FINCHforum

Hi guys, last time I made a thread here I was concerned that my finches weren't getting along. After a while, this proved to be untrue, and I learned a lot about my birds since then. I also became worried that they were sick or infested with mites, but this was also not the case. I took them to the vets and they checked out as being perfectly healthy.

Now, since then, I've built them a nest to have something to cuddle and sleep in, and Melody ( the presumed older one ) has started laying eggs in it. Usually it would just be one every several days, and I would only discover them cracked on the floor of the cage. However, over the past few days she has laid three. During this time she would be glued to the nest and only leave for food or when I would hand her new bits of material to bring back to the nest. Occasionally, the younger bird, Sunny, would come near the nest and this would bother Melody, but not always. Sometimes it would be Sunny sitting in the nest while Melody didn't even mind, almost like she's babysitting for her ( note that I don't have any males and the eggs aren't fertile. )

So this went on for a while and they were still good buds, up until a couple days ago when I noticed one of her eggs had cracked on the floor, and another was missing, and she was very upset about this. She would start flying and hopping around while making very concerned sounding calls. The next day this got even worse, her last egg had been cracked and she now seemed very upset with Sunny. Melody would start chasing after Sunny and when she does manage to catch up they'll either peck at each other ( Sunny doesn't do this nearly as much as Melody does, mostly in self defense I imagine ) or Melody will pull out Sunny's feathers. The pecking and feather pulling has been going on for about a day now, and I'm worried that Melody will hurt her. I feel like it's time to separate them and probably take the nest away so that she stops laying for a while.

I can only imagine what may have happened to the eggs, I don't know if Sunny pushed them out while Melody was away, or if Melody did that herself ( I read that they will do this if they discover that the eggs aren't fertile, but correct me if I'm wrong. ) Also, I did see Sunny pecking at Melody's egg one time ( and possibly more while I was away ) so maybe she is the one who's been breaking them, but even then if it is her fault, I wish Melody would stop beating her up over it.

This whole thing just really bums me out, they used to be two peas in a pod and sleep in the nest together and always be comfortable around each other, but now Melody seems hell bent on exacting some sort of revenge upon Sunny. As I type this out they're probably continuing to fight. If I do need a new cage, I can't exactly run out and get one today, so all I can do is sit around and be helpless about the whole situation. If there's anything I can do in the mean time to mitigate Melody's behavior, please let me know.

Remove their nest if they cannot get along with it. This usually solves any issues.

It would be helpful if you told us what kind of birds they are.
Their names don't help much.

I agree with Sheather...take the nest out. Nests are for breeding, not for sleeping. As for the type of finch...I assumed they were zebras based on their fighting ...typical zeb behavior. Sunny may be breaking and eating Melody's eggs because she is missing something in her diet. Be sure to provide cuttle bone, eggs shell and minerals for your girls. Also, fresh egg food 2x a week. I am sure you love watching the pair sleep sweetly in a nest together...but nests do tend to trigger breeding behaviors, such as egg laying. Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks for the info everyone, and sorry I forgot to mention - but yes, they're both zebra finches. I removed the nest yesterday morning and it seems to have helped a little bit. They both seem a bit upset about it and Melody will still be a little bit rough with Sunny, but its calmed down quite a bit, in fact just a little while ago I saw Sunny preening Melody. So I would say slowly but surely they're becoming friends again. I feel bad about having to take their nest away, but I suppose it's for the best.

I'll be sure to look into the dietary problems too. Next time I head in to town I'll probably buy them a cuttle bone.

Sir Bubbles
Hi. Both male and female benefit from cuttle bone but females especially need it. They use a lot of calcium when they make eggs and if not replenished can become a big bad health problem that can end in death. Hard boiled eggs are great, mashed or grated. Crush the cooked shells and offer them as well.

As for the chasing and the squabeling, sadly that's part of zebra life. I would recommend some hanging fake plants so that they can get away from each other if they need some alone time or a hiding spot. This was suggested to me by one of our kind forum members here, and it really does help somewhat.
Goodluck.