I think I've made up my mind

[Ricardo Ronsini]

Zebras are a lot of fun, that is guaranteed!

But they can be moody little things either.

Most of the time, if you have ONLY 2 males or 2 females they will get along, although they would quarrel sometimes, but that's just zebras beeing zebras.

[FinchLady]

Are Zebs entertaining like Societies? More nervous, jumpy? Loved watching my Socs interact together...they seemed to be interested in us, too. Always came over to side of cage to see what we were doing and then would /discuss' it. So cute! Are Zebs personalities cute like that? messier?

Could I put their cage in backseat of car for weekend car trips?

[Tish]

Okay even though lady gouldian's are beautiful, I feel they maybe slightly more advance, and I'am just a beginner. I'll be going with zebra finches a male and female and in the future when I feel more secure in my knowledge of finches then I will get a few lady gouldian's, because I do find them to be lovely little birds.

[lovezebs]

Tish FinchLady

Ladies, if you think Zebras are easy, think again....

They are definitely pretty, and boy oh boy are they entertaining, not always in the way you expect though.

No, they are nothing like sweet Societies.

I happen to love Zebras (hence the name Lovezebs), but then I also love Jack Russell Terriers. Some days, I have been known to threaten them with the soup pot (the birds, not the dogs).

Zebras....

Zebra Finches, (Taeniopygia guttata) come originally from Australia, but have been kept as pets all over the world for many, many years now.

How shall I describe the Zebra personality?
Territorial, adversarial, cantankerous, irascable, querulous, challenging, antagonistic, confrontational, and at times violently aggressive.

They are also pretty, come in many different colour mutations, are prolific, willing, and more than able breeders, who will willingly breed and raise a family in your shoe (given half a chance) and then another family, and another, and another.... The males have something of a song, but most of their communication is made up of fairly loud meeps and beeps (and they communicate a lot, from pre sunrise to sunset).

They are healthy eaters, needing a good quality finch seed mix, with added Canary seed, hard boiled eggs, egg shells, a variety of greens and other veggies, with some fruit, cuttle bone, oyster shell grit. Fresh water daily is a must,

They love to bathe and given the chance will do so everyday. They also enjoy swings, and artificial greenery to play with.

They exercise mainly by flying from side to side, so they need a wide cage (a minimum 30 inches across, but bigger is always better). They are no messier than most other finches, but expect to vacuume up seeds, seed hulls and feathers (especially when moulting) on a daily basis.

Well that's one woman's description of the Zebra Finch, take it or leave it....

[w.l.]

lovezebs

Come on, zebras ARE easy, that's why they are probably the most popular finch worldwide!
And if kept as a pair in their own cage, aggression is unlikely to be an issue either.
I find they have much, much more character than Societies. And while I am generally not much into mutations, I find some zebra color varieties, like penguins but also fawns, very beautiful.

[Sheather]

Zebras are often very aggressive, but some are less cantankerous than others.

I don't recommend them to beginners.
Though the English show varieties are much more docile.

[lovezebs]

w.l.

Chuckle....

[Icearstorm]

lovezebs
He will sometimes respond if I mimic the intro to his song, but he doesn't usually react to me mimicking the main part of it. Perhaps it's because he has a fairly complex song with little chirps and scratchy noises... I've heard some birds can sing two notes at once and duet and harmonize with themselves; maybe gouldians are one of those birds.
I can also get one of the male societies to sing, but the other one has such a fast song I wouldn't be able to come close to. Though there was that one time I said, "Laser, could you please sing?" and then he did : )

[lovezebs]

Icearstorm

Hah ha hah....that's priceless.