FINCHforum

I have two Society Finches and 5 well 3 freshly hatched zebra babies and more to come. But my society finches never go in to the nest they just sit on a perch hiding behind the fake ivy I have. Some times the zebra will come snuggle with them. I wonder if they think they are Zebra finches for some reason. http://personalitiez.com/gallery/eggs/i ... colony.jpg Why don't they go in the nest?

My guess is the Zebra parents wont allow the Societies in their nest. Societies like the Family Nest concept and usually share even when eggs or hatchlings are present. But Zebras are more territorial.

Gwynne

I bought two different nest and they seem to go in there more often now. They just dont like the plastic nest boxes I guess. Only 1 of my 5 baby finches are still living I am hand feeding it some and it look like the mom gives it a little, but this morning one was dead and the others food holder thingy was empty.

Really sorry to hear about the dead chicks. Glad you are able to hand-feed the last one. It should be tamer than most for you as an adult. Societies are so communal, they can be peaceful but intrusive on other birds. Your Zebra pair may have been intimidated and stopped feeding the babies. It's usually best to separate breeding pairs so they dont have any intrusion - suspected or real - from other birds.

Gwynne

I have clutch of society right now.the problem is they grow so fast that i didnt have the time to mark the parents.how will i know or differentiate the parents from the chicks?

You can usually tell the difference between the parents and the chicks tduring the first few months. The parents will be a bit larger and more sleek looking than the chicks. Plus you will notice the chicks going through their juvenile molt around 2 months of age. After that, it gets quite difficult to tell the parents from the chicks.