Zebra noob questions

[Ctfinch]

Hello there! My name is chase and I just joined the forum in hopes of learning all I can! I have a few question on bird behavior. I just got my little finch yesterday. I noticed he stays in the bottom of the cage sometimes and also open and closes his beak often when near him. Now I did just get him yesterday from a local couple who breeds birds. He is only 2 months old so I was wondering if he is still acclimating and if this is normal for a new bird. His droppings look healthy and he eats and drinks often. I have no messed with him but when I get close the the cage that's the only time he does the mouth thing. Just nervous about this little guy as I havnt cared for a small bird in a long time! Any advise would be much appreciated! Thank you!

[Colt]

First of all welcome to the forum. If you can it would be nice if you could post pictures of the bird and your cage set-up, or at least describe it in pretty good detail. Important things to know are the size of the cage, in addition to how it is layed out, what you're feeding, where the cage is in your home, etc...

Birds generally spend more time in the upper portions of their cage as that is where they feel the safest. Up high, like in the trees if they were in the wild. They will forage on the ground for yummy things to eat. If it stays on the floor of the cage the majority of the time I would say the bird could be ill, or more likely simply exhausted from the stress of moving into a new environment as well as (if I'm reading correctly) the only bird in the cage.

Finches are social creatures by nature and should not be kept singly in my honest opinion. There are a few cases where that may be alright but the majority of them are much more comfortable and behave much more naturally if they are housed with other birds of their same species. I'd bet within minutes of having a companion added to the cage your bird's behavior would change.

The open-beaked breathing is also a sign of stress. If the cage is very small and you get very close to the cage to look at or whatever the bird it is very likely stressing the bird out as well as it doesn't have anywhere to flee to what it feels is a safer distance.

To put things in perspective imagine being locked in only your bedroom with a Tyrannosaur outside peering in at you. You can't climb under your bed or hide in your closet. There's nothing for you to do but sit there waiting for it to eat you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7tqVEdyteg

With some more details on your set-up we can better help interpret the behavior of your new finch and be sure it is well-taken care of.

@Sheather, lovezebs, MiaCarter anything you all would like to add?

[amandap]

Welcome, Ctfinch. I second everything that Colt has said. As a fellow newbie, just wanted to say hello and welcome.

Looking forward to more details. Sounds like your little guy is having a rough start.

[Sheather]

Strongly recommend a cagemate, he'll pine away in short order all by himself, it's not a life for a finch. That's probably his biggest problem right now, though if the cage is small, a bigger one would be a great idea and if not possible, letting him out to fly would help. If he's used to this cage he should go back to it on his own at the end of the day and throughout it to eat or drink.

[Ctfinch]

Sorry for the vague detail! I noticed now that my little birds friend had a day to himself with out me bugging him and sprucing up his cage he is not doing the beak thing or on the bottom. He is in a 30x18x18 cage for now. I am actually getting him a female in the next couple days! The same couple I got him from also have females that I am going to get! His cage has two little nest type hiding spots with a water dish and a small shallow bath. A feeding bowl some cuddle bone and spray millet as well. He has been eating a lot of his seed and some greens as well little by little.i think I stressed him out by cleaning up the area as now that I've been out and about today he has been acting as he should. The cage mate is coming very soon though! So he won't be lonely anymore!

[Sally]

If you get a female and you leave those nests in the cage, you will soon have eggs/babies! Zebras are like little rabbits, they love to procreate. The problem comes when you try to find homes for those little babies. A 30x18x18 cage is adequate for one pair of birds. Be sure to tell the people you are buying from that you want an unrelated female for your male, you don't want to breed closely related birds.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at http://www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on housing, diet, breeding, and especially the Zebra finch. I notice you are from East Texas--another Texan on the forum!

[Colt]

lol Sally... My profile says East Texas... The OP is from Colorado Springs. Which I would assume is in Colorado...lol

@Ctfinch - A 30x18x18 is much better than what I was picturing. And yes, they should do well in there. Be sure the hen you get isn't related to the little fellow you already have if you're planning on breeding. You want all the right numbers of toes and things... ;) Also pull the nests until both birds are at least 6 months old although it would be better to wait until the hen is 8 months. Zebras will lay themselves to death if you let them and when they are very young their bodies just aren't developed enough to handle breeding. They wouldn't normally in the wild, but in captivity their diets are so much better it puts their little bodies into breeding mode whether they are ready or not.

And as you've discovered poking around the cage too much can certainly cause stress. Glad to hear the little one is relaxing in his new environment. A friend will help and you might think about the addition of a few vines or silk plants in the upper corners of the cage. You can browse the forum for some great topics with cages that are decorated.

[Ctfinch]

Awesome! And they couple I got them from actually told me they keep tabs on the parents so that doesn't happen when they sell pairs! That would not be good! Haha and the best was defiantly just for him for now. I wouldn't want to breed them early like you said. And yes I live in Colorado! I also have a blue and gold macaw. The care is... Well different of course haha. I'm glad to be here as well! I love all of the information I've read so far!

[Sally]

Colt And I didn't even have a glass of wine last night! Guess I can blame it on having a senior moment!

We're glad to have another Coloradan with us, I don't think we have too many either.

[Ctfinch]

Well thank you! I'm glad to be here! My little guy's name is almond by the way. He's been doing much better today as well. He was singing his little heart out this morning!

[MiaCarter]

Welcome to the forum!!!

@Colt covered it nicely!

I like Colt's tyrannasaurus parallel. It's similar to the anecdote that I usually use (imagine a guy standing outside your window with a shotgun aimed at you. He follows you around while you're inside your house, so he's always in the window with a shotgun. You're going to get really stressed by that constant threat of death!)

Adding a friend for companionship and adding some plants to give him some places to hide and feel less exposed will do wonders.

You can also get him more acclimated to you and your presence by simply sitting beside the cage and doing something quiet that doesn't involve a lot of movement like reading a book or working on a laptop. Over time, he'll become more used to your presence and you won't be so scary.

[Ctfinch]

MiaCarter Thats mainly what ive been doing! I tye flies for fly fishing at my little desk next to me. He just sits and does what ever he does and pays no mind to me haha.

[delray]

Ctfinch welcome!

[Ctfinch]

I was also wondering, when I do get a female, do I have to quarantine her If I get her from the same lady who had him with her before? (if that makes sense haha)

[MiaCarter]

Ctfinch - That's exactly what you should do! Just hang out and do something quiet. Over time, he'll get acclimated to you. It's just a matter of building trust and him realizing that you won't do anything unexpected or frightening.

If you're getting the hen from the same person who gave you the male, I don't think there's any need to quarantine. Especially if they were in contact prior to when the male came to live with you.

I think the stresses of leaving two social creatures isolated for several weeks would be greater than the small risk of the female transmitting something to the male. So this is a case where I might make an exception to the quarantine rule.