How Many Zebras Will Fit?

[Mands]

Heya.

As some of you know I have just recently bought a pair of Zebras. They have already laid 4 eggs and she is kind of sitting, she is off more than on but I was told she has more time to sit yet if she wants too.

The cage they are in is a temporary cage and I put the nest in thinking it would be for them to sleep in for a couple of days. But, they laid on the 2nd day didn't they !! I knew they were prolific but gee that was a record.

So, I can buy a much bigger cage but how many of them can live happily together. I know they can be aggressive and territorial so I want to do the right thing and not have a war.

Can I put 2 pairs in there?

I was hoping to get the cage tomorrow but have to wait to see what she is doing with her 'sitting' to see if i can toss the eggs and nest and move them into the new cage.

If not, I will wait and move my 2 pair of societies into there once the babies are old enough to leave. But, i did really want to put Zebs in there.

Help please........

[debbie276]

She probably will not start to sit till there are 3 or 4 eggs in the nest. It sounds like you would like to throw them out and move them and that is fine, it will not mess them up. They will probably start to lay again after the move anyway.
Also something to consider, the egg she laid may not be fertilized from the male you have her with. Birds can hold on to sperm from other mates, so if that is important to you you might want to wait around a month before you let them sit on any eggs to be pretty sure the chicks are from the pair you set up.
I'll let the zebra experts answer your other concerns, best of luck

[Ginene]

Housing zebs is a balancing act...I have housed mine in separate male and female flights, in individual M/F pairs and also tried 3 M/F pairs in a large flight.
I was most successful when they were housed as pairs in individual cages...but that brought babies. There were occasional plucking issues when I housed them in cages by sex. It was definitely most stressful when all 6 were in the large flight...too much competition and fighting. I would house your 1 zeb pair with your 2 society pairs, once your juvs have been rehomed. Good luck.

[Mands]

debbie276

She laid her fourth egg 3 days ago and is still not sitting, but it could be the new surroundings and as i said no privacy at all in the middle of the kitchen. as soon as we go past or near the cage she jumps out. Maybe if they had time to get used to it? and also could it be because it is their first clutch?

I understand what you are saying about waiting the month if i decide to put an extra pair in there.

Ginene

My plan was to put them in the new cage down in the bird room but i wanted to put 2 pair in there but that sounds as though it might cause a problem. I surely don't want to have to separate them and end up back where i started.

If i am going to put my societies in there I will wait until the babies are grown up and then put the 2 pair in there then. Then the Zebras can have one of their cages which will work for them.

I was so hoping to put 2 pair of zebras in there, i have seen the other pair that i want. That was the whole plan !!!

[cindy]

I have several cages with two to 3 pairs in them, some get along fine others do not and you have to move them. Other mutations I have separated by sex it depends on the birds whether you can house them or not, some zebras are more passive then others...some are just terrors, females included.

[Nerien]

Here's what I managed to do:
http://finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24903

The cage is two petco cages together for a total of 60"x18x18". There are branches, from my woods outside, across both ends and along the long sides as well. As you can see, tons of greenery. There are three food bowls, three water tubes, three cuttlebones inside. Even a few rocks on the bottom, my birds all seem to like perching on, rubbing their beaks on, and picking at rocks.

I know it's technically too many, but I have 8 zebras in there, 4 males, 4 females. And they are living rather happily, there is an occasional chase, an occasional squabble, but nobody is plucked, bald, beaten up. It started as 3 pairs, then I pulled one out to breed, they had a son and a daughter, and when weaned, I put all of them back in there, and it still worked.

I do not have any nests, and I would not let anyone breed in here, they come out to a private cage, female first for a week or two, then the male, then a week or so later they get their nest. There is some egg laying going on in the big cage, they all drop through the grate. But no matter how I had them housed before, there was egg laying going on, even when the females were in singles.

Now, I would not add one more bird to this cage. I don't think I'd put another cage with zebras within sight of this cage, or it could destroy the balance. When I first got them, as three separate pairs (but who were brother-sister pairs, hence the need to mix and match), I couldn't get them happy as pairs, as single sex cages, as various groups. I had bald birds, I had to break up fights that were obviously to the death, it was a mess. Got so fed up I did this arrangement, and just kept shoving fake plants in there until they liked it and calmed down.

Maybe I just got lucky, but it works. In the wild, zebras may live out on the grasslands, but in my house, they're happy in a jungle.

[Mands]

Nerien
cindy

Thank you so much for all your information. Hubby bought me the cage today for our 25th Anniversary, It was a nice surprise to wake up to as I was going to break the bank to buy it myself.

After considering everything and trying to downsize the cages, I think the best thing to do is to put my 2 pairs of Societies in there and put the Zebras in one of the bigger cages than the one they currently have now.

Today the Zebra hen is not sitting at all so i am going to take the eggs and nest out. He is dragging the nesting material out of the nest into the water bowl as though he is trying to make his nest in there. So, i will put a stop to the nest until i shift them to their own bigger cage. I wont attempt to get anymore zebras in case it doesn't work plus I am pretty happy with the pair I have.

I feel bad though as they sleep in the nest but I don't want them breeding yet.

Once again, thanks everyone. I just wish the Zebs were easier to house together, I just love them