My zebra meanie and companions...

[wendyrun]

Haven't been here in a while and when things get rocky I run back here for advice

I have a male zebra (Beaker) who was companion to male CB (Azul) and got along fine. Got them from someone else, they were in a tiny little cage. Then they got sick. Then Beaker started plucking Azul.
I got a few more finches, 2 bigger cages, then invested in a double flight and split everyone up.

I put Beaker in with another male zebra, and I put Azul with what I thought was a male Owl. They got along great. You can probably guess, but Beaker was not on his best behavior with his new mate, Bonzo, and I had to move him. So I decided to put him in with the cb and owl (who turned out to be a hen by the way). Things are just "OK".

I'm seeing some aggression between the CB and his cage mates. They buddied up and left him out. it's not terrible, but there is some pecking and roost bullying, and I would rather not have him be the odd fellow if he'd be happier in another situation.

I also feel bad that Beaker is alone, but from reading here, I see it's not uncommon. I just feel guilty!

So wondering...anyone have any ideas about a bird that might stand up to the zebra? A female zebra might not work either, I gather. And should I feel bad if he just might be better off alone??

And I was thinking about just moving Azul into the other half of the flight, putting Beaker by himself and eventually getting a female CB for Azul.
The flights are about 30" h x 27" w x 20" l...which means I am sort of pushing it to have the 3 birds together already. I am pretty certain if I put Beaker and Azul back together again that Beaker will revert back to his old ways.

thanks in advance!
Wendy

[ac12]

Odd number birds is risky, especially w zebras which can be aggressive.

I would only keep a pair or 6 in a cage. 3-5 and you could have problems, especially with the odd bird left out.
I would also not put a zebra with an owl, esp M+F. You risk hybridizing.

You have read some of the "issues" with zebras.
My zebras are either caged in pairs or solitary. That was the only way that I could control, or limit the aggression. Even with pairs, one of them may start to pluck or chase the other. Maybe in your setup with a larger cage and more space a pair would be fine.

I have to keep certain birds out of sight of other birds. I have one hen that will be fine with her cagemate, but turns aggressive to her cagemate when she sees other hens. I think she wants to be with the other hens rather than with her cagemate.

[tinysparrow]

hi wendy

i live with a lot of zebras so i completely understand what you are going through right now i have all of my zebras separated by sex, with the exclusion of one older zebra male (who is 9!) who gets to live with all the girls ;) trust me, he loves it!

right now i have 2 male birds that live alone because they are aggressive (and pretty grumpy really) towards other birds. i have a red throated parrot finch and a male diamond dove that are "bacheloring" it right now i think its ok as they are in cages that are close to other birds so they can sing to each other and see each other. my hope is that soon i will be able to reintroduce them back into living with other birds.

you mentioned trying to put beaker with a female... that could work as for another bird that can stand up to a zebra... i have gouldians, plum heads and shaft tails who remind my zebras who the bosses are (daily!). the thing is that every bird is different, so you may find that this may not be true for all of the finches i have mentioned.

do you have plastic plants in the cages for other birds to hide in, and 2 food and water areas in each? this helps so the birds can have places to hide, and not fight over food. or you can try taking everything out of the cage with multiple birds in it, reorganizing it, then putting the birds back in to "de-territorize" the cage.

i'm sure other forum members will have some good advice for you as well about this

[Ria]

my female green singer puts zebras in there place pretty quickly....

how many birds do you have exactly? if it's just the four, you might not get a setup where everyone gets along. zebras are just very pushy and dominant. they are social birds, though, so always should have some sort of partner. a female zeb might be good, but you never know. it's individual personality that matters, so you can't say for sure until they're all together for a while... plus, you have to be prepared for mating, eggs and possible babies. and mating birds are even more territorial than usual. and like Gary said, beware placing male zeb with female owl - they may interbreed.

[wendyrun]

Hi Gary, Amy, and Ria!!

Thank you all for the good suggestions!!!

I used to joke with my husband that I was just going to get some really big bird to keep Beaker in line, but I don't want him to be unhappy either
I guess I'm afraid if I get another bird to put with him and it does not work out, I'm going to run out of room and end up making the other birds unhappy by having another 3rd wheel. Hubby will kick my butt if I buy another giant cage too.

Right now, they are all in a double flight - and Beaker is all by his lonesome in the bottom. Azul, Bonzo (male zebra) and Thurston (female owl) are in the top.
I have some plastic plants and hiding places. And multiple water and food sources. At first I tried to acclimate everyone by taking all the stuff out and rearranging it. I've tried that with Beaker several times and he still acts like a turd (can I say that here ?). I also removed the nests - I read that they don't need them for sleeping.

When Beaker and Azul were together, they slept together in the nest. In fact, they seemed to really enjoy putting hay into the nest and I felt since they didn't seem to 'play' it was a good activity for them. Beaker's current favorite pastime is scolding at that 'other' bird in the mirror. I put hay in for him to build his own nest b/c I feel like he is bored. However, he has taken to sleeping in his 'tidy-seed' food dispenser instead of the nest. Which is gross, because his food is super-poopy and requires more maintenance. I would like for him not to sleep there - and guessing only if I remove it and put food in another way to force him to stop - he still might sleep in another food dish I guess or go back to it if I put it back on the cage.

In the top cage, only Thurston sleeps in the nest. I decided to put another nest in the cage this week since it is so cold and also see if it might cut down on the aggression. Bonzo and Azul both sleep on branches outside nests.
I was worried about Thurston and Bonzo mating. I figured she was ok with just Azul since he is an African finch. I've never seen any hanky panky but I'm not watching them all the time either. I decided I would just throw out her eggs. But guess what? I don't have to do anything, because it seems we have a mysterious EGG tosser in the bunch. I thought the most likely candidate is Azul. But I've never seen them do it! Can anyone suggest how to catch them in the act? I don't know what time of day is most favorable for egg tossing.
I still can't believe I've never seen them do it because it looks like it would take some work with the shape of that nest - it's a little cavity nest, not one of the open top ones.

Gary - I think from what you're saying I need to stick with 2 in a flight. The cage calculator says 1-2 birds for the ones I have now- which look huge to me, but if things don't go well, I would have more birds in a smaller space with increased potential for more squabbling.
I think I will look for a hen and keep her separate for a while, then try out how she and Azul do together and let Beaker take another cage on his own.

Whew! Sorry for rambling on! I'm posting a pic of the top half so you can get an idea.

thanks again everyone and hope everyone's enjoying the weekend!!
Wendy

[ac12]

That looks like an awfully big cage just for 2 zebras.
But mine are cramped because their behavior forced me to divide the cages and put some in solitary confinement.

[Jeff McKee]

Zebra males, in particular, can be very aggressive.

The first big male I was able to buy, is always hard on other birds in his cage. Once I foolishly paired him with two females, for a few hours. When I returned, he had killed one. He constantly picks feathers off his mate. When I have had to present him with a new mate, I watch very carefully. He doesn't always accept them. I've found him a mate that he accepts now. When a clutch is laid, he's a good boy, and sits faithfully on the eggs. When the clutch hatches, I have about one day to observe and get him out of the cage. If I'm too slow to remove him, he kills the babies (throws them on the floor). I have another large male that will also throw the babies out of the nest.

So, why not get rid of them?

Well, I am enthused with their genetics.

Solution. I remove them from their mate should the mate become picked. I remove them as soon as little ones hatch.

Success. Well, yes!!! I have a set of two chicks from the one male and an set of three chicks from the other, at this moment. The duo has been flying around for a week or so now. The trio, the first one investigated the cage yesterday. All nice big, babies! If you're going to keep an aggressive bird, you'll soon know them and likely choose to keep them in solitary for a good portion of their lives.