Breeding and Aggression - Need Help!

[hfinney]

I’m new to the forum, and I’m new to finches. I adopted three precious finches (one male and 2 females) about 10 days ago. I know you are supposed to have them in even-numbered groups, but these three had already been together for over a month and were very peaceful. The store is waiting to get more finches is, so I was planning to even my numbers out soon.

In the meantime I’ve seen my male mate with one of the females many times over the last several days. However, he and the other female (that he is NOT mating with) are the ones actively building the nest. I’ve noticed tail feathers missing from my male and the female he is not mating with, and I’ve seen the male nip at her tail and pull her wings several times. I’ve seen him sing to her as if he’s asking to mate with her, but she always flies away (whereas he is successful with the other female).

Can anyone help me understand why the male is being so aggressive towards this female? Is it because she won’t mate with him? Is he just defending his territory because he has mated with the other female? What is my best course of action? Thanks for your help!

[Fraza]

hfinney other members probably know more than me but I think it’s because he’s with the other female and the other one is just in the way it’s probably instinct that resources are needed to bring up chicks and know another finch could take them or just be a threat personally I would seperate and have u looked in the nest because they might be pulling the feathers to make a nest

[lovezebs]

hfinney

First of all, let me welcome you to the Forum. If you go into the Finch Information Centre, you will find loads of good information in there.

Regarding your birdies.
Are we talking Zebra Finches by any chance ?

Regarding your question:
As Fraser already mentioned above, the feather plucking is probably them simply looking for nesting materials. If there are no nesting materials available, they might pluck themselves naked to line their nest.

My question is: Are you interested in breeding an army of Finches?
If not, then I would remove the nest out of the cage immediately. Birds don't need nests to sleep in. Nests are for breeding, and Zebras (if that's what they are), will breed like rabbits. When considering breeding, think carefully if you'll be able to find good homes for all their children (?)

Regarding the male X 2 female interactions which you are seeing. One female might be ready for breeding, while the other may not be on the same page (perhaps too young). The male might be getting aggressive with the non- breeding female, because he wants to mate and she doesn't. The breeding female might be getting aggressive with the non-breeding female, because she sees her as competition for HER mate.

You may want to seperate the non-breeding female from the other two untill you can get her a companion.

Good luck.

[hfinney]

Thank you, Fraser and Elana, for your replies. I have thought of removing the nest. But if I remove the nest right now, what of the female who has been mating? Where will she lay her eggs?

My cage is quite large and can hold a few more birds before becoming overcrowded. So I was initially ok with a round of mating, but now I'm wondering what I've gotten myself into.

Do I need to add more nesting materials to the cage? I had stopped supplying nesting materials.

[lovezebs]

hfinney

As I mentioned, you need to decide if you want to breed or not.

If you are ok with some babies, then allow her to lay her eggs and raise her babies. You can always remove the nest once the chicks have fledged (left the nest).

Societies, love to breed and raise large families. They will even raise the babies of other species given half a chance.

Regarding the nesting materials, I would continue offering nesting materials untill the eggs are laid, at which point stop supplying more nesting materials, so that they don't decide to build another nest on top of the eggs and bury them.

Now, as to diet:
Breeding birds need good diets, consisting of a good quality Finch seed mix. Veggies and greens, some boiled eggs, and spray millet. I would also add some Bird Vitamins to their diet, either on their food or in the water.

The females in particular need a good source of Calcium (very important), so they should be offered cuttle bone, crushed egg shells, and oystershell grit.

By the way, Societies love their baths, so a daily bath of tepid water will be greatly appreciated.