Add four new finches to two male zebras?
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2019 4:41 pm
Hello all,
I have two male zebra finches currently in a flight cage(31" L x 20.5" W x 40" H), but one of the males is prone to plucking the others feathers although he has ceased this recently. He recently also plucked his own feathers(I believe it's self inflicted), which is weird because he is generally a very lively, healthy and boisterous bird. Giving him away is tough because we agreed to take care of these two from family members, and the aggressive one is also the far better singer.
I want to reduce this type of anti-social behaviour and I am considering adding more birds to make it a more lively community. I also feel that the cage is somewhat sparse, so I'm planning to add some plastic plants and natural manzanita wood perches. Currently they have rope perches, shaped dowel, a swing and a mirror(in which the aggressive male loves to sing and puff his chest out).
I've heard 4 birds is not a good number to have in a cage so I would go up to six. What is a good combination to reduce conflict and make all birds happier in the cage? I'm considering adding 4 females or 1 male and 3 females to make it even. I do not have any intention of breeding them however, so won't place any nests inside.
Cage model:
https://prevuepet.com/product/164/fligh ... black-f040
I have two male zebra finches currently in a flight cage(31" L x 20.5" W x 40" H), but one of the males is prone to plucking the others feathers although he has ceased this recently. He recently also plucked his own feathers(I believe it's self inflicted), which is weird because he is generally a very lively, healthy and boisterous bird. Giving him away is tough because we agreed to take care of these two from family members, and the aggressive one is also the far better singer.
I want to reduce this type of anti-social behaviour and I am considering adding more birds to make it a more lively community. I also feel that the cage is somewhat sparse, so I'm planning to add some plastic plants and natural manzanita wood perches. Currently they have rope perches, shaped dowel, a swing and a mirror(in which the aggressive male loves to sing and puff his chest out).
I've heard 4 birds is not a good number to have in a cage so I would go up to six. What is a good combination to reduce conflict and make all birds happier in the cage? I'm considering adding 4 females or 1 male and 3 females to make it even. I do not have any intention of breeding them however, so won't place any nests inside.
Cage model:
https://prevuepet.com/product/164/fligh ... black-f040