Trying to decide if I want to get Zebra finches..

[JenniferJ]

Hi everyone! I am new to the forums and I was wondering if you could tell me what it is like to have zebra finches? I have been thinking about getting them for some time. A couple of questions:

Would you say they are very quiet compared to cockateils?
Are they noisy enough to cause my cockateil to call back to them? I had two at one point and their always having to talk back to one another drove me crazy so I kept the one I had the longest ( we have had him 15 years) and found a new home for the other.

Can you hand tame babies to be held?

What other things can you tell me about having finches?
Thank you!!

Jennifer

[B CAMP]

Welcome to the forum ,if you fill in your profile with where you live it makes it a lot easier to answer questions sometimes ,have you checked out the finch information center there is a lot of good reading there
http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... _finch.php
Finches aren't the type birds you hold and have a lot of interaction with.

[ac12]

Zebras are noisy compared to society and gouldians, but nowhere near as noisy as a parrot. My brothers parrot could be heard clearly on the other side of the house.

Zebras are also "pushy," some much more than others. What this means is if you don't want aggression/fighting, get TWO of them, no more. Any more than 2 and you will very likely have aggression/fighting.

And if you do not want chicks, get a same sex pair M/M or F/F.

For all practical purpose you CANNOT tame a zebra, they are not like parakeets. As soon as they leave the nest, you are a BIG monster to be avoided.

There are LOTs of sites (some specific to zebras) with a LOT more info than we can give you in messages. The FIC on the left is one.

gud luk

[dfcauley]

Well.... everyone here knows I am the wrong person to answer about zebras.

But.... I will say that they were my first finch and I enjoyed them very much. But in an aviary with other birds they just didn't work out for me.

They are a bit loud, but very comical birds.

[Ameza]

I would read a lot about the topic, just google and you get a lot of great info sites.

Zebra finches are not very noisy, at least not compared to parrots like budgies and lovebird. They get more noisy the more you have, but two finches don't make a much sound. The female only give small 'meep' noise and the male "sings".

Zebras are not birds to be held. In rare cases this has worked by handfeeding and taming chicks from birth but not recommended and quite rare to succed.

They are very active birds, very fun to watch and fun and easy to breed. They love bathing and making nests and sining along with the radio and so on. And you always need to have them in pairs, same sex or othervice.

I really love my zebbies and think they are adorable and can't wait to get more room to buy some more. But if you want tame birds that can stay on your shoulder, talk to you and come when called zebra finches are not the choise. Think of them more like wild birds.

Good luck.

[L in Ontario]

You gotten the best advice / experience above. I'm just stopping in to say HI and Welcome to the Finch Forum, Jennifer3!

[franny]

If you have lived with a cockatiel for 15 years, then in my opinion, you won't even notice the sound of a pair of zebras! They make mostly just soft "meep, meep" sounds except for when the male does his squeeky little song. Most finches are excellent apartment pets, when numbers are kept down to a pair or two. Very quiet. I live in a tiny apartment and most people don't even know I have birds...where as the two folks in this building who have cockatiels are "known" by everyone in the building!

I think that if you are willing to enjoy them just as they are, and enjoy watching them interact with each other, rather than their humans, they are a lot of fun to watch, and you won't regret it. Go with a same sex pair, if you don't plan to breed, and buy the largest cage you can buy. Longer is better. I'd say don't go smaller than 30" long cage. Since they generally never come out for free flight (and shouldn't mix with your hookbill) then they'll need the room to fly horizontally, more than vertically. A bit different than hookbills in that regard.

Welcome to the forum.

[RATTIE]

Zebra Finches are great little birds. They have very quite voices. I like my pair of finches more then any of my parrots. I also found that they tame faster then most of my parrots but they are not the kind of bird that likes to snuggle with people. I don't think your Cockatiel will care about the finches if he has been alone for 15 years but I would keep an eye on them if you let them out of the cage in the same room.