FINCHforum

Hello everyone. I'm a newbie - my husband gave me a pair of Zebras for Valentine's Day & I''m absolutely crazy about my little "babies". Felix & Fiona were purchased from PetSmart & I have no idea how old they are. Within four days of bringing them home Fiona laid her first egg & continued to lay five more. I made a terrible mistake by transferring them to a larger cage & as a result Fiona abandoned the nest. I removed the old nest & provided two more with ample nesting materials, which I stopped providing after Fiona laid her first egg in the new nest. We are approximately on the ninth day of incubation. I noticed however that Felix is carrying & depositing bits of broccoli, spinach & greens around the inside of the entrance of the nest! I'm afraid the veggies will go bad & make them sick. I'm not sure what I should do because I'm deathly afraid to interfere with the nest as Fiona has proven to be extremely sensitive/skittish. Has anyone experienced this behavior? I'd appreciate any advice or guidance anyone may have.

Congrats on your new babies! I think since you took all the nesting material away, Felix is improvising, and this is quite common behavior. Finches, especially the species that are determined nest builders like Zebras, will use whatever they can find, and veggies/greens are often the substitute material. Most of the time, these bits will dry up and not cause any problems. It is best to interfere as little as possible, some birds don't do well with a lot of nest checks.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many good articles on breeding, housing, and especially the Zebra finch. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier to answer locale-specific questions later on.

Nicci_M

Welcome to the Forum, and congratulations in your new birdlings.

My birds all like to stick veggies and greens in their nests. As Sally mentioned, these things do dry up and cause no harm. I always chuckle when I see this, thinking of it as the equivalent to human 'pickles and ice cream' that some pregnant women crave . Or a bit of snackies, for those days when you just don't feel like leaving the house.

I really wouldn't worry about it, although broccoli, migh get a bit smelly .

~Elana~

Sally and Elana covered the veggie question well, just wanted to jump in and say welcome to the forum!

best of luck

Thank you all so much for your responses, I feel a whole lot better about the "veggie nest" situation. I have cut down on the amount of veggies but continue providing mashed egg and ground shells twice a day (this is in addition to their seed mix, millet spray and cuttle bone). Oh, I add a few drops of Ecotrition's Vita-Sol to their drinking water and seed mix.
Any advice on what I should feed them once the chicks have hatched?
Felix is such a joy to watch, since removing most the leafy greens he has begun pulling at a few dry leaves attached to the millet spray!

Nicci_M

Hi Nicci.

I wouldn't necessarily take away their veggies, which are an important part of their diet . Just like the rest of us, they do need their greens. All of my guys go through a tremendous amount of veggies and fruits on a daily basis.

It sounds like you have everything under control diet wise. All I can mention, is a bit of fortified grit, either in a treat cup, or on the cage floor, so that they can pick and choose through it.

When are your eegg babies due to hatch?

~Elana~

Hi Elana -
Thank you again for your advice, I certainly appreciate it! As for the fortified grit, I do have some in a treat cup but just forgot to mention it.
I expect my little feathered (or not!) babies to hatch any time from Thursday (12th day of incubaction)! I am besides myself with excitement - in fact, I'm like a small child on Christmas Eve!

Nicci_M

It's always egciting, it doesn't matter how many times you've had hatchlings, it never gets old.

I've had the opportunity to watch a baby Gouldian actually come out of his egg one day, and let me tell you, that was awesome. That tiny pink creature struggling out of that egg shell, so determined to face the world. SIGH~~~

What colour are the parents by the way?

Good luck and take care.

~Elana~

Oh my goodness Elana, what an incredible experience that must have been! I've been sitting here all evening with binoculars in hand...but nothing yet
My little jewels are of the normal/gray variety. In time I'd love to add
a couple pairs of different mutations. I've searched online for breeders within driving distance (SC, NC, GA & FL) but have had no luck!

Nicci_M

Getting close to hatching now...... You did say Thursday, right? as the estimated due date?

I really love the mental picture of you sitting there with binoculars, sure gave me a chuckle. Are they in an open nest? If they are, then it should make it a lot easier to spot babies, when parents get off the nest to eat.
Check nest first thing in the mornings, right after you offer parents a favorite food, which may entice Mom and Dad off the nest for a couple of minutes.

Good luck

~Elana~

Yes, Thursday is the "due date"! I have the regular bamboo style Finch nest with an opening in the front. I didn't think that I could use Canary style (if that's what you mean by "open nest"). I read some place that Finches prefer the closed type that I have. I think I might Use open nests next go round & see what happens.