Zebra Finch - Breeding

Breeding

In the Zebra Finch, sudden bursts of gathering behaviors signal that a pair is ready to nest. The pair will pull strings or plant leaves they can reach, and if no materials are available to gather, they will use feathers and bits of seed husks. Alfalfa or timothy hay is an acceptable nesting material, as it is closest to what is readily available in the wild. Any item they can use to build a nest will be deposited in a corner of the cage floor, or in their food dish. When these behaviors are noticed, a mating pair should be provided with a sturdy wicker nest about the size of a large apple or orange. This nest should always be placed in the highest possible corner of the cage, opposite the food dish, but near the normal night perch. Nesting finches will abandon a perch if it is across the cage, with the male showing he prefers to sit atop the nest while the female lays. During the nest building, however, both will spend the night cuddling inside the nest.

When they accept the nest shell and begin using it each night, they should be provided with an ample supply of very soft bits of short string and leaves. They prefer items only a couple of inches long and will use nearly any type and color of soft material; longer bits of string or nesting material can tangle around the finches or nestlings and cause distress that will lead to strangulation or even death. The nest shell will be packed with everything they can reach for at least a week before laying begins.

The number of eggs ranges from two to seven eggs per clutch, with five being the most common number. In captivity, some birds lay larger clutches.

Males and females are very similar in size, but are easily distinguished from one another, as the males usually have bright orange cheek feathers, red beaks (as opposed to the orange beaks of females), and generally more striking black and white patterns. The beak is sometimes the only way to tell the gender of a Zebra Finch, as sometimes the orange cheek coloring is faded or nonexistent. Offspring from a similarly colored nesting pair may sometimes vary from the parents' coloration, with nestlings varying from plain grey to completely white. These variations are usually due to mixed breeding between finch types somewhere down the family line, especially in pet store birds. However, the orange cheeks are a stubborn indication that a young Zebra Finch is indeed a male and the cheeks begin to appear when the young are about two months old. Young Zebra Finches will also have black beaks, with the coloring coming in at puberty, though it begins changing at age one month.

The chicks will hatch according to the laying time of each egg. It is common to have one or two eggs remaining unhatched as the parents begin the task of feeding the nestlings. Though it is preferable to leave nests alone after the egg-laying begins, once hatching begins, a breeder might find it useful to make daily 'checks' into the nest to correct problems early, such as larger chicks sitting on and smothering smaller ones, thus increasing the number of chicks that eventually fledge. The time from laying until a fledgling adventures outside will vary with each clutch, but generally good eggs will hatch within 14 to 16 days of laying and young will begin to venture out within about three or four weeks of hatching, and will look full-grown in about three months. Breeding age is eight or more months. Zebra Finches are usually excellent parents and will readily take turns sitting on the nest and bringing food to the young.

While the female is laying, only her mate will be allowed in the nest. Allowing the pair to start a new family while the first clutch is still in the cage will overly stress all the birds in the family. The male of the breeding pair will not allow any other birds near the nest while eggs are being laid. It is advised the newly fledged birds be removed and placed into a separate enclosure to prevent aggressive actions of the adult male who will likely try to beat off younger birds as seen as competition for the females attention.