Removing the nest from cage and Moving Young zebra finches

[aquagirl]

Good Morning !!!

My name is Linda from Los Angeles, Ca. Ok so Fred and Wilma have 3 finch kids (I thing they are girls, but not sure how to tell)

They all came out of the nest a little over 1 wk ago and are fully feathered and are starting to eat on their own, but one or all still cry out to be fed every now and then.

I have not seen them drink one their own yet. Today I just removed the nest from the cage to discourage from laying more eggs. The guy at the pet shop told my hubby to do it and that they parents and kids will be just fine and do not need a nest to sleep in.

I'm writing to you to get your expert advice. My questions:
When can I move the little ones into their own cage?
How can I tell their sex?
will the kids interbreed?

Thanks for your help!

Linda in l.a.

[Sally]

Congrats on the babies! You need to make sure they are drinking on their own before separating them, in addition to eating on their own. Usually, if they aren't being fed by the parents, they are drinking (unless they are being fed veggies that are really high in water content, like cucumbers). I try to wait at least a week after I think they are weaned just to be sure. Separating them from their parents is stressful for them, so I like to make sure they are fully weaned and independent enough.

Can't help you with sexing them, but if you post photos, there are quite a few members who could tell yoou.

They will definitely interbreed. The best thing to do with a clutch is to try to swap out some of them, so you can make up unrelated pairs if you are interested in breeding. If you just want to keep them as pets, you can set them up in all female and/or all male cages, or swap some of the babies so you have all the same sex.

[aquagirl]

Thanks for the tips Sally! I will take some pictures of my new babies
Marlie, Shotzie and Penny (the smallest)

I tried uploading pics last week but couldn't figure out how to do it here.

Once someone on this site tells me what sexes the babies are, then I will use your idea of all girl and boy separate cages!!

I'm growing attached to these babies lol

Talk to you soon

[Sally]

aquagirl Here is a link to how to post photos:

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=22710