I am now a grandmother...how not to breed my Finches

chrishaugk · Post by **chrishaugk** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 4:35 pm

Hello,

My Owl and Shaft Tail (Hen) just hatched baby birds about 3 weeks ago. They all look healthy and happy. I bought them about 4 months ago and I was told at the pet store that mixed breeds would not mate. Obviously they were wrong!!

I've seen tons of info on how to breed and care for baby finches, but how do I get them to not breed again??

Also, do I have to separate the babies from their parents once they can eat on their own? And, if so, can the siblings live together? Will they breed with each other?

Please help!! Thank you!!

Post by **Hilary** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:53 pm

Congrats on healthy babies! I'd love to see pics if you can post them to the gallery - this combo I have to see! Which of the pair is the male and which the female?

To keep them from raising any other chicks, you need to remove their nest and all nesting material from their cage. They'll probably still mate and the female will still lay eggs, but they'll just drop to the bottom of the cage and they won't be able to incubate them. I have a black-headed nun and a society who have bonded, but without a nest all they can really do is just hang out together.

Hilary

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:43 am

hi
just to cover what hilary has missed ...the answer is yes the youngsters will mate with each other...as hilary says if you take all material away they will not attempt to hatch the young ..if they do lay eggs on the floor and they start to sit them ....just put them in the bin before the embryos start to form ..or you will not want to get rid of them later on if you see any sign of life in them

ken

chrishaugk · Post by **chrishaugk** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:57 pm

Thank you for the info!! That's what I thought too, but I wanted to make sure. They seem to like the nest so much that I didnt want to take it out, but unless I want a cage full of baby birds, it's the only way! I'll wait a few more weeks before removing it so the babies can stay warm in there.

I will take some pictures this weekend. The babies just came out of the nest this morning, so it's the first time I can get a good look at them. They look so cute! They look like the shaft tail, which is the female. The Owl Finch is the male.

Is it mandatory to separate the babies from the parents when they get a little older?

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:22 am

hi chris

not always,but there are a few things that may arise that you wouldn`t want like the parents mating with the chicks as they come sexually mature which is sooner than you think.and then if the adult cock bird decides the young ones are thraet to him breeding again there could be arguements all these things are avoidable of course all you ned to do is keep an eye on them and if you see any fighting just split them up from the parents

ken