Living with zebra finches in my room.

[treesparrow20]

Hello, I am a new user here. Sorry for my bad English, it is not my first language. I would like to ask some questions about Zebra Finches.

I am currently living with six zebra finches. (two adults, four of their almost one-month-old babies.) They came to my house about two months ago (the two adults.) Since the room where I live is all locked out except for when I have to go out, I let the birds out frequently for them to fly freely around my room. I clean up their poops and feathers every day, and has been okay for a month now. Seeing the birds fly and play around the room freely makes me happy.

However, recently the birds seemed to be unhappy when they are being locked up in their cage. I purchased a brand new cage ( 40cm times by 70cm times by 40 cm ) for them, and it is way bigger than the one they used to live. As I let the birds out more frequently, ( almost every day when I come home ) they seem to be accustomed by the fact that they are out of their cage, and so when I lock their cage door, they fly around and calls me for help. The kids are fine, but the two adults are the ones who love being out of their cage.

In this case, what would you recommend me to do? Should I let them out just like how it is, or should I lock them in their birdcage and reduce the amount of time they come out from now on?

Besides that, I am also curious about what their constant beeping means. The birds are chirping ( or should I say "talking" ) all the time when they are awake, and I am not sure what they are talking about. They are quite loud, as the father is constantly singing and their kids beeping. Sometimes when I turn off the light at night, they start discussing their sleeping position and starts switching their place in the dark, so I have to turn on the light again until they are settled. Should I keep at least one light on even at night so that they wouldn't be scared?

By the way, the birds are all not hand-tamed, which means they are not used to my hands. Even though they recognize my face and are not scared of my presence, they are still afraid of my hands. So yeah,

Thanks so much for reading this. I am new to zebra finches so I would like to have some help. I really enjoy having them as my family, as they always brighten my day. I used to have budgies and society finches, but not zebras, and I think I'm in love!

[Babs _Owner]

treesparrow20

Welcome to the forum

I would keep their routine as usual. Finches have an incredible "inner clock" and reducing their time out may stress them.

I have 3 java finches that have free flight in my office while I work. Then at the end of the work day 6pm-ish, the lights in the room go out (except their cage light), and that signals time for them to go in the cage until 9 pm when that light goes out as well.

Two of them know the pattern, one I always have to chase after to get back in the cage. But even that I think has become a game for him each night.

When a group of finches "roost" at night they take about 15-30 minutes to get settled, vie for sleeping positions etc. A nightlight right next to the cage would allow them to see just enough to settle down and you can keep it on all night. They should sleep fine with it on.

[Fernando]

The constant beep-beep is like an echo telling other birds 'here am I' and 'there are you' and so they keeping constant acoustic contact even when they don't see each other. As they are gregarious, they never want to lose contact between each other.

[treesparrow20]

Thanks for your feedback. I think I'll keep their flying routine and leave one light on at night for them to get settled! And also thanks for explaining the meaning of their beeping sounds, now I think I understand what they are talking about.

[haroun]

treesparrow20 welcome to the forum, Fernandoto their thr zebra talking. Iwatch my Zebras for a lot i got the conclusion that they talk to each other depending on lived situation. Actually i state to my other finch lovers freinds that zebbies are talking nation birds.
Btw lot of studies say the same:birds talking to their unhatched cheeks, breeding mate talking to each orher when they 3xchange siting turn, etc.
See the McGill university

[Babs _Owner]

Fernando

Well spoken!

[Babs _Owner]

haroun

I watch my best gouldian pair give instructions to each other, and even sooth/ calm the other back and forth from perch to nest at night with soft bleats back and forth.

They are my most symbiotic pair indeed. Their parenting skills are amazing. I think it's due to that strong vocal relationship.

[haroun]

haroun

I watch my best gouldian pair give instructions to each other, and even sooth/ calm the other back and forth from perch to nest at night with soft bleats back and forth.

They are my most symbiotic pair indeed. Their parenting skills are amazing. I think it's due to that strong vocal relationship.

yes Babs that's so true .

[lovezebs]

treesparrow20

Hello, and welcome to the Forum from Canada.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying your Zebras.

As you were already told above, birds do communicate with each other vocally. The meeps and beeps, are just how they talk to each other. When they sing, they're either just happy, or trying to attract a mate, sometimes males will even sing to their eggs in the nest, and females very often make sounds to their eggs as well. When they hiss, it is usually an angry sound which is a warning before an attack.

Regarding the free flight...
It's wonderful that you let them out for long periods of time, and very good for them as well. All birds need exercise to stay healthy and happy.

As was already mentioned, placing a very small light right beside their cage, may train them to go back to the cage when other lights are turned off for sleeping. It's normal for them to take a few minutes to settle down before going to sleep.

Your English is very good .
Where on our planet are you situated? We have members from many different countries, which makes this Forum a wonderful place to meet bird lovers from all over the world.

We would love to see pictures of your birds, so please feel free to post some on here.

[haroun]

https://youtu.be/fDg67kUPAcc. Check out this link
lovezebs Babs treesparrow20 Fernando

[ann]

haroun

That is an amazing video! Thanks for sharing!

[Babs _Owner]

haroun

That is pretty amazing!!

[lovezebs]

haroun

Now that is an amazing little video.
Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us .

[haroun]

trMALE FINCHES ARE HEN PECKED

Arguments among couples in a relationship are almost unavoidable and it seems birds are just as prone to bickering as humans.

Researchers have found that zebra finches, tiny birds native to Australia, exchange angry 'words' when it appears one of them has not been doing their share of the parental duties.

Zebra finches form life-long pairs and share the childcare by taking it in turns to leave the nest to go foraging while the other watches over their brood. 

When one returns to the nest, the pair spend a short time singing a duet together before the other leaves in search of food. 

But when researchers deliberately delayed the male from returning to the nest for an hour, the reception he received when he eventually turned up was somewhat frosty.

Instead of their usual duet, the couple engaged in a far more rapid exchange of 'accelerated' duet calls that lasted less long than they normally would. 

The researchers found that if the late-arriving male made fewer than 40 calls during the duet, then the female would disappear for up to an hour when she went foraging.

If the male called more than 40 times, then the female would come back from her foraging within 30 minutes.

This suggests the birds engage in 'vocal negotiation' over their parental duties in a way that seems very similar to the squabbles between human parents.e esparrow20lovezebs@Babs@ann
I remember i have read this somewhere
.yes it was in the daily mail

[haroun]

Fraza lem2bert GouldianGuy Stuart whiting may be u could be interested and give us more infos from ur experieces