FINCHforum

So I just became the parent of three zebra finches. They were a birthday present for my spouse from his sisters. We have never had finches before (and I've never owned birds!).

I've been reading the Finch Information Center along with many other websites that finches need to be kept in pairs. Well, I have three - 2 females and one male. The females get along and the male only gets along with one female. He constantly pecks and flies around chasing the other female. I'm unsure of what to do because the Finch Info Center states I should have 1 pair or 3 pairs - or that fights may break out. The cage is 18inx30inx18in. I do not have space in my home for a second cage or a bigger cage and I know my cage is too small for 6 birds.

So I'm wondering what you guys think. Should I get rid of one of the birds or should I get a 4th bird? I can return them within the next 9 days. If I were to get a 4th bird should I get a male or another female? If I need to get rid of one - which one should I get rid of? The male or the picked on female? I'd really like to keep them all, but I don't want the poor female to get hurt and die from the aggressive male. I'm not sure if 4 birds will be okay. I keep reading contradicting information online.

I may add that they have two long perches that go across the cage, some hanging toys and a cuttlebone. I have given them two food bowls and two water bowls in hopes of keeping them from fighting. I also had a nest, but took it out after reading it may be a cause of aggressive behavior. I'm thinking of getting a plant for their cage today.

Thank you in advance!

Trios rarely work, there is usually the odd one that gets picked on. First, I would not add a 4th bird, as the cage you have is just big enough for one pair. Adding a 4th bird would only increase your troubles, not eliminate them.

You have several choices. You can get rid of the odd female. With a pair of Zebras, you will be dealing with their constant need to reproduce. This is OK if you are interested in breeding, but keep in mind that if you allow them to breed, then you will need yet another cage for the juveniles. Also, Zebras are not always easy to rehome, since they do breed like rabbits, and you may quickly run out of friends/relatives willing to take the babies (kind of like when you have an abundance of zucchini in your garden lol).

Since you say you don't have room for a second cage or a bigger cage, then I would recommend that you return the male and keep the two hens. Without a male present, you don't have to worry about babies, and the two hens should get along without a male around to fight over.

Your third option would be to return the two hens and get a second male. Two males will usually get along if there aren't any hens around for them to fight over.

And welcome to the forum! I see that you've already found the Finch Information Center, and there is definitely lots of good advice there. We have many members with experience with Zebras, and they will be happy to add to my recommendations. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier to answer locale-specific questions later on.

One more thing, you say the cage came with two long perches. I personally don't care for the perches that come with these cages, and so I use natural perches made from branches I cut from your yard. I also prefer to put one perch at each end of the cage, which encourages the birds to fly back and forth. Artificial plants also add not only looks to the cage, but they give the birds places to hide out.

Welcome to the FINCHforum Edalyne

Thank you for the welcomes and thank you for the reply!

I got some fake plants that I put in the corner of the cage. It does look nicer but right now they seem terrified of it. They'll have to get used to it. I'll look into making perches for the cage. I like the idea of encouraging them to fly.

I'm just wondering...What if I got rid of the male and replaced him with another hen. Would having three hens cause issues? My spouse is really adamant about not reducing the number of birds.

If it's a problem, I'm going to just return the male. As fun as breeding sounds I just don't the resources for it. So I'll keep hens only to avoid the problem. I really like my hens - One is white and I really like the look of that color mutation. She's also got a cute personality. She's always curious and the first one to inspect new things I put into the cage. So the hens stay.

Edalyne If you get a third female one will always be picked on and your cage is to small for more then 2.

Trisha

Haha thanks Arama. I knew that was going to be the answer. Just showed it to the spouse - He needed to see it to finally be convinced to return one. I guess one person saying it wasn't good enough.

We're gonna be sad to see one go...but its for the best since the male just picks fights and the hen he picks on looks so depressed today. I'm hoping she cheers up when she sees that he's not there to harass her anymore.

So I got rid of the male. My hen that was attacked is chirping again.

Question: Can i put the nest back in now that is only two hens? Or will it cause problems?

Hi, Edelyne and welcome to the forum. I'm happy you resolved your problem that worked out well for all concerned. There is a lot of information here and you could spend hours reading.

Putting the nest back should be fine. I have two hens housed together and they sleep in their nest.

On another note welcome to the forum

I'm going to put the nest back in tomorrow. They're already covered up for the night. The first few nights before the fighting broke out the hens actually liked sleeping on top of the nest. Thanks again for the information

Edalyne If you put the nest back in MAKE SURE THEY HAVE PLENTY OF CALCIUM and vitamin D to absorb the calcium. 2 hens with a nest could (and most likely will) lay a LOT of eggs!! Egg laying takes a lot of calcium out of the layer and energy (watch them sometime laying, it literally looks like a woman in labor... your heart goes out to them, then once the egg is out, they flit about) Anyway, cuttlebone deffinitely, but if you notice even one egg, you'll need to provide more than just a cuttlebone, IMO. I provide eggshells, daily if my hen is laying. And let me tell you she KNOWS when she needs them. I barely have my hand out of the cage and she is flying down to get at those shells. However, calcium is not good if there is no Vitamin D to absorb it. So if they do not get any direct sun light (remember, most newer window block UV rays, so even if they are in front of a sunny window, they still might not be getting the good stuff from the sun) There are calcium supplements out there that usually include the Vitamin D for absorption, among other things, natural such as certain foods. So that is my only warning on that.
As far as the original situation you posted about, I'm glad it worked out... and your husband FINALLY believed that Three Zebra finches just DOESN'T work!!! LOL

I buy Manzanita perches for my birds. They are natural (manzanita tree, or shrubs I think) and they usually have a few different branches off the end, I like the sandblasted ones, but they have natural too. Also, get different thicknesses, as it's good for their feet. (which sometimes the manzanita branches, the ends have a few different thicknesses on them and with the sandblasted they are rough so you are getting the nailtrimming (the roughness kind of files their nails) the different thicknesses for the feet excercise, and a good solid perch so you are getting all you need for their feet care in ONE perchase... (see what I did there? instead of Purchase?, we try to keep a sense of humor around here... )
They are very intimidated, who'm I kidding? Scared crapless of new things in their cage, however Zebras are VERY curious... they can't help themselves! So eventually they will go to that new plant you put in, and peck at it, climb on it (if they can) stand on it, and bite it. They'll start biting and pulling on it... Mine pull my fake plants into their cage all the time!!!
I won't overwhelm you with stuff, as it is a lot, but one big thing, not to forget is that they eat ALL sorts of different foods. Obviously you will have to try different things, but my Zebs' LOVE cucumbers and romaine lettuce, it's really cute, they eat almost perfectly round holes out of the middle of the cucumbers!!! Just know they don't (and shouldn't) only eat seed
Ok, I'm really done, obviously this is just MY two cents, which btw MOST of which I learned by THIS FORUM and all of the amazing people on it! So WELCOME. If you love your finches you have deffinitely come to the right place!! Good luck with your new kids, and FYI, we LOVE pictures around here!!!! So we'd love to see your birds!!! Hope all is going well. Good luck!!!

Thanks for the info!! I did get them a cuttlebone and have been giving them egg food about every other day or so. They love the stuff! I'm going to try putting in some a swing or something because I do have a swinging toy with a bell and they love swaying around on it. And you are right! Once I put the plants in one of the hens constantly goes and tugs on the leaves.

Also, they laid two eggs! I'm wondering, since I did have a male in the cage a few days ago, is it possible that the eggs are actually fertilized?

Welcome Edalyne!

It is very upllifting you found the resolution and your hens are happy with their society and the all of equipment

I have two males. Firstly I thought that white male is hen but after some time I started to suspect he is not he... and friendly people from FinchForum helped me to recognize the sex of this male.
They also have swing which especially one of them very like, natural perches and nest - box. They cuddle in box during the day, but in the night usually only one of them sleep in an the other on the box Seem I plan to build them two-storey home now or to put firstly partition, they I will see if they are contented with two rooms

Here you have photos of my zebras Balbino & Batman: Balbino & Batman

Aww Koko they are cute! Bardzo fajne! ;) Did you hand feed them when they were young to get them to be outside of the cage? or do you just let them fly around and they go back to the cage? Having them spend time outside the cage would be nice.

So I got my hens a swing and they were terrified of it for few hours. Finally one got brave and sung on it for a moment. My white finch is not using it at all, but my other one is from time to time. I bought it thinking the white finch would be the one who would use it! Guess not

I should not persuade them to go outside. Sometimes I do not go away from the cage, but they are flying around thw whole room. And I am affraid didin't they something wrong themselves, hit into the wall or something, so fast they are circuiting

I had to remove two-storayed box, because one day Balbino started to be very agressive and the didin't want to let Batman to the cage. So, beceause they didn't want to reconsile they don't have a house now and sleep on the sticks

I added some new photos. And film on which you can see how the try to catch a new toy, tied to swing. They really fond of the swing, especially Batman. Sometimes he swing and swing, endlessly... I will try to film it. Maybe your swing was too few stable? Maybe the girth of the stick which they were catching was too small and they felt usteadily?