FINCHforum

Great forum! I've been doing lots of reading here lately and just joined this morning.

I'm planning to get two male zebras in the near future and had a few questions:

1) Will two males housed together still sing? How much is singing driven by the presence of a female?

2) Would providing nests and/or nesting material be okay or would that spur aggression due to breeding behavior? I've got a 30 x 18 x 18" cage on the way. Not sure if each bird having enough space to claim as its own (maybe put nests in opposite corners) would help.

3) Does anyone have experience buying finches from a chain pet store? We have a Petsmart near us. I think their zebras are around $17 each. Anyone know of any breeders (or anyone with a breeding pair looking to give away or sell birds) near the New River Valley or Roanoke in Virginia?

Thanks,
David

dbotos

Hello David, and welcome to the Forum.

Now to answer some of your questions.

Two male Zebras, should probably be ok together .
Now I say 'probably', because Zebras are Zebras, and a lot depends on the personality of the individual birds.

Yes, they will sing.

If I were you, I would not add nests to the cage.
Nests are for breeding, and they will be a constant source of conflict and territorial fighting.

What I would place in your cage, are two food and water stations, at separate ends of the cage. Also some fake vines and greenery from the dollar store, to offer some areas of privacy. A swing or two, will be appreciated as well.

Regarding buying Zebras from Petsmart.
I have bought some lovely birds from Pet stores.
In some areas, Pet stores, are your only option. The main thing is, to look at your birds carefully. Don't go for the bird who is sitting all fluffed up with it's eyes closed. Don't pick a bird that's sitting all huddled up on the floor of the cage. And, don't buy a bird that has a soiled bottom, or crusty cracked looking feet or legs.

A young healthy bird, should be active, bright-eyed, in good smooth feather condition, clean looking, with smooth pink feet and legs, and short clean nails.

If you can find two birds who appear to be friendly with each other, sitting close together, preening each other, then you'll have a better chance of two birds who are either related, or have bonded together and will probably get along better.

Good luck.

Welcome to the forum! Elana has already given you some excellent advice. There's also a lot of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. Once you get your birds, we love to see photos!

Thanks!

I like the idea of having some fake foliage in there. I guess that can be removed and washed with hot soapy water if the birds decide to "decorate" it a little.

Swings sound like a good DIY project - I'll have to figure out dimensions and raid my hoard of materials.

I'll have to recon how the zebras look at Petsmart when they get some more in. I went last week and they were all out of those and societies too. The girl wasn't sure when they were getting more in. Oh well, I still need to set up the cage and all. I'll definitely post some pictures once I get them.

Cage arrived yesterday (Prevue SPF0610). I got a cabinet from Target to sit it on. Fake owl is trying it out. Now I need some furnishings and some birds...

After almost a month and a half of having an empty cage in the living room, I finally got some birds. I'd been checking the local Petsmart almost weekly and when I swung by yesterday, they finally had some finches in - a few societies. I originally wanted to get Zebras, but added societies to the list after reading some more about them and their more laid-back demeanor.

They seem happy in their new home. They immediately took to the millet spray I put in there and have also been eating and drinking out of their feeders (I caught them drinking together this morning). They cheep to each other and at least one of them has been singing some. I still need to hang their cuttlebone and put in a little dish for grit.

They currently have four natural perches (I'll have to get some pictures) that I made a while back from small dried branches of our callery pear trees. I stripped all the bark off with a knife, sanded the nubs down with a 1"-wide belt sander, and baked them in the oven for a few hours to sterilize. I stuck two at each end of the cage so they have some motivation to fly between them.

dbotos wrote: After almost a month and a half of having an empty cage in the living room, I finally got some birds. I'd been checking the local Petsmart almost weekly and when I swung by yesterday, they finally had some finches in - a few societies. I originally wanted to get Zebras, but added societies to the list after reading some more about them and their more laid-back demeanor.

They seem happy in their new home. They immediately took to the millet spray I put in there and have also been eating and drinking out of their feeders (I caught them drinking together this morning). They cheep to each other and at least one of them has been singing some. I still need to hang their cuttlebone and put in a little dish for grit.

They currently have four natural perches (I'll have to get some pictures) that I made a while back from small dried branches of our callery pear trees. I stripped all the bark off with a knife, sanded the nubs down with a 1"-wide belt sander, and baked them in the oven for a few hours to sterilize. I stuck two at each end of the cage so they have some motivation to fly between them.

[ http://www.finchforum.com/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=3&image_id=812 ]

[ http://www.finchforum.com/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=3&image_id=813 ]

Jeez, you have a lively bunch for such laidback birds. My pair of zebras were very frightened at first.

Very cute,they look real healthy I also have society never had zebras but love my George and Gracie,my advice is not to put a nest in there unless you want them to breed I originally thought I had two males,so thought it would be cute for them to sleep in a nest read they love to sleep in nest even if two males well now I have enie,menie,minie,and moe no more nest but they are a awful cute little family that entertain me for hours you will love your pair they have such personality,

dbotos,

Welcome to the forum. For 'grit' use crushed oyster shells, sold at Petsmart also. They will process the calcium. True grit - the gravel stuff, not the movie - is not needed as finches hull their seed before eating it. Grit is needed by doves and others that swallow the whole seed and need the gritty material to break it apart. Grit for finches can bind them and cause GI problems. Also be careful what types of natural materials you use. There should be a list of plants that are toxic and need to be avoided. Not certain about pear.