female zebra finch

maria · Post by **maria** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:21 pm

hi my female was showing signs of nesting by trying to make one in the food dish so i had to buy her a nest she keeps slowly moving her tail up and down aswell as she is just sitting in her nest and she seems to have lost so feathers around her vent does this all mean that she is nearly ready to lay

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:32 pm

maria
Welcome to the forum ,if you fill in your profile with where you live it makes it a lot easier to answer questions sometimes ,have you checked out the finch information center there is a lot of good reading there http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... _finch.php
Have you given them any nesting material ?

maria · Post by **maria** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:44 pm

yes they have made a nest but where we have 2 pairs the other male keeps taking it all out of her nest so we put a nother one in but he is still doing it

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:56 pm

You might need to put more nesting material or try to put the other pair in another cage

maria · Post by **maria** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:57 pm

so with the info i ahve posted does it sound like she is getting ready to lay

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:09 pm

I would say yes are you giving her calcium,egg shells

Domenic · Post by **Domenic** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:14 pm

It definitely sounds like she is with an egg right now. If she continues to be lethargic with heavy breathing she might be eggbound. If you don't already know, eggbinding is when a hen is lacking calcium and can't pass an egg smoothly. If the hen can't pass the egg it is likely she will die. When you have an eggbound hen you should put the hen in a warm humid place with a source of calcium, food, and water in a close range. Plucked feathers around the vent aren't a sign of "getting ready to lay." It is usually related to aggression in the cage from other birds or a lack of nesting material that causes feather plucking. She could also have mites that are causing her to itch and pluck in that area. From what I read it sounds like you have 2 pairs of zebras in the same cage? When you have two pairs they generally become aggressive towards eachother and compete. I would watch them from a distance to see if any other bird is acting aggressively towards her.

maria · Post by **maria** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 8:23 am

None of the others are aggressive towards her its only the males that from time to time have a bit of a arguement but nothing major she has egg food a cuttle fish on the side of the cage and i also scrap aload in to the food each day they also have vits put in there water. i make sure there is plenty of nesting material on the bottom of the cage she shouldnt have mites because i spray them once a week with mite spray . i will keep a close eye on her and if she starts going down hill i will separate her straight away

maria · Post by **maria** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:02 pm

i have just checked the female and there is no evidence of mites. as they are indoor finches does she still require the aid of a heat lamp

earlybird09 · Post by **earlybird09** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:27 pm

Hi Maria! A heat lamp is only required for additional warmth if they are sick, or if it gets really cold in your house. As for your female and laying and nesting how long have your finches been nesting? Usually 5-7 days after nest building you should be expecting your first egg. Basically all I would do if you can is place one pair in a cage to themselves and another pair in a cage to themselves if you are able to, because once she starts laying eggs and sitting the other pair of zebras could enter the nest when she or the male is not around and throw out all the eggs or if she had babies, toss and or kill the babies. Besides that, just make sure your finches exspecially the females have all the needed calcium they need via eggshells, oyster shell pieces, and cuttlebone as well as ample vitamen d3 in order for them to be able to absorb the calcium along with fresh water, seed, and eggfood and veggies every now and then! Best of luck and please post pictures if and when you can!

maria · Post by **maria** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:45 am

hi all she laided egg number one today

but she doesnt seem to be sitting on it much is that normal because i think i read that they dont normally sit on it til about the 3rd egg

lovemyfinch · Post by **lovemyfinch** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:56 am

Congrats on your first egg.

Very rarely will they sit after the first egg, for zebras it is usually after the 3rd or 4th depending on the bird.

maria · Post by **maria** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:20 pm

what do i need to buy for the chicks to eat for when they hatch

lovemyfinch · Post by **lovemyfinch** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:24 pm

Just make sure that the parents are getting all the eggfood that they can eat. If you haven't already started I suggest that you do so now. Make sure that they have an unlimited supply of crushed oystershell and charcoal, to help mim with her egg laying and both parents to help regurgitate the food to give to the babies.

And most of all sit back, relax, and enjoy....Nothing is quite as amazing as your very first baby chicks.

maria · Post by **maria** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:27 pm

yeah she is getting all of that thankyou for help

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