No Infertile Eggs?

[flrancho]

I've had finches for a while now. Back when I first got finches, I had some Zebras that had had eggs. However, that's the first and last eggs I've gotten from my finches in years. I know that any healthy female bird should be laying eggs, even if they're infertile.

I'm fairly certain that out of my 10 finches, I must have some that are female. I have a Pin-tailed Whydah, that has been in female plumage since I got her two years ago, so I would think that one is pretty obviously female (though I've heard Whydah's can be tricky things and sometimes a less dominant male will stay in female plumage?). Anyway, I also have a Shaft-tail (which I've had for years) and a Silverbill, which I've never heard sing, and suspect they are both female.

There are nests in the cage and I feed my birds a seed mix that contains a variety of seeds including millet, as well as egg and crushed oyster shells. I give millet sprays every week, or at least every other week, as well as crushed egg daily and fresh veggies/fruits whenever possible. They also have cuttlebone available at all times.

I should be seeing eggs, shouldn't I? What else could be wrong?

[managermania]

That's strange.
Do you have photos of your set up?

[flrancho]

Yes, this is my set-up shortly after constructing it. Nothing has changed from this pic, aside from the addition of a small bell attached to five plastic rings that my Java likes to play with. I can post other pics if this one isn't good enough. The flight is 6 feet long, around 3 feet tall and about 2 1/2 feet wide. It is made with untreated wood and plastic hardware mesh.



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[managermania]

Have they built nests yet? Is that nesting material in the top left? Coconut fiber?

Btw- Cool set up!

[flrancho]

They haven't really built nests, at least not well.

Yes, that is coconut fiber, though for whatever reason they tend not to use it unless I take some and tear it off. If I tear some off they'll use it and my Zebra usually puts it in his nest, though the stuff constantly disappears, so I don't know if he drops it outside the flight at some point or if someone else is stealing it. I also bought them some orchard grass the other day, but they seem to have more fun picking it up and playing with it and creating utter mess around the flight, rather than putting it in their nest. They haven't quite got the concept that the grass goes in the nest.

[managermania]

Mine will only use the coconut fiber if I scatter it around the floor of the flight and a good bit of it too. If I hang it or put it in some type of holder off the floor, they just mess with it on occasion.