Are my 7 weeks old male zebra finches having sex???

[monica]

Hello,

I have two 7 weeks males Zebra Finches in a cage with their Dad and I have noticed that the last couple of days one of the chicks is doing what appears to be the usual Zebra Finches courting dance to the other male chick and then he jumps on him.

Are they having sex?

Is this normal?

How can I stop it?

I find this rather disturbing, does anybody have any advise please?

Monica

[lovezebs]

monica

Haahaahah!
No, they are not having sex, Monica.
It's a dominance thing (like puppies, as in who's the top dog), they are trying to figure out who's the top bird. Plus, they're also practising their song and dance routine for when girls become available.

Don't worry about it

Elana

[monica]

Hello Elana,

You always come to my rescue! Ha ha .... thank you...I was truely concerned.....ha ha

If this is a dominance thing to establish who is top bird, why is he not doing it with Dad too but only with the weaker bird?

A friend told me that with some animal (like rats), they do have sex with the same gender if the opposite sex is not available.

Monica

[Sheather]

Actually, they may or may not be having sex for sex sake, but at that age it probably is dominance. They will mount for dominance, and zebras do that a lot, but finches will also mate-mate even if they're the same gender occasionally, and zebra finches are known to form same-sex pair bonds even with females available - most birds and many mammals do. If they actually make contact and the lower bird waggles its tail, they're mating, and bonded male-male pairs will definitely mate as would male/female pairs, typically also sharing a nest and occasionally, given the opportunity, raising young together.

Rats also do. I had a group of females as pets and when they came into heat, they'd take turns mounting one another to satisfy their biological urges. Unlike birds, though, rats won't form lasting same-sex pair bonds because rats don't form monogamous relationships period.

[monica]

Hello Sheather,

Thank you for your comment, very interesting indeed.

I will observe my chicks more carefully to understand what is actually going on in that cage

Already it appears to me as if they are mating but as Elana said, it could be a dominance thing so I need to observe further but now that I had yours and Elana's opinion, I feel more comfortable to understand and accept what is going on.

What I have observed so far, is that the dominant chick, tries to sing the song (I say tries because he has not fully vocalized yet), then he jumps backwards and forward, shakes his tail fast and then jumps on the other one. I have not noticed if the other bird lifts his tail but I have seen this behaviour already when their mum and dad were mating hence why I believe they are mating.

What I have also seen him doing is looking for nesting material, he pulls leaves and small branches, the tries to move the sheets of paper from the bottom of the cage to the other side (quite funny to watch), they sleep side to side and preen each other occasionally, these are all things that also mum and dad used to do.

I do not mind if they want to form a pair, I just hope that Dad will remain top bird as he is the first bird I acquired and he had worked so hard to bring up his chicks on his own for most of the growing phase, that I would not want him to loose his status

Thank you very much indeed.

Monica

[lovezebs]

Hi monica

There is no way of knowing who will become top bird . Only time will tell.

Are there only the three in your cage/ flight now (Dad and the two boys)? If that's the number, I might suggest getting another male at some point (unless you're interested in breeding, at which point I'd seperate the breeding pair into their own cage).
The reason I mention this, is that with Zebras, three is not a good number. With the two brothers possibly bonding very closely together, they may (more than likely) turn on Dad and bully him mercilessly as they get a bit older. With four (or six, even better , if you have the room) boys in the flight, they will all choose a buddy to pair up with, and usually it will keep the bullying behaviour to a minimum.

Have a good day

Elana

[monica]

Hello Elana,

Thank you again for your advise.

Dad is still with the two sons who have paired and Dad is already excluded when they fly out of the cage, when they go to sleep and sometimes chased around the cage.

I don't think my cage would be big enough for four birds though. It measures 100cm long, 65cm tall and 50cm deep. Would it be big enough for 4 zebras? I hope so, I do let them fly out of the cage every day for a couple of hours and sometimes longer so maybe if it is just too small, the fact that they do get free flying around may help?

Thank you

Monica

[Sheather]

I attempted the housing of two bonded sons with their dad with my zebra finches and the result was Dad being picked on constantly and excluded from all social activity.

[monica]

Hi Sheather,

Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

I am taking all advices I receive on board as I have never had birds before and any information I receive from all of you is very valuable because I love my pets and want them to be happy and healthy.

I am not sure what is going on in my cage at the moment. I thought the sons had paired but tonight (it is night here now in the UK) one of the sons is sleeping next to dad.

I have to give it some time and see how the three settle...or not.

As Elana suggested I may have to introduce another male hoping that my cage is large enough to house 4 birds.

Thank you

Monica