Different finch breeds in one cage

[sparrowsong98]

So, I love my zebras, and they are very nice with each other, but I understand that they can be not too nice to neighbors. So, if suppose some friendly gouldians, or societies move in, how will they take it? will they kill them? will they be friends? Or should I stick with zebras? and how will they take just one more pair. I have read that they will kill each other, but I don`t see how one more pair makes it all better.

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98
Societies are really sweet and often mix well, but if the zebras prove aggressive, the societies probably won't handle it well. Some gouldians can be pushy, in which case they would do better with zebras. I've heard Javas can also be good to mix with pushy species. They are calm and mostly bicker with each other, rather than bothering other species, and will stand their ground. They are also large, so zebras would have a difficult time killing them (though still not good if they try, to say the least).
Bear in mind that both gouldians and Javas may need an austerity diet for a few months a year to keep them from getting fat. Gouldians also undergo a stressful moult, which is energy-intensive and can leave them looking terrible for part of the year.

[w.l.]

Your zebras are unlikely to actually kill another pair of finches, but might chase them around relentlessly enough for those to be totally stressed, hardly able to eat, rest, etc, which might eventually finish them off.
They are less likely to bother a different species than another zebra pair.
Two pairs of zebras are worse than three because with only two, the dominant pair will keep chasing the weaker pair. With three pairs, the attention of the dominant pair will be split, and one of the two underdog pairs can rest while the others get bullied.
This whole issue of aggression depends on the character of your individual birds, and on the size of the cage, too. You should only try and keep 3 pairs of zebras together in a large cage.
Otherwise, just add a second cage for the second pair.

[lovezebs]

sparrowsong98

Hello,

First of all, it depends on what you refer to as 'cage'.
Are we talking:

Or cage:

If you have a good sized flight cage, then you could add a pair of Societies, or a couple of pairs of Zebras. They come in many pretty mutations.

Gouldians with Zebras, is a definite NO NO.

I have housed Zebras with Societies for several years, without any major issues. I also have one Diamond Sparrow with them, one Shafttail male, and one Cutthroat male with them without issue.

That said, I would not place a true pair of Cuthroats with any other species.
I would not place 2 male Shafttails together in one flight.
As for Diamonds, I only have the one, so I couldn't tell you what a pair would be like.

In a good sized flight, you could have a Canary male or female.
A pair of Javas
A couple of Owls (although these may hybridize with Zebras).

So as you can see, there are choices out there, but you need to keep in mind, that some individual birds can be more passive or aggressive than others, and may simply not get along.

[sparrowsong98]

lovezebs I have a 30x18x18, but was looking to make a 40x50x20 later. how would one society do with them?

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98
Adding a lone bird is not a good idea; if the zebras are already bonded with each other, they could see the new bird as an intruder, rather than a permanent resident, and attack it. You would want at least a couple of new birds to make sure the zebras don't traumatize them as much. A lone bird can also become a depressed bird, as almost all common pet birds need companions, except for canaries.
Any new birds should be kept in quarantine for 1-8 weeks to make sure they won't make your other birds ill.

[Sheather]

A lone zebra with two societies usually works fine.
A lone society with two zebra will probably result in a dead society.
Once they have a mate, zebras get very territorial in small cages.

[sparrowsong98]

Icearstorm I don't know if more would fit... Could two fit possibly?

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98
The cage size calculator says you could only fit 1-2 birds in that cage, but this assumes a breeding setting. If no one is breeding, another pair should work, but there always is a risk.

[sparrowsong98]

Icearstorm ok because I found this one little society and her feathers like mohawked and stuck up, but I wasn`t sure I could fit her and a buddy in the cage.

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98

It will probably work as far as space goes. The calculator says my cage can only fit 3-4 birds, but my seven have done well; granted, the height (not factored in) is triple the depth, which helps. You probably should switch around the perches in the cage and maybe even remove the zebra finches for a few days before putting them all together to stop the zebras from thinking they own the cage; this should reduce aggression.

[sparrowsong98]

Icearstorm... I dont have a quarantine cage. Could they go in two rabbit cages for a couple days if I cleaned them out very well? or could I switch the zeebs to a rabbit cage and move the societies to the bird cage? the bar spacing in the rabbit cage is right for finches.

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98
I don't see why not; just add a food and water dish, as well as couple of sticks or commercial perches to the rabbit cage so the birds don't hop around in their poop all day. I wouldn't switch them, as this could risk cross-contamination. When you go to feed them, feed the zebras first, as you know they are healthy, then use one hand to pull out the new birds' food dish and the other to waterfall seed into it. Or better yet, use a separate container for storing seed for each the zebras and the new birds, washing your hands between each feeding. The separate food storage containers can then be consolidated once quarantine is over.

[sparrowsong98]

Icearstorm the one bird that I would probably get has this like, idk how to describe it, but her feathers on her head stick up like a mohawk or something. It looks like she has like a spiky hairdo. Is that something they get? It looks like if you look up crested bengalese, their head.

[Icearstorm]

sparrowsong98
Crested birds are fairly common; there are crested societies, zebra finches, canaries, budgies, house pigeons, mourning doves, and even ducks (not sure if it is due to the same genes, though).