FINCHforum

I recently bought two Zebra finches, male and female. I put a twig nest in the cage and the male is filling it with nesting materials (pieces of rafia, nesting string, and little strips of newspaper).
Are they ready to breed or is this just natural behavior for the male?

Zebras are almost always ready to breed! Once he is happy with the nest, you will probably see eggs. Check out the info at the Finch Information Center linked at left--Zebra species info and also breeding info.

Sally wrote:Zebras are almost always ready to breed! Once he is happy with the nest, you will probably see eggs. Check out the info at the Finch Information Center linked at left--Zebra species info and also breeding info.

Thanks for the info. He seems to have taken a break from building after going at it for about four hours yesterday. I'll check the breeding info. Since finches are new to me I need all the help I can get.

LOL Rabbits have nothing on Zebra finches, lol you will have babies before ya know it, lol

Thanks to the help from everyone on here, i know now that if the male is building the nest its only a matter of time the he will breed with the female. Sometimes you wont even see them bree, you will know when you see the first egg in the nest. all my males have been building nest and i havent seen them breeding but already had a female lay 4 eggs.

Given the fact you have Zebras, probably does mean they're preparing for a family, but they are also known for building nests exclusively for roosting. As well as: Societies, Diamond Firetails, Beautiful Firetails, Red-eared Firetails, Red-browed Finches, Owls, Masked Grassfinches, Long-tailed Grassfinches, and Parsons.

atarasi wrote:Given the fact you have Zebras, probably does mean they're preparing for a family, but they are also known for building nests exclusively for roosting. As well as: Societies, Diamond Firetails, Beautiful Firetails, Red-eared Firetails, Red-browed Finches, Owls, Masked Grassfinches, Long-tailed Grassfinches, and Parsons.

Promiscuous little devils aren't they. They'll sit in it for a while during the day but they don't care about sleeping in it. I've noticed the female spending more time in it. We're trying to keep an eye on any changes in her. I've been doing my reading on the finch info center but there's nothing like first hand experience. Thanks.