Back again

robbocop · Post by **robbocop** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:27 pm

Hi all, been a week since I posted as the Newbie, still the birds have not even entered the nest to sleep or anything, they have been pulling the nesting material out and just dropping it. I have pictures of the 4 birds (2 Zebras and 2 Societies) hoping I at least sexed the Zebras right. Any help would be great. Pictures are: 1 = Society #1-white; 2 = Male Zebra; 3 = Society #2-brown; 4 = Femaile Zebra?; 5 = All 4 together

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AcOG7Nk2Yt2Lnw

Thanks in advance and let me know if you could get to the pictures as I never did this before.

Rob

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:48 pm

Consider a different style of nest, or changing the nest location. Upper back corners of the cage tend to be favorites, especially if a perch is located near the nest entrance and the inside of the nest is somewhat illuminated so the birds can easily see inside.

If I can get the pictures to load (so far, no luck), I'll try to help you identify the sex of your zebras. In general, male zebras have cheek patches, a breast bar (most mutations), and spotted side-flanking (just below the wings). Hens lack these markings and usually only have teardrops (some mutations lack teardrops). For the societies, you'll have to wait for the male to sing and the female to lay eggs to be sure you have a pair.

How are your zebra and society pair getting along (I assume they are housed in the same cage?)? If you're having a good experience so far, you may want to share your experiences with another forum member, jeremy, who would like to house a pair of zebras with a pair of societies, but is not sure if they will get along: jeremy's post

robbocop · Post by **robbocop** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:11 am

yes the Zebras and Societies get along great no chasing or plucking or bothering and they actually sit side by side on the perch alot. Thanks

robbocop · Post by **robbocop** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:19 am

Chrystal, did you try to cut and past the link for the photos?

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:34 am

Yes, I copied and pasted the link into a new browser, but it wouldn't load. I just tried it again now though and it's working!

Your zebras are a grey male and a CFW (chestnut flanked white) female.

Congrats

Looks like your mostly-brown society could use a nail trim

Also, thanks for letting jeremy know about your experience with your birds!

robbocop · Post by **robbocop** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:37 am

Thanks Crystal, I will take care of the nails, that is my next task, to learn how to do that. I will get on that ASAP. I did move the nests and the perches and just by coincidence last night before I moved it, the female Zebra slept in the nest (1st time).

Rob

tursiopschic · Post by **tursiopschic** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:50 pm

They are cuties! Good luck with them, I'm sure they all are adjusting well.

My favorite is the brown society!

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:21 pm

Hi Rob,

I recently wrote an article about nail trimming which includes a video demonstration.

The article is here.

And the video is towards the bottom of the article, or you can access it directly from this link.

Let me know if it is helpful to you!

robbocop · Post by **robbocop** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 4:37 pm

Crystal, thanks on the nail advice and the video, went out today and got all I needed (stiptic, net, etc) didn't need the stiptic, (no vein cuts) and the nails trimmed great. Video was a tremedous help as I didn't have a clue. I just looked in the cage a 1/2 hr ago and the mail Zebra is gathering nesting material. I did move the nests and made sure there was a perch close by. Thanks again. i also got egg fortified food for them as well. Another question... I bought one of those baths that hook on to the outside of the door, trying to keep the water from the water dish inside the cage LOL. Is that something they may need to discover and get used to, as with everythng else, all in time?

Thanks.

Rob

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:15 am

A lot of new additions (new items in the cage, including new foods) are ignored or avoided until the birds get accustomed to their presence...new things can be scary.

IF the new item is to the birds' liking (there are tricks to making certain items more appealing, as you have experienced with the nests) AND the birds understand what the item is for, they will usually eventually make use of it. If it is an item that is not appealing or "useful" to them, however, they may ignore it indefinitely.

Usually persistence and patience are key when introducing new items (especially new foods) to the enclosure.

With some items (e.g. water bottles), you may have to show the bird how to use it.

With other items (e.g. nests), changing the style or location may make them more appealing.

With almost all new items, making the birds' discovery process more convenient will yield better results--placing a perch near the new item, placing the new item high up in the cage, etc. This might be difficult to accomplish with a bath designed to hook onto a cage door, since your options for placement are limited to the locations of the cage doors on your enclosure.

If the birds don't take to the new bath, you may want to consider allowing them to bathe in their water dish or an open, shallow bowl and look into an alternative method for containing the water that gets thrown about the cage. For instance, there was some discussion about a thin plastic sheeting that some people on this board use to line the outside bottom-half of their cages like a "skirt." The sheeting helps contain the mess (seed hulls, feathers, droppings, and water) and apparently can be found inexpensively at Walmart. Just a thought!