FINCHforum

Hi all, had owl finches for a couple of months now, trying to breed them, to no avail. I heard they breed like zebras! It's winter here now, not sure if weather affects it. However, I do see, sometimes, one go into a nest, and make a series of chirps (sounds like a poorly executed finch song, like the Gouldians'), and the other one goes in and out - they get startled easily. They have a wicker nest. Is there anything I should do to help them breed? Cheers.

First, are you positive you have a male/female pair? Owls can be difficult to sex sometimes. Here is a link to a good article on Owl finches:

http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... _finch.php

They certainly don't breed like zebras!
The only finches that breed as easily as zebras would be societies and maybe domesticated (eg white) Javas.

And, as Sally has already mentioned, the sexes are hard to tell apart, so you may even have a same sex "pair". Even if they are a male and a female, they may not be a real pair, as owls, like many finches, can be somewhat picky about the partners they accept.

w.l. wrote: They certainly don't breed like zebras!
The only finches that breed as easily as zebras would be societies and maybe domesticated (eg white) Javas.

And, as Sally has already mentioned, the sexes are hard to tell apart, so you may even have a same sex "pair". Even if they are a male and a female, they may not be a real pair, as owls, like many finches, can be somewhat picky about the partners they accept.

Quite agree Laszlo

I raised them for years had two pretty good size colonies.... like Sally mentioned it is difficult to sex them, are you sure of the sex? if you look down at the tops of the heads side by side hens tend to have a slender "V" shaped narrow head, males are broader.head, the dark brown from the beak usually goes past the eyes on males and is smaller on hens

How old are they....if too young they will not be ready to reproduce yet. I found right around a yr to 14 months old they did better in producing.

Is you pair housed alone in their own cage? How do you have it set up and what are you using as a nest?

Males when ready to breed with take a piece of coco fiber, hay see head and do a dance an little song for the hen, have you seen courting?

Totally agree 100 % cindy, well said