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Zebs and Societies sleeping together.. kinda

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 11:58 am
by FinchGrinch
My two Zebras have started sleeping on the perch outside of the Societies nest box. Its almost as if they want to join the crowd but keep their distance.
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Once one of my Society hens gets broody, will this be an issue? These are the only two Zebras in a group of 5 Societies, and I have not seen any aggression on the Zebra's part. They seem to get along fine. I have tried putting another box in for the Zebs but the societies think its for them and start the nest building all over again. If I allow the Societies to build another nest, do they typically use both, splitting up in pairs or do they just build it and leave it? If they build it, will the Zebs use it or do the Zebs need to build their own?

Re: Zebs and Societies sleeping together.. kinda

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 12:22 pm
by Sheather
I would give them enough nests that they can all have one, or none at all; so I'd do 4, and you will probably have extras but the societies may decide to split into pairs at any time, in which case your extras may not be welcomed. I have four, a bonded pair and two extra males who kinda ignore eachother. The pair doesn't let the other males in their nest, and the other two don't like to sleep together so they end up sleeping in 3 places.

I have seen zebras sleep in the nest with societies when nobody's in breeding mode though.

Re: Zebs and Societies sleeping together.. kinda

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 2:05 pm
by lovezebs
FinchGrinch

I keep my Zebras and Societies together in a large flight, and normally everyone gets along fine, and by that, I mean the Zebras squable as per usual, and will usually leave the Societies alone, with the odd tail feather being pulled. That said, they are not breeding at present, and there are no nests in there.

If you want to breed, and want to know who the parents are, I would pull each pair into an individual cage with a nest. Otherwise, you will have no idea who belongs to whom, seeing as Societies will lay eggs here there and everywhere, and will feed all the babies, theirs and everyone elses as well.

Once your Zebras, choose a nest, they will get territorial over it, and will try to keep the Societies out of it, which may cause them to concentrate on that rather than eggs or babies (which is something to keep in mind).

If you don't want to breed, remove all nests and nesting materials from the flight.