Zebras not getting along????

[ranchnanny]

I have 4 Zebra Finches and I know I have one pair but the other I am not sure. My question is since I have added the Pair to the Aviary there has been alot of chasing, fighting going on. I will post here the photos of the two pairs the first are my first zebras and are supposed to be male & female. The second is the pair I just got and I know they are male and female. This second pair are busy making a nest and get very testy if anyone gets close to the nest or the female. My first pair have already built their nest and the female (white zebra) gets chased by the other male. ?? I'm not sure what the heck is going on. I just watched the two males get into it. The male with the orange patch is somewhat agressive what should I do? Any comments?

[kenny]

hi
i think the only thing you can do is put another nest in for the other pair,if there is room thats why they are fighting because they dont want the other pair near thier nest if you put another nest in they may settle down to make thier own nest and not pester the other pair


ken

[ranchnanny]

Hi Ken each pair has its own nest in fact there is an extra nest not being used in the Aviary. The orange cheeked male seems to be a bully of sorts. He will fly up to a perch where the two ocwb's are sitting and push them off. He is bigger then most of the finches in the aviary could that be the problem? If it continues I will remove them to a cage of their own.

[ac12]

Sherry
I have observed that zebras can be VERY unsociable.
I have hens that I have to keep only in pairs, or they will be aggressive/fight with each other.
In your case, you have the added complication of them being in breeding mode.
I would separate the pairs, and keep each breeding pair in separate cages.

BTW do you have plans for what to do with the chicks? 2 pairs * maybe 5 chicks per clutch = 10 chicks.

[ranchnanny]

That's what I was thinking as well is to separate them. Maybe I will sell the last pair I bought since the other pair are not a problem.

[ranchnanny]

Well I made a decision this morning because the Zebra Male was being aggressive I leveled the playing field so to speak and removed all the nests in the aviary. Two of the nests had 5 eggs each (society & zebra) I candled the eggs and all were infertile. I moved perches around and there is lots of playing, flying and chatter in the aviary. They are all busy doing something. So far no problems...

[Vargur]

the birds on the first photo are both females.
fawn female and the white one seems to be very light CFW.
I can see very diluted lightbrown bars on her tail,
and also fainted tearmarks.

because you have three females and one male,
then the females are fighting each other because they all want the single male.

[Justin-2-finches]

Yep i was gonna say the same thing. Both of them are females.

[ranchnanny]

Wow that's strange cause its the male that doesn't get along with the females... Darn I was told that the white one was the male???? When the white one laid the eggs. The one in the back has not laid any eggs. No chance it could be a male? I an disapointed

[Vargur]

Does the white one sing?
If it was a male, then it would have flanks,
bars on the chest and color in the cheeks.

Does the gray male chase off his mate?
or just the other girls?

[PrairieRags]

Yes, I agree. There are three females in the aviary and only one male. This is a potential recipe for conflict. 2 more males would work if you have the room.

[ranchnanny]

The grey one with the white one is very docile with its mate they cuddle all the time in fact the grey one built quite a nest. It's the male zebra with the patch that is aggressive with everyone. Everything was going fine until I brought the zebra with the patch and his mate into the aviary.

[Justin-2-finches]

Are you 100% sure that it is the white one laying the eggs? the fawn one is definately a female. The white one could be a white male, white males show no colour at all. That would explain the fighting with the other male.

Fighting is a problem with zebra's. But they usually settle if they have plenty of room. Are they in a cage or avairy. I only breed them in cages on their own.

[ranchnanny]

I can't be sure of anything right now I am confused The white zebra was in the nest for a couple of days and I found two eggs then after a week both zebras were in the nest then I found 5 more eggs. Needless to say I checked the eggs and all were infertile......
So I have come to the conclusion that I have two females WHICH MEANS I NEED TO BUY TWO MORE MALES

I love the fawn and the white zebra they are so sweet and never cause any problems. I am going to wait until I get the new flight cage on Saturday its 6' L x 2' W x 3' H this may help with the aggressive nature of the Male Zebra towards the other birds. Time will tell!!!!

Thanks for your input

[Justin-2-finches]

Has the cage got dividers? In a breeding situation it would be best to seperate each pair in to their own cage, then when breeding is finished then you could open the dividers. They are far more aggresive when breeding i keep all my zebra's together when not breeding and have no problems at all