FINCHforum

Hello There

I purchased a pair of adult Zebra finches for my daughters. Two months later they laid 5 eggs. They did a great job in taking care of the eggs. All the eggs hatched. 2 on the 8th of December, 2 on the 9th and 1 on the 11th. The parents are taking good care of them and I put plenty of diverse foods for them. They're eating well and feeding the babies. As you see on the picture taken today the 19th, two of the chicks are still relatively small. Is this normal ? Also, the 2 smaller chicks have white feathers on the wings and a pink beak, which I haven't noticed on the bigger once when they were about that size. Does it mean these 2 chicks will grow up to be pied or other mutations? Both parents are gray, mom has a one single tiny white spot on the top of her head ; dad also has a small tiny light grey spot on the neck.
Thank You

I'm definitely not the genetics expert here and I think Nagdabit could do a fine job of teaching you what you need to know about zebra mutations. You can read up at http://efinch.com/varieties.htm as well.

The chicks look fantastic. Usually the biggest concern with age gaps in chicks is competition. Usually if the chicks can make it past the first few days they become big enough to compete with their older siblings for food. Judging by the picture your chicks all have very nicely filled crops and you can determine that none are being neglected.

Hi and welcome to the forum. You have 5 very well fed chicks there, so I wouldn't worry about the difference in the sizes. I am going to guess that both of your parents are pied, and that you have 2 babies that are going to be either all or mostly white or cream, congrats on a great looking clutch.

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your chicks. They look very well fed. Keep us posted on their development.

Thanks to you all. I'll keep you posted.

Sorry tried to post a couple of hours ago, but lost our internet connection. As was mentioned, if the chicks have progressed to this point, size differential shouldn't be a problem. We've had a number of "runts" that came along after the others and they turned out fine.

As for the mutations, technically, a Zebra with even the slightest little white spot is considered pied. Too, if you don't know the heritage of your adults, it's hard to say what recessive splits they could be carrying. We've had couples wherein one of the adults were Fawn, White or Pied and they've produced at least some Normal Gray. In turn when those Normal Grays went on to produce offspring a number of them ended up resembling Grandma and/or Grandpa. Zebras can even carry splits generations beyond that as well.

I would have to agree that your two chicks are Fawn, Pied, or some sort of White. The link Domenic gave you is an excellent reference to help sort out the various intricacies of Zebra genetics.

One additional thought. There is at least one mutation that can be deceptive. There are birds that appear to be Normal Grays that really are Single Factor Florida Fancy. We had a breeding couple where the male was mostly white and the hen was of a fawnish color and all told they produced four males that looked like they were Normal Gray. Turned out when some of them reproduced they had chicks that had a base coloring like their mother, only being males, they had full markings. Our investigation led us to discover that not only were the young birds Single Factor Florida Fancy, their dads were as well. These pics are a good representation of first the dads and their subsequent offspring.

http://www.efinch.com/birdpix4/sf_df_ff.jpg

http://www.efinch.com/birdpix4/sfff.jpg

Notice the lack of a pronounced breast bar in the darker male in the first pic. A tell tale sign of the SF/FF. There are other indicators as well, but I'm not well versed in enough Zebra genetics to point them out.

Enjoy the antics of your babies, you will be greatly entertained over the next month or so. And remember, more pics are always welcome.

Rory and Sherry

thanks Nagdabit for your interesting input. I'll keep you posted.

Great looking, well stuffed chicks you have - parents are doing a superb job! Welcome to the Finch Forum.

They're out!!!!

Are those the parents their sat with on the perch ? isnt it strange how you have 2 greys mate and produce white babies

Just to say how quickly they have grown pic 1 to pic 2 is amazing, the parents must of done a very good job

They look wonderful, and I can see 2 little grey boys.

im no expert but I think thay still need to grow

Those whites are lovely and have some interesting colorations on them.

I just today found this thread...but want to say congratulations on a fine looking family! !

I too just found this thread. Beautiful zebra family. 2 pieds bred together produce the nicest whites. No tear marks or any grey shading on the head
Though the parents look mostly grey they could of easily been the result of a white zebra and grey zebra pairing. This would produce a light marked pied like your parents and therefore could throw all white with this 3rd generation. Very pretty indeed.