FINCHforum

Does the bill on a zebra finch turn darker when they are ready to mate , because my girl here seems to have a darker beak then she had before .. I know that gouldians beak turns black I have heard somewhere that their beaks would get darker as they get ready to breed is this true?

StodOne

True in Gouldians, have never heard about it in a Zebra though.

lovezebs I think I saw it on a site which I cant remember ..
It is strange I took a picture of her beak and compared the picture from now and the picture from when I got her and the beak is way way darker now then before..

lovezebs Also what does the beak clicking mean with zebra finches , he starts making clicking sound with his beak very quickly when the female is near him , he gets close to her and start grooming her ..
Is he trying to tell her that he wants to groom her or something?

Zebra finch beaks get brighter/redder when they are in breeding condition. Hen beaks will often turn a red almost as intense as a male's. I don't have yellow beaks, but I expect that there is a similar effect with them as well.

StodOne

I honestly have to say, that never paid much attention to it. I know that male's beaks are red, while female's beaks, tend to be more orange ( same goes for legs), although I had one pure white female, who had a very red beak and legs. Everyone thought she was a boy (until she laid an egg ).

xz_zebs Yes that is what I meant , but for me orange is the brighter color ^_^.
By darker I meant more red , I almost couldn't tell the difference when I looked at them.
@lovezebs wow yeah that really does look like a male haha ^_^

Does that mean that the hens wont mate as long as their beaks dont turn red or does after that happen mean that they want to mate even more then before, sorry if I am being a bit clueless but I really am when it comes to this

StodOne

My experience has been, that Zebras, are willing, ready, and able at any time.

Usually you can't get the little devils to stop breeding, lol.

lovezebs heh well it sure is hard for me , since the male is pretty old..
Well when I woke up today I saw him in the females nest for some reason , I have no idea what he was doing there , it would have been hard for him to get there , since you know he can barely fly ,well I guess I will just have to wait and see and give them eggs , lots and lots of eggs xD

StodOne

Patience is a virtue