tried the wicker one in there cage but they didn't seem to like it.
Hi Chris, I've got zebra Finches and most of them are breeding well, I've got plenty of nest boxes but there is one pair who keeps laying their eggs in the food bowl
Yeah sometimes they choose to not use the nest boxes. Keep removing the eggs as they lay them and they will eventually choose a different nesting site.
I the video when you talk about cleaning the nest “after they breed” does that mean before the female lays her eggs and if so how do you know if she has eggs or do you clean it after she lays her eggs but not before they hatch or is it after the babies fledge? I was at a feed store and as I was in the checkout line I heard these sweet little sounds from the back of the store. I left my place in line and followed birdie chatter and squeaks and to my surprise I found that the store owners had an aviary. I couldn’t help but be drawn to the little peppy feathered friends. I ended up going home with a pair. I’ve had them less than a month and have noticed that they are busy in more ways than one. 🤣😂 They also started building a nest in their seed cup and I lucked out I found a basket in some of my crafting supplies and made a home for their there little family.Now my fingers are crossed hoping that I will soon have little squeakers..This is all foreign to me so I have been doing a lot of UA-cam videos and scouring websites trying to educate myself. BTW, I love your channel and will appreciate any advice.
Good luck! It's fairly simple. Buy an extra cage to separate babies into once they are weaned. It's also a good idea to feed them sprouts. They must always have food and fresh water while they have babies. Also try to find natural perches because dowel ones aren't really good for birds feet and can cause arthritis.
Hi Chris,love your channel so much and decided to adopt a pair of zebra finch. And now the hen laying eggs,but i have a problem. When i give them greens and eggfood they dont touch it,and pick only the seed mix. I'm afraid of nutrition deficiency,any tips or i should just offer the eggfood and veggies wether they eat it or not? Thank you
I would continue to offer the eggfood and veggies to them in hopes that they will come around and start eating it. When the chicks hatch there's a good chance that they will start eating the egg food and feed that to their chicks.
For zebra finches they will breed all year round if you let them. I would recommend to not let them breed until spring and summer months when it’s warmer so that the chicks don’t get cold.
Hi! Really insightfull video! I would like to know what egg food is made of, is it only used during the breeding process? (Sorry if it is a dumb question...) Thanks!
It can also be used during molting. However you have to be careful of ingredients because stuff like honey for example which isn't necessary or always good for the birds.
Hey I have a pair of zebra finches 1 male for sure and one I thought was a female but know having second guess and is like Cotten balls good for nesting. My female s completely white but has faint flanks and stripes in its chin there very faint so idk.
Finch seed , fresh water, and egg food consisting of green veggies, carrots, and hard boiled eggs with the shell. Chop all of those together and give it to the birds
Wow! Your video is very informative. I need to watch your other videos. I have never had small little birds. I have had experience with Eclectus and Macaws. I always wanted some finches but they look so fragile, that I was scared to own any. Then a worker at the pet store told me you can scare them easily to where they will just die. So that really freaked me out. But now I see you banded the baby and he didn’t die. I think I am going to get some Gouldian Finches!! 🤗🤗 Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! I think I could love these little finches.
Thanks for video. One of the well detailed videos you made. Though, I don't have Zebras, I enjoyed this one! Great one! The trick you invented for making the bands is fantastic. PS:This is the second time that you have appeared on the video. Good to see you man!
Quick question: I'm planning on getting a fawn female and pair her up with either a charcoal male or a black cheek male, what kind of babies could I get from that pairing?
Very informative video!! I have a question. I have.a lot of Zebra finches that I am trying to get to breed. Currently the cage is outside in a covered patio. Would it be better if I put them in a garage to let them have more privacy? Thank you.
It depends on the climate you live in I'm not Chris but I know a lot about finches maybe they just need a little time to get used to their environment if it's too cold out on the patio and then put them somewhere where it's warmer that would be the best idea I can give you right now why would you want to put them in a garage I mean really don't you want to enjoy them and watch them putting them in the garage you wouldn't want to be in a garage would you LOL
hi, I have a question, so my zebra finch laid her first clutch. but idky she doesn't sit on them for the past 2 days neither does the male. what should i do and is it normal?
Hello bro, I have finch female and male I changed their location lately, how much time they need to fit with the new location ? And is there a method to help them to get used with it so they can breed ASAP ?
Hello, I have a question my zebra finches is the first time I have them and the first time the laid eggs there were 3 but just one hatches but died, now she laid a clutch of 9, 4 have hatched but they died I do not think they know how to feed them is this normal? Do I need to do something? They are about 6 months old now.
Yes definitely young birds. For zebras I’d wait until they are at least 9 months old or older for better breeding results. They are just young and inexperienced.
Update: Elvis & Bella had 2 females & 3 males. All doing excellent. They will be 2 months old on the 27th of February. Will be selling a few. Will be getting a pair of Gouldian Finches to breed soon.
Zebra finches and easy to breed, but as soon as thy go out of the nest the mom at some stage will chance them. Because she wants to lay eggs again. That is when I take her out , separate her , so the dad can feed them until. Thy eat them selves. I have got a white pair exactly like yours. I wanted the whiter ones and breed them as well. Thy are really very cute birds , thy like to sing when I go close and attend to them, very nice birds. Small to handle and thy don’t bite. Like my budgies or my lovebirds. My canneries also don’t bite , and are also nice to handle . And as you said , some nests or the compressed hairs, can brake there legs or pull of there toes. Also budgies, I don’t put any chain or small fluffed out hangings there , thy get tangled and die, or thy ripoff a limb. But mostly by the time you look thy have died from struggling to get free. So I don’t put anything g that will get there toes hooked on. For all my birds.
Love orange cheek waxbills. They are super energetic and nice finches to have. They are a waxbill which means you do need to provide live insects to help them raise their chicks. They are not dimorphic which means you can’t visually sex them so it is harder to find a true pair and your best bet is to colony breed them.
Both my Female & Male - Black Cheek Zebra Finches will not touch their Cuttlebone! I’ve placed it on all 4 sides of the cage. No luck. Then I placed the Cuttlebone on the ground. My male stands on it....but no luck. Any suggestions....would appreciate any. Thank you. They’re about 8 months old.
They probably won't touch the cuttle bone until they are ready to bree. I have some birds that wont touch it at all. Just hang it on the side of the cage next to a perch so it's available and leave it up to them to eat it or not.
My Black Cheek Zebra birds started to build a nest. Please tell me step by step what I should be doing. What food should I feed them. When do I start feeding them egg food. By the way, they didn’t like the wooden box with the hole. They went for the plastic nest box instead. It has a wide opening. It sits outside the cage. They are both building the nest. Super cute! Thank you.
Great congrats. You don't need to do much with zebra finches just leave them to do their jobs and they will do the rest. You can start giving them very small amounts of egg food right now. When the chicks hatch give them eggfood every day in a little bit larger quantities.
birdnerd Thank you for fast response. On lighting. Do I leave the light on all night for them. Also after the chicks are born, do I leave the light on all night.
I don't use a humidifier. Some people do and have liked them. I do live in a dessert region with very low humidity and I usually don't have too much of a problem with babies not being able to hatch out. I will also give them water to bathe in daily and that helps raise the humidity for birds sitting on eggs.
Hi ! I have four finches in one big cage and discovered eggs ! Do I separate them and there looks to be about 6-8 eggs in their coconut nest ! Can I touch the eggs to move into a box to observe or just leave and let nature do its thing ! What does momma feed the newborn babies ? All 4 birds go in that nest too so should I be worried about that ? Thank you !
if they are zebra finches you should have a good chance of them breeding for you. I would place the cage in the corner of the room so they feel a little more secure and they should breed for you.
All babies have fledged from their nest and are doing well. Dad is plugging feathers from the babies! Should I wait until they are weaned before I remove dad to a different cage! My concern is that he will be by himself when I move him. I’m giving mom a break from Breeding her. Once they’re weaned I’ll be separating the males and females. Thinking of getting White English Zebra. I like to get a female and breed her with my Black Cheek Zebra. Any thoughts would be helpful. Thank you.
Remove the female into a separate cage and remove the nest. The male will finish weaning the chicks and with the female out of the cage that should deter the male form plucking the chicks more. That would be great if you get a white English zebra I would love to see it if you do get one.
Hi Birdnerd, I have 4 male finch and I have bought them coconut hair and sterile cotton for nesting and they love it. I am going to get some more wooden boxes for them thank you for the info.
I bought them from a breeder several years ago. But if you check out the shop tab on my website I do have these same cages posted. www.littlebirdnerd.com
Ok....so this is what I did with my Black Cheek Zebra babies. I went ahead and left the female to wean 4 of the chicks. Removed the nesting box. Placed my male in a cage (30x18x18) next to my female and chicks. The last egg that hatched the chick is small. All the other chicks are a good size. Mom was too busy taking care of 5 chicks. So, I went ahead and removed the small chick & placed the chick with daddy. My male is feeding & taking care of the small chick now. He’s pretty happy taking care of his baby. He wasn’t doing so good, all by himself in the cage! He’s feeding the chick and the chick seems to be doing much better. My concern was that the chick wasn’t being feed that often. by mom. Now mom & dad are happy and the chicks are all being feed and taken care of. He no longer plucks the feathers of the baby. My female and male are excellent parents. This is their first time having chicks. My female Bella is getting a rest from breeding! Elvis is a great little stud...lol Very lovable little guy. Will keep you posted as things progress.
Hi Chris I’m having trouble with my zebra finches they have built a nest but it has been 3 weeks and I still no sigh of eggs.. I am very confused and I was wondering if I am doing anything wrong. It would be lovely if you could get back to me
Still no eggs from your zebras? Do your pair go into the nest frequently? Usually they will lay their eggs about 1-2 weeks after the completion of the nest. Let me know if they still don't have eggs
It depends on if your female has any recessive genes to black cheek. If not most likely the chicks will be normal Chest Nut Flanked Whites like you see in the picture but with orange cheeks instead of black. But all of the offspring will be split to black cheek though.
birdnerd the female has a black line below her eyes just like you’re female finch. And the male is a black cheek finch just like yours but darker grey.
birdnerd ohh right hopefully you produce some there really nice and it’s better when you produce something from your own birds. Took me 5 years but I got them In the end and now you can pretty much get them easily here.and your English zebras is what we in Ireland call the show type and then we have a small version that we call the normal pet type. Ps the bigger the birds get the harder they are to breed more problems ect with blank eggs and not feeding young
@@stephengrant4911 Thanks for the reply and info. Yeah I have heard those same issues with the show parakeets as well. Hopefully we will not have many of those issues. but we'll see.
I have a fawn cheek hen with a black cheek male and they produce black cheek babies and occasionally a grey cheek baby. The fawn or grey cheek have an almost white body, really pretty. Just don't breed 2 fawn cheeks as blind chicks can come out of that pairing. I can't wait to see what you get from those 2 you have set up.
Hi birdnerd so my two zebra finches minna and George get along and sometimes George (the male) trys to mate but he either falls or gets off in like 2 seconds I've gave them this grass from outside and they like it (not normal grass) but she hasnt laid anything yet so what should I do?
@@birdnerd they have been together for about 1 month or so and they are working on a nest also can the eggs be were they sleep?? Cause that where they're building it
@@birdnerd also I feel like the female has grown distant when the male gets to groom she moves away (sometimes) but the male is making the nest and the female is helping
I am so happy to see your aviary. I love it. My dream project to do a aviary. I have a question for you. If we keep different Finches of birds(Love birds, Finches, Cocktail, badgries) in one aviary do they bread ?? Will be waiting for your answer ...
Hi Chris can you please help me.. I got my zebrafinches about a month ago and they're going in the nest all the time and they're mating a few times a day but they still don't have eggs please help me because I am confused
Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for the hen to start laying eggs after they have built their nest. I’m sure in the next week or two you will start to see eggs
Amazon market place is your best bet to find similar cages like these. Unfortunately these specific cages I bought off of a previous breeder and I am not sure exactly where he got the cages from.
Found this in the internet: When choosing a mate, a zebra finch hen prefers a male with the reddest bill and the highest song rate, both of which are thought to indicate good condition. They also prefer males with symmetric markings. Studies have also shown that adding leg bands to the birds can affect their attractiveness to the opposite sex; hens prefer cock birds with (symmetrically placed) red bands (& dislike those wearing light green bands), while cocks prefer hens who wear black bands (& dislike those wearing light blue bands). Orange colored bands appear to be neutral to both sexes.
Hi Chris, thanks for such an informative video. Thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I have 2 Gouldians and hoping that they'll breed when the weather warms up. Are the rings you use, plastic? That's certainly an easy approach to be able to put bands on such small legs.
I pull the trays out each saturday and give them a wipe down and put new bedding in them. If you can find a dish that the seed sit down in and it has a cover with a small opening that will help reduce the amount of seeds spilt or blown all over the floor. Birds are messy and there will always be seed on the floor.
Thank you! I don't have zebras but society. Am watching them to see which is male/female. I didn't plan on breeding though you've shown a wonderful tutorial. I was hoping to have males but smaller one may be a female. At about what age do they start laying eggs, breeding? Mine are supposed to be young but didn't get their hatch dates. Only have 2 & are so enjoyable to watch. My first finches, had small parrots years ago.
Society FInches can become sexually mature around 6 months of age and will lay eggs then. Although I wouldn't recommend breeding them until they are about 12 months old. I really enjoy the society finches.
@@birdnerd I may need to. The bigger one which I believe is a male is having fun playing with paper towels at bottom & flying to highest perch holding it. He keeps getting in feed dishes & sitting. I think he's trying to nest.
I began watching videos and they’re really good and informative. I have three finches that were given to me. I can’t tell their gender. Do you have a video or could make a video to show their genders ?
I have some of my videos that talk about the genders. The best way is to follow me on Instagram @birdnerd4 and send me pics of your birds and I will tell you the genders of them.
This is the best video I've seen so far about zebra finches... And I speak 3 languages
Thank you
Your cages are immaculate!! Thank you for caring about your birds!
Dude. Time to write a book. That is by far the best video on the process of breeding. Nice job and thanks a million!
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback. A book may be in the cards down the road.
I have a pair of zebra finches with 4 eggs nesting for about a week. Loved your video. I learned a lot from it, especially the banding. Thanks!
Good to know. Thanks for watching
Wow I'm a finchnerd... please upload more finch bird videos.. please! I really like your setup
Thank you
birdnerd can you make a video on how you clean their cages?
Just finished putting leg bands to the baby chicks.
They are all healthy and doing good!
3 of the 5 should be leaving the nest by the weekend.
Mom & dad are doing a great job taking care of their babies.
That's awesome! Glad they are doing well for you.
All 5 Black Cheek Zebra are growing and doing great. Mom & dad are
doing a great job feeding and keeping them warm!
They should be out of their nest soon.
Awesome so good to hear.
Very nice
Chris is very passionate about his Birds, that's how I am with my societies, and I have a male zebra which is all white what black drops on his eyes he likes to grow my societies and he gets along very well with my societies it talks up a storm sometimes and sometimes he gets a little jealous when I talk to the other birds he has got to be one of the happiest Birds I've ever seen in my life and believe it or not he likes to play tag with me he flies up to the bars and flies away and comes back so I pretend like I'm going to try to catch him this goes on for about 2 minutes maybe 3 I start getting tired LOL I love these little guys they put on a big show for me all the time
Thanks without you i wouldn't have known how to breed my finches
Awesome! Glad I could help you. Thanks for your support
I BOUGHT 4 SOCIETY FINCHES ABOUT 7 MONTHS AGO. NOW I HAVE 19 BIRDS. THEY BREED VERY EASILY AND QUICKLY.
You are so lucky.ive had a pair 3 years.no babies.they have a coconut house to lay eggs.thier cage is in a window so they are happy.i raise it a couple inches so they get fresh air.
Thanks!
Thank you again for your support!!
I learned so much more about my finches today.Thankyou.
Thank you
Can The finch inbreed ,Lost mother bird and father and babies left ,or do i need to get another female to breed?
Update: 5 eggs have all hatched. 25th-26th -27th-28th & 29th.
Mom doesn’t leave the nest. She’s a tight sitter. Daddy is feeding mom
and 5 chicks. So far so good. All 5 chicks are good size & doing well & healthy.
Pretty active babies.
Mom & dad are doing a fantastic job.
I’m so proud of them. Can’t wait to see
what they’re going to look 👀 like, their
Coloring, and how many females & males.
Will let you know how they’re doing down
the road.
Your videos have helped a lot, learned a lot.
I thank you for that.
So Chris...did Santa get you the phone stand. 🎄. 🥳 Happy New Year to you & your family. 🥂🥳
Great news! How are the chicks doing?
Yvette Ortiz that means.... were u d Santa that sent him d stand. if so that was really so sweeeeeet of u to gift him that phone stand.
God bless u n yr fly. 😘😘🤗🤗🙏
Really informative video Bro.Appreciate.
Hey Chris,lovely zebras,im looking at your zebz & would love to see you breed zebz with lacing...just an idea,im looking forward to this season of trying it with my gouldians👍🙏
That would be really cool. Try it out and let me know how it goes for you.
Some great advice pal, thankyou,I've just got myself a pair about a month ago and I love them, I've just got them starting to land on my hand to eat meal worms,they seem to love them, maybe I'll post a video soon, I'm deffo gonna do the nesting box like you have,I tried the wicker one in there cage but they didn't seem to like it.
Awesome and thanks for sharing!
really enjoyed the video it was a lot of help, thank u! hope you'll make another one about gouldians.
I will very soon
Hi I have a question!
Where did you got those nests can you put on a link where you buy them please
Thank you .
I enjoyed your video! Your very talented! 💕🦉. I am L.A. 🇺🇸. a Visitor, or guest.
Thank you so much because I had what to do and from my to black cheek zebra finches I had so beautiful babies
Thanks for a great and informative video. Where did you find that thing to put on the bands and what is it called?
I believe I got it from ladygouldian.com they have finch bands and the tool applicator as well.
where did you find wooden nest boxes and cages good set up......Tom
Great video!..im also breeding zebra finches here in New Zealand also started creating videos here on UA-cam 😅.. Stay safe!
Cuestión ,were do you get your cages?? those are great
I have them posted on my website at www.littlebirdnerd.com
Hi Chris, I've got zebra Finches and most of them are breeding well, I've got plenty of nest boxes but there is one pair who keeps laying their eggs in the food bowl
Yeah sometimes they choose to not use the nest boxes. Keep removing the eggs as they lay them and they will eventually choose a different nesting site.
I the video when you talk about cleaning the nest “after they breed” does that mean before the female lays her eggs and if so how do you know if she has eggs or do you clean it after she lays her eggs but not before they hatch or is it after the babies fledge? I was at a feed store and as I was in the checkout line I heard these sweet little sounds from the back of the store. I left my place in line and followed birdie chatter and squeaks and to my surprise I found that the store owners had an aviary. I couldn’t help but be drawn to the little peppy feathered friends. I ended up going home with a pair. I’ve had them less than a month and have noticed that they are busy in more ways than one. 🤣😂 They also started building a nest in their seed cup and I lucked out I found a basket in some of my crafting supplies and made a home for their there little family.Now my fingers are crossed hoping that I will soon have little squeakers..This is all foreign to me so I have been doing a lot of UA-cam videos and scouring websites trying to educate myself. BTW, I love your channel and will appreciate any advice.
Good luck! It's fairly simple. Buy an extra cage to separate babies into once they are weaned. It's also a good idea to feed them sprouts. They must always have food and fresh water while they have babies. Also try to find natural perches because dowel ones aren't really good for birds feet and can cause arthritis.
Hi how long for hatching after being layed
They r the easiest bird to breed just love them I put them in the aviary and they just bread all kinds
Hi Chris,love your channel so much and decided to adopt a pair of zebra finch. And now the hen laying eggs,but i have a problem. When i give them greens and eggfood they dont touch it,and pick only the seed mix. I'm afraid of nutrition deficiency,any tips or i should just offer the eggfood and veggies wether they eat it or not? Thank you
I would continue to offer the eggfood and veggies to them in hopes that they will come around and start eating it. When the chicks hatch there's a good chance that they will start eating the egg food and feed that to their chicks.
Oh thank you so much Chris for the answer. Really help me a lot.
Great video. I look on Amazon and can not find the Bermuda Grass nor the the coco fiber. Do you have kinks? Thanks..
Usually lady gouldian finch.com has both of those.
Here is a separate link for the coco fiber
www.windycityparrot.com/coconut-stuff-c-356_775/
@@birdnerd Thanks
How about a video on incubator. How you set the time, temperature etc.
I can do that.
Would love to see that.
halo i have a white female when i got her she was like snow white but know she have like a pink shade on her chest is this normal
Is there any breeding seasons, if so what are the months ??
For zebra finches they will breed all year round if you let them. I would recommend to not let them breed until spring and summer months when it’s warmer so that the chicks don’t get cold.
Great video, I’ve been raising some zebras myself!
Hi! Really insightfull video! I would like to know what egg food is made of, is it only used during the breeding process? (Sorry if it is a dumb question...) Thanks!
It can also be used during molting. However you have to be careful of ingredients because stuff like honey for example which isn't necessary or always good for the birds.
Hi Christ: What # Wattage (60-75-100 etc) do you use for your heating lamp. Thanks.
it 75 watts
birdnerd Thank you.
Hey I have a pair of zebra finches 1 male for sure and one I thought was a female but know having second guess and is like Cotten balls good for nesting. My female s completely white but has faint flanks and stripes in its chin there very faint so idk.
Please can you tell that what we should feed them during nesting
Finch seed , fresh water, and egg food consisting of green veggies, carrots, and hard boiled eggs with the shell. Chop all of those together and give it to the birds
What kind of breeding cages are you using? im still looking for them :D
They are on my website www.littlebirdnerd.com they be on back order right now
What do you do with all the babies? Any ideas on how to stop them from breeding?
hi i have a question, why do u have to put bands on dem finches
It helps me know which babies came from different birds. The. In the further it helps me to not breed siblings together
@@birdnerd oooohhh k but what if u do breed siblings
Hello there, what can you feed with the baby finch?... Or their parents will feed them seed too?
Wow! Your video is very informative. I need to watch your other videos. I have never had small little birds. I have had experience with Eclectus and Macaws. I always wanted some finches but they look so fragile, that I was scared to own any. Then a worker at the pet store told me you can scare them easily to where they will just die. So that really freaked me out. But now I see you banded the baby and he didn’t die. I think I am going to get some Gouldian Finches!! 🤗🤗
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! I think I could love these little finches.
These little guys are hardier than you would expect and are fun to have. Take a try on the gouldians they are my favorite finches.
birdnerd Yes I am definitely going to do it. They remind me of little penguins 😀
Thanks for video. One of the well detailed videos you made. Though, I don't have Zebras, I enjoyed this one! Great one! The trick you invented for making the bands is fantastic. PS:This is the second time that you have appeared on the video. Good to see you man!
Haha yeah I'm not much for showing my ugly face on camera. Glad you enjoyed the video
Don't say that! You are awesome.
Quick question: I'm planning on getting a fawn female and pair her up with either a charcoal male or a black cheek male, what kind of babies could I get from that pairing?
Whats your egg food
It mostly consists of chopped greens and chopped carrots with a chopped hard boiled egg with the shell. Then I mix all of that together.
Very informative video!! I have a question. I have.a lot of Zebra finches that I am trying to get to breed. Currently the cage is outside in a covered patio. Would it be better if I put them in a garage to let them have more privacy? Thank you.
Mine breed outdoors. You just need to put nests and plenty of nest material. Make sure they always have food and fresh water.
It depends on the climate you live in I'm not Chris but I know a lot about finches maybe they just need a little time to get used to their environment if it's too cold out on the patio and then put them somewhere where it's warmer that would be the best idea I can give you right now why would you want to put them in a garage I mean really don't you want to enjoy them and watch them putting them in the garage you wouldn't want to be in a garage would you LOL
hi, I have a question, so my zebra finch laid her first clutch. but idky she doesn't sit on them for the past 2 days neither does the male. what should i do and is it normal?
Hello bro,
I have finch female and male
I changed their location lately, how much time they need to fit with the new location ?
And is there a method to help them to get used with it so they can breed ASAP ?
Zebra finches are pretty hardy birds birds and are quick to adapt to their new surroundings. They are probably ready to breed.
@@birdnerd lol they don‘t even enter the nest till now
Great video! Do you know if you can breed wild finches with domestic ones?
Hello, I have a question my zebra finches is the first time I have them and the first time the laid eggs there were 3 but just one hatches but died, now she laid a clutch of 9, 4 have hatched but they died I do not think they know how to feed them is this normal? Do I need to do something? They are about 6 months old now.
Yes definitely young birds. For zebras I’d wait until they are at least 9 months old or older for better breeding results. They are just young and inexperienced.
Thank you very much for the advice, this helps me a ton, I deeply appreciate you getting back to me on this. @@birdnerd
Do you think commercial bird food contains pesticides?
Where you buy those cages
GO on my website littlebirdnerd.com I have the same cages on my products tab that is linked through amazon and you can purchase them.
Okay thanks so mush
Update: Elvis & Bella had 2 females & 3 males. All doing excellent. They will be 2 months old on the 27th of February. Will be selling a few.
Will be getting a pair of Gouldian Finches to breed soon.
Very Awesome
Zebra finches and easy to breed, but as soon as thy go out of the nest the mom at some stage will chance them. Because she wants to lay eggs again. That is when I take her out , separate her , so the dad can feed them until. Thy eat them selves. I have got a white pair exactly like yours. I wanted the whiter ones and breed them as well. Thy are really very cute birds , thy like to sing when I go close and attend to them, very nice birds. Small to handle and thy don’t bite. Like my budgies or my lovebirds. My canneries also don’t bite , and are also nice to handle . And as you said , some nests or the compressed hairs, can brake there legs or pull of there toes. Also budgies, I don’t put any chain or small fluffed out hangings there , thy get tangled and die, or thy ripoff a limb. But mostly by the time you look thy have died from struggling to get free. So I don’t put anything g that will get there toes hooked on. For all my birds.
Yes I have had that happen before I will keep a close eye on them and make sure they dont get their feathers plucked.
Really learned a lot from you! My question is this: can you ever return "grown" chick's back to their parents cage ?
They will interbreed so I wouldn’t recommend it.
i just got a pair of waxbills (orange cheeked) do you have any tips?
for breeding
Love orange cheek waxbills. They are super energetic and nice finches to have. They are a waxbill which means you do need to provide live insects to help them raise their chicks. They are not dimorphic which means you can’t visually sex them so it is harder to find a true pair and your best bet is to colony breed them.
Both my Female & Male - Black Cheek Zebra Finches will not touch their
Cuttlebone! I’ve placed it on all 4 sides of the cage. No luck. Then I
placed the Cuttlebone on the ground. My male stands on it....but no
luck. Any suggestions....would appreciate any. Thank you. They’re about
8 months old.
They probably won't touch the cuttle bone until they are ready to bree. I have some birds that wont touch it at all. Just hang it on the side of the cage next to a perch so it's available and leave it up to them to eat it or not.
birdnerd Sounds good. Thank you.
My Black Cheek Zebra birds started to build a nest.
Please tell me step by step what I should be doing.
What food should I feed them. When do I start feeding them egg food.
By the way, they didn’t like the wooden box with the hole.
They went for the plastic nest box instead.
It has a wide opening. It sits outside the cage.
They are both building the nest.
Super cute!
Thank you.
Great congrats. You don't need to do much with zebra finches just leave them to do their jobs and they will do the rest. You can start giving them very small amounts of egg food right now. When the chicks hatch give them eggfood every day in a little bit larger quantities.
birdnerd Thank you for fast response. On lighting. Do I leave the light on all night for them.
Also after the chicks are born, do I leave the light on all night.
@@yvetteortiz6370 You don't need to leave the light on all night. It is important that the birds get good rest at night also.
Do you use a humidifier! What is your opinion on this.
I don't use a humidifier. Some people do and have liked them. I do live in a dessert region with very low humidity and I usually don't have too much of a problem with babies not being able to hatch out. I will also give them water to bathe in daily and that helps raise the humidity for birds sitting on eggs.
Hi ! I have four finches in one big cage and discovered eggs ! Do I separate them and there looks to be about 6-8 eggs in their coconut nest ! Can I touch the eggs to move into a box to observe or just leave and let nature do its thing ! What does momma feed the newborn babies ? All 4 birds go in that nest too so should I be worried about that ? Thank you !
I have a Male and female finch just wana know if they are going to breed if they are in the house with us walking pass them every day
if they are zebra finches you should have a good chance of them breeding for you. I would place the cage in the corner of the room so they feel a little more secure and they should breed for you.
All babies have fledged from their nest and are doing well.
Dad is plugging feathers from
the babies!
Should I wait until they are weaned before I remove dad to
a different cage!
My concern is that he will be by
himself when I move him.
I’m giving mom a break from Breeding her.
Once they’re weaned I’ll be
separating the males and females.
Thinking of getting White English Zebra.
I like to get a female and breed her with my Black Cheek Zebra.
Any thoughts would be helpful.
Thank you.
Remove the female into a separate cage and remove the nest. The male will finish weaning the chicks and with the female out of the cage that should deter the male form plucking the chicks more. That would be great if you get a white English zebra I would love to see it if you do get one.
My dad has those birds and the male always goes into the female nest and lays there with her is that a good sign
Hi Birdnerd, I have 4 male finch and I have bought them coconut hair and sterile cotton for nesting and they love it. I am going to get some more wooden boxes for them thank you for the info.
I cannot find Bermuda Grass at Amazon. Where do I look. Thank you.
That is where I had bought it from. Maybe check out ladygouldianfinch.com and see if they have any.
birdnerd Already have. They’re out of stock. I do buy a lot of my
stuff for my birds with them. Great site. Thank you.
Egg food.....how long do you keep it in the cage, and how often do you change the food.
I only give enough to last the birds for 1 day. They will usually eat all of the egg food within 1-2 hours of me giving it to them
Where are u at in order to get some finches?
I am located in utah
Where did you get the cages????
I bought them from a breeder several years ago. But if you check out the shop tab on my website I do have these same cages posted. www.littlebirdnerd.com
Ok....so this is what I did with my Black Cheek Zebra babies.
I went ahead and left the female to wean 4 of the chicks.
Removed the nesting box.
Placed my male in a cage (30x18x18) next to my female and chicks.
The last egg that hatched the chick is small.
All the other chicks are a good size.
Mom was too busy taking care of 5 chicks.
So, I went ahead and removed the small chick &
placed the chick with daddy.
My male is feeding & taking care of the small chick now.
He’s pretty happy taking care of his baby.
He wasn’t doing so good, all by himself in the cage!
He’s feeding the chick and the chick seems to be
doing much better.
My concern was that the chick wasn’t being feed that often.
by mom.
Now mom & dad are happy and the chicks are all being feed
and taken care of.
He no longer plucks the feathers of the baby.
My female and male are excellent parents.
This is their first time having chicks.
My female Bella is getting a rest from breeding!
Elvis is a great little stud...lol
Very lovable little guy.
Will keep you posted as things progress.
Awesome, Good to hear.
Pwede po ipag sama marami if maluwag ang cage ng mga zebra finches
Hi Chris I’m having trouble with my zebra finches they have built a nest but it has been 3 weeks and I still no sigh of eggs.. I am very confused and I was wondering if I am doing anything wrong. It would be lovely if you could get back to me
Still no eggs from your zebras? Do your pair go into the nest frequently? Usually they will lay their eggs about 1-2 weeks after the completion of the nest. Let me know if they still don't have eggs
Great birds bro, wanted to ask how old does the females have to be so they can be paired up with a male?
I typically wait until 12 months old to pair them up.
Can we put a coconut with a hole
Yes, just make sure the coconut meat is cleaned out and the shell is baked or sterilized to prevent insects from infesting the inside of the coconut.
I have a same exact pair colour as you. They laid 4 eggs. What colour would the baby be?
It depends on if your female has any recessive genes to black cheek. If not most likely the chicks will be normal Chest Nut Flanked Whites like you see in the picture but with orange cheeks instead of black. But all of the offspring will be split to black cheek though.
birdnerd the female has a black line below her eyes just like you’re female finch. And the male is a black cheek finch just like yours but darker grey.
@@Worrior30304 Well hopefully you'll get some white black bodied finches with black cheeks. Keep me posted on what the chicks look like
birdnerd I’ll keep you posted.
birdnerd So far, it is dark coloured and it’s eyes are not yet developed. From head to tail it is probably size of you’re thumb.
greetings could you tell me how I can get those cages where I buy many.
I have them posted on my website. www.littlebirdnerd.com
Hi nice set up i have been keeping zebras for years.are you trying to produce black cheek chestnut flank whites.
I would love some black cheek CFW zebras but I am mostly just trying to get the black cheek into my English Zebra lines.
birdnerd ohh right hopefully you produce some there really nice and it’s better when you produce something from your own birds. Took me 5 years but I got them In the end and now you can pretty much get them easily here.and your English zebras is what we in Ireland call the show type and then we have a small version that we call the normal pet type. Ps the bigger the birds get the harder they are to breed more problems ect with blank eggs and not feeding young
@@stephengrant4911 Thanks for the reply and info. Yeah I have heard those same issues with the show parakeets as well. Hopefully we will not have many of those issues. but we'll see.
I have a fawn cheek hen with a black cheek male and they produce black cheek babies and occasionally a grey cheek baby. The fawn or grey cheek have an almost white body, really pretty. Just don't breed 2 fawn cheeks as blind chicks can come out of that pairing. I can't wait to see what you get from those 2 you have set up.
@@Kris-jy7dz Thanks, I'm excited to see what comes out.
Hi birdnerd so my two zebra finches minna and George get along and sometimes George (the male) trys to mate but he either falls or gets off in like 2 seconds I've gave them this grass from outside and they like it (not normal grass) but she hasnt laid anything yet so what should I do?
How long has your pair been together? Have they built a nest?
@@birdnerd they have been together for about 1 month or so and they are working on a nest also can the eggs be were they sleep?? Cause that where they're building it
@@chrismarez7849 Yes that is where they should lay the eggs is in the nest where they sleep
@@birdnerd also I feel like the female has grown distant when the male gets to groom she moves away (sometimes) but the male is making the nest and the female is helping
How to braiding case measurement?
What Brings Zeba Finche into Breed
I am so happy to see your aviary. I love it. My dream project to do a aviary.
I have a question for you. If we keep different Finches of birds(Love birds, Finches, Cocktail, badgries) in one aviary do they bread ??
Will be waiting for your answer ...
Any link for materials from Amazon?
Clean setup
Thank you
Can I just get a random male and female Finch, put them in a cage, do the same nest and food setup as you did and get them to breed? Is it that easy?
For zebra finches yes
hi, can you please tell me what does mean when both male and female click their beak ?
That is usually a sign that the birds have mites and need to be treated.
Hi Chris can you please help me.. I got my zebrafinches about a month ago and they're going in the nest all the time and they're mating a few times a day but they still don't have eggs please help me because I am confused
Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for the hen to start laying eggs after they have built their nest. I’m sure in the next week or two you will start to see eggs
@@birdnerd thank you so much I'll update you
@@birdnerd hi Chris my zebrafinch laid an egg!
@@birdnerdmy finches sadly stopped with breeding
Hi mate. Love the videos. Do you breed the finches twice a year? Ie summer and winter? Jon
I breed them once per year
I leave them free to do what they want they r in a aviary and don't stop breading
Can you tell me were you buy the cages please?
Amazon market place is your best bet to find similar cages like these. Unfortunately these specific cages I bought off of a previous breeder and I am not sure exactly where he got the cages from.
Found this in the internet:
When choosing a mate, a zebra finch hen prefers a male with the reddest bill and the highest song rate, both of which are thought to indicate good condition. They also prefer males with symmetric markings. Studies have also shown that adding leg bands to the birds can affect their attractiveness to the opposite sex; hens prefer cock birds with (symmetrically placed) red bands (& dislike those wearing light green bands), while cocks prefer hens who wear black bands (& dislike those wearing light blue bands). Orange colored bands appear to be neutral to both sexes.
Interesting, I have never had an issue with birds not choosing a mate because of the color of leg band.
I know....same here. Just thought it was interesting!
@@yvetteortiz6370 Very interesting
Hi I need some zabra and society finches I live in Maryland
Hi it's first time I watching your videos thanks, when you say cocoa it's from a real coconut
Yes it is the fibers from the outside of a coconut shell.
Hi my zeebra finches mates daily, from 2 months I don't know when it lay eggs
If they havn't laid eggs after a few months of being together I would separate them for a month or so and then put them back together and try it again
Hi Chris, thanks for such an informative video. Thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I have 2 Gouldians and hoping that they'll breed when the weather warms up. Are the rings you use, plastic? That's certainly an easy approach to be able to put bands on such small legs.
Yes they are plastic. They are really nice to use.
I don't have a banding tool. Is there something else I could use? Maybe a toothpick or tweezers?
You could try those but I would suggest a banding tool to keep if safe and efficient for you and the birds.
How do you clean those trays? My balcony is full of finch food shells it's really a problem how to manage these
I pull the trays out each saturday and give them a wipe down and put new bedding in them. If you can find a dish that the seed sit down in and it has a cover with a small opening that will help reduce the amount of seeds spilt or blown all over the floor. Birds are messy and there will always be seed on the floor.
@@birdnerd thanks for your response
@@thelostrad1666 You bet
What do u give as egg food
Hard boiled eggs with the shell, carrot, Romain lettuce, spinach, peppers, and corn
Thank you! I don't have zebras but society.
Am watching them to see which is male/female. I didn't plan on breeding though you've shown a wonderful tutorial. I was hoping to have males but smaller one may be a female.
At about what age do they start laying eggs, breeding? Mine are supposed to be young but didn't get their hatch dates. Only have 2 & are so enjoyable to watch. My first finches, had small parrots years ago.
Society FInches can become sexually mature around 6 months of age and will lay eggs then. Although I wouldn't recommend breeding them until they are about 12 months old. I really enjoy the society finches.
@@birdnerd I'm pretty sure they're much younger than that. The slightly bigger finch is more assertive, bit aggressive, more vocal & chases the other.
@@dloveofgod8269 If they are young you might want to separate them so they don't try to breed.
@@birdnerd I may need to. The bigger one which I believe is a male is having fun playing with paper towels at bottom & flying to highest perch holding it. He keeps getting in feed dishes & sitting. I think he's trying to nest.
@@dloveofgod8269 Yes those sound like breeding behaviors.
I began watching videos and they’re really good and informative. I have three finches that were given to me. I can’t tell their gender. Do you have a video or could make a video to show their genders ?
I have some of my videos that talk about the genders. The best way is to follow me on Instagram @birdnerd4 and send me pics of your birds and I will tell you the genders of them.
Where did you get your cages ?
I want to know this as well