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Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 5:26 am
by OliwiaMoriarti
The moment I got my female zebra, Kim, she seemed to be quite large. My male, Mouschi, is around 6 months older than her, and yet he's much lighter than she is. I'd say he's probably half her weight.
Is it possible that Kim is a British/german zebra finch and Mouschi an Australian zebra finch?
It'd be great to get a second opinion.
(Kimmy is on the left, Mouschi is on the right.)
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 6:42 am
by CathyCraftz
Zebra Finches all originated from Australia, but there are wild ones in other parts of the world and have adapted to it. Also, where did you get the Finches?
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:27 am
by OliwiaMoriarti
CathyCraftz wrote:
Zebra Finches all originated from Australia, but there are wild ones in other parts of the world and have adapted to it. Also, where did you get the Finches?
I bought them both from different pet stores in Iceland. I decided to shop in the second one for my female, because the other one seemed to not have very well trained staff, and I didn't want to get a sick bird like I did there once before. I was told that many of the finches here are imported from Germany, which would make sense for my female. But Mouschi seems a bit too small to be this zebra finch variety.
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 1:24 pm
by Fraza
OliwiaMoriarti I had a few british zebra finches off a well known breeder and they are usually a lot larger also another thing is that it looks like they are frowning as the eyes look like they are more sunken into the head because of how big the head is (if that makes sense )
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 1:26 pm
by Fraza
Like him on the right
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:32 pm
by OliwiaMoriarti
Fraza wrote:
Like him on the right
`
Those are some very grumpy looking birds! Thank you so much for those pictures. Kim doesn't share that characteristic facial structure, so maybe she's just a bit fat??? She could also just be a bit bigger for some other reason, but idk. Thank you for the info
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:23 pm
by Fraza
OliwiaMoriarti your welcome and ano they look grumpy and they was grumpy to lol
But I’m no expert I’m just going off those few pairs I had I mmm not hundred percent sure if yours isn’t
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:45 pm
by Icearstorm
OliwiaMoriarti
Maybe
haroun could help.
I wonder if she's just one of those birds that holds her feathers out a bit more. I've had a few societies, and one of the larger-looking ones weighed 13 grams, while my smallest-looking male weighed almost 17. My fluffier male has always been active and healthy, so it seems it's just individual variation that makes him hold his feathers further out. The heavier male I had before held his feathers slick to his side, so even though he weighed more, he didn't look like it. As long as she isn't fluffy because she's ill, very cold, or underweight, it's fine.
- Laser; you can see how he holds his feathers so close to his body you can see the shape of his keel
- Tacocat, my fluffy boi
He's singing, so a bit fluffier than usual
The feathers obscure the form of the bird, so you probably won't be able to tell they're fat just by looking. If you are concerned about fat, you could part the feathers over their keel and look at muscle and fat distribution. Fat usually collects on the crop and abdominal region and looks yellowish, and the muscles either side of the keel bone should be about even with the keel.
You can tell if a bird is the right weight by looking at the shape of the keel/breast muscles. The bird shouldn't have a ton of fat on it, but its keel bone shouldn't be "sharp" or super obvious, either. Aim for a body condition score of three:
You should be able to see the keel bone, but the muscle either side of it should be about even with the top of the bone. This is what's normal for my societies, although zebs might have a slightly different conformation:
And here's an image of a fat gouldian:
Re: Is my zebra finch British or Australian?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:15 pm
by OliwiaMoriarti
Icearstorm wrote:
OliwiaMoriarti
Maybe
haroun could help.
I wonder if she's just one of those birds that holds her feathers out a bit more. I've had a few societies, and one of the larger-looking ones weighed 13 grams, while my smallest-looking male weighed almost 17. My fluffier male has always been active and healthy, so it seems it's just individual variation that makes him hold his feathers further out. The heavier male I had before held his feathers slick to his side, so even though he weighed more, he didn't look like it. As long as she isn't fluffy because she's ill, very cold, or underweight, it's fine.
Laser.jpg
tacocat_singing_by_icearstorm_dckuag1-pre.jpg
The feathers obscure the form of the bird, so you probably won't be able to tell they're fat just by looking. If you are concerned about fat, you could part the feathers over their keel and look at muscle and fat distribution. Fat usually collects on the crop and abdominal region and looks yellowish, and the muscles either side of the keel bone should be about even with the keel.
You can tell if a bird is the right weight by looking at the shape of the keel/breast muscles. The bird shouldn't have a ton of fat on it, but its keel bone shouldn't be "sharp" or super obvious, either. Aim for a body condition score of three:
[
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c1/a6/2c/c1a62cbd97e51ed4c672eb266c415cb9.jpg ]
You should be able to see the keel bone, but the muscle either side of it should be about even with the top of the bone. This is what's normal for my societies, although zebs might have a slightly different conformation:
WIN_20190314_11_37_42_Pro.jpg
And here's an image of a fat gouldian:
[
https://ladygouldian.com/files/fat%20bird.jpg ]
Wow, this is some really good advice. The Body Condition Score sheet is especially helpful, wish I have seen it before. I have already learned about the whole keel bone situation from my grandpa, who used to keep a lot of birds. I would say Kim was actually around a 5 when I got her, because of the way she was being fed in her previous home. She has lost some excess weight since then though, and she is currently a strong 3, maybe leaning towards a 4. She's still almost twice the weight as Mouschi, I'd say. Although, Mouschi does like to keep his feathers nice and fluffed, just like your boy, Tacocat (amazing name btw), so he looks the same size as her, to someone who doesn't watch them for 7 hours of their day.