How early is too early?

fhgwgads · Post by **fhgwgads** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 12:18 am

So many of you already know of my troubles with my zebra devils. Kuri and Shadow are together and happier than ever now that there are no babies with them.. however they insist on ripping up the napkins from under the grate and piling them on top of the covered water bowl and in their food dish too try and build a nest. It's adorable to see Shadow trying to coax Kuri into whichever spot as if it's such a great plan as he squeaks and chirps and tries to tuck a piece of napkin five times the size of himself in there as she looks at him like it's not good enough and he's dumb. Later on the managed to somehow get the piece of napkin outside of the cage and on the kitchen floor which I don't understand.

I had to separate the other three remaining babies after the one fired because the oldest one choose a favorite and was seriously picking on the other one. I removed the instigator who is now in a crappy cage and I feel guilty about it but I don't need anymore birds dying. The remaining two that are together are happy, and they are next to Sparrow who happily chirps and sings adorably yet sometimes horribly all day long. He sits as close to them as he can despite the fact that his vision is blocked by a towel draped over the side of the cage so they don't continually throw themselves into the sides of the cages to try and get at each other. The devil bird is best my bed for the same reason and seems a bit depressed about being alone. I am pretty sure all the babies are girls.

I was considering putting one of them in with Sparrow of course void of all possible things that could become nesting material and under supervision but I am not sure about this. The devil and her one sister are paired off so the one that is bullied is the odd one out. Is it a bad idea to put her with Sparrow if I prevent them from having eggs provided they don't end up having each other? I am sad that Sparrow is alone and desperately wants a buddy. He used to be buddies with his dad but now they battle, and he tried singing and dancing for his mother which she just want having. I feel so bad for my poor little boy. He tries so hard and looks so beautiful and elegant even though he occasionally his a bad note and doesn't really sing like a finch half the time. He cannot have babies anyway because he has one eye and a crooked beak and I just don't want to go there. I can't keep them all together in one cage but I would at least like then all to have a cage mate.

All advice is welcome.. I am at a loss after all the drama I have dealt with already. I also don't know how soon I should introduce the other girl if I do end up doing it as she is still young, her beak is just about done turning orange. I just figured maybe the two oddballs would get on well together. And poor Sparrow is such a sweetie!! Maybe I am just crazy and asking for problems but I figured it would be worth a shot at least!! Plus I still need to somehow pickup the cages from Ginene and my work days have gone from 5 to 7 a week temporarily!!!

Post by **finchmix22** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:30 am

Well this zebra drama you're experiencing is why I chose to rehome my zebras. I love their colors and their behavior is fun to watch (when they're not being aggressive), but I was tired of always monitoring for plucking etc. You could rehome Sparrow, if you're not attached too much. You could get another zebra, same sex, to keep him company. It's a tough call sometimes.

Ginene · Post by **Ginene** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:39 am

How many zebbies is it all together...even or odd #??? I cant do the Math, as it is too early

I would put a sweet sister in with sparrow and rehome the others. I know its difficult to let your babies go...but keeping each pair in separate cages is going to be a lot of work. But of coarse, you have to be comfortable with your decision.

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:43 am

If you do not plan on breeding for a bit same sex cages work well and they will keep each other company, you do not have to keep them in pairs. Some of mine stay in pairs and the family lives peacefully, others need to be split up into same sex cages stacked so the hens and males are out of view of each other.

It is a juggling act with zebras. The paper toweling shredded and piled in corners is a sign they want to nest. If you do not want eggs or young best to split the sexes up. They will be fine. It is better to give them the same sex as company than to keep them alone, unless one is totally bullying and plucking others non stop.

Zebras are sexually mature at around 3 months old. I usually give them another month or so until putting hens in with males to breed. For company and pairing it is fine to put a young hen in with a male as long as there is no nest if you do not want eggs. You may also want to use masking tape to secure the toweling from being pulled through and turned into nesting material if you do not want more eggs or breeding. Or use paper instead.

fhgwgads · Post by **fhgwgads** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:20 am

My whole problem is I had the four girls in one cage and one girl thinks she's the terminator and would attack two of the others and chose a favorite. One of them died for unknown reasons so then it was three and terminator started picking on one and had favored the other. Right now I have 6. Shadow and Kuri were always together except when babies were being weaned because one or the other was a problem. I don't mind taking away all their nest attempts as they are very happy together and they don't fight. Sparrow has been alone since I took Shadow out, they were buddies but I guess they forgot. I could never re-home Sparrow, and as long as he gets asking with the one sister I wouldn't mind then together. There will be no more babies in my house. The remaining two girls are buddies so keeping them together would be a peaceful situation. I really around want to re-home them. I already lost one baby and I don't know why, I don't want to give up any more unless I absolutely have to. But my original issues was they were all four girls and they were fighting. Even when mom was in with them and they were being weaned terminator started with picking on mom which is why she went back with Shadow.

Ginene · Post by **Ginene** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:25 am

hmmm...so you have 1 female who is basically ruining it for everyone else??? Ugh...Naughty Girl!!! Would you consider rehoming just her??? I know it will be hard, but she might be happier that way too! Jennie rehomed Lina (Lucy & Charlie's baby zeb) and it really changed things for her. Lina was very aggressive too...

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:26 am

Zebras do not need nest when not breeding, remove those to start. Hens can be territorial over brooding spots/nests. See if that helps. Is the one chasing the others at a particular time, when others are near her spot/nest, a food dish. When do you notice the behavior and what is happening when it occurs?

Post by **finchmix22** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:09 pm

If they're all hens and siblings, I'd make sure they have a large enough cage with multiple perches and food/water dishes on each side of the cage, plus lots of greenery so they can have privacy and an area to hide, if necessary. I'm not sure about zebras, but some finch species do better with certain numbers over 2 than other species will handle. Society's tend to do well if there are 3-4, but can get pushy when there are 4-8 in one large flight. I have 4 hens in my mixed flight with a GS pair and they are fine, but when I had 5 hens, they all picked on the mother (the other hens mother, LOL). I guess they were asserting their independence. I had to separate her to regrow her feathers and changed the cage to hold mom and 3 other adults. I put her daughters in a different hen cage for now. I'll sell those at the next mart.

fhgwgads · Post by **fhgwgads** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 7:31 pm

cindy I have no nests. And there will be no nests. The one girl that I now call The Terminator started bullying mom shortly after fledging. Dad was plucking then so I moved all four babies and mom into a separate cage. They still had the nest but with the top chopped off because they would fall of the perch at night. At first they all slept together then Terminator wouldn't let mom in about the time they were all pretty much weaned. I put her back with Shadow and then she started picking on the other one so the nest came out. Then they would bicker occasionally, but after the one died it got worse. So I removed Terminator and the remaining two get along, but Terminator and get favorite sister still want to be together. That is why I want to try to put the bullied one with Sparrow who is desperate for a companion. I don't blame him because he was with dad but I had to remove dad abruptly to help mom with the surprise four babies.

@Ginene I would rather try to work it out before getting rid of anyone. Especially since I already know Terminator and her one sister get along. It's just a matter of hoping that Sparrow and the bullied sister hit it off. If I do re-home them out would be too my mother or a finch lover like us. But I'd rather not.

Of course I get all girls with one of them being a bully!! Sparrow is a very happy boy thankfully, and Shadow and Kuri are happy together. I just hope that I can get the one of them to go with Sparrow. But we will see what happens.. I still have a month and a half to wait before I do that.. maybe by then Terminator will hate everyone. Is there any advice for introducing a new bird to a cage with another? Sparrow has been in his cage for a while. I've heard it's good to rearrange everything? Is there any advice for monitoring them? Any guidelines for telling if they get asking well? I guess with zebras there are no guidelines. But I have hope, Sparrow is a sweet boy!! He may have one eye and a crooked beak but he is a darling! I'd climb into the cage with him if I could!! LOL!!

fhgwgads · Post by **fhgwgads** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 7:56 pm

I also just want to note I tried putting Terminator in the cage by herself next to the other cage but then her and her buddy would just repeatedly jump into the cage bars to try and get to each other so I had to put them on either side of Sparrows cage with towels blocking Sparrows view from both cages. They still call to each other all day and Terminator is still insistent on getting out and jumps into the sides quite a bit but it's not a full blown throwing herself into the side repeatedly anymore.

dcompt · Post by **dcompt** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:18 pm

You could try putting the odd sister with Shadow - it might work, and if not, you could always separate them again. They would both be happier with a friend if they could get along.

Ginene · Post by **Ginene** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:54 pm

dcompt wrote: You could try putting the odd sister with Shadow - it might work, and if not, you could always separate them again. They would both be happier with a friend if they could get along.

I agree with Donna...give it a try. Best of luck to you Ash...fingers crossed this will be the perfect balance

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:00 pm

If your boy gets along peacefully with the extra female that is fine but discourage any nesting, shredding of paper, if an egg or two is laid toss, do not let her sit. Hopefully that will not be an issue.

fhgwgads · Post by **fhgwgads** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:28 pm

dcompt that was my plan and what I am hoping for. It would balance everything and they would all be paired off. Once she is old enough we will see what happens!

fhgwgads · Post by **fhgwgads** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:37 pm

Ginene thank you!! I am hoping it will work out! I know Sparrow is the sweetest bird I have so hopefully the little odd girl out well realize how lucky she is!!

@cindy they will have no nests at all, and nothing to make a nest of. The shedding toys I have for them are small but mainly for parakeets so it is impossible for them to break apart. I am going to switch to computer paper taped down for cage liners and other than that there is nothing for them to make a nest of. All food bowls I have are clear or open dishes. And any eggs that are laid either break out are removed. Kuri had managed to pile some feathers between the covered food bowl and the side of the cage and laid an egg there but she couldn't even reach it and I removed it. That is the furthest they have gotten, all other eggs have been broken. And Shadow has been trying to figure out how to use the did dish as a nest but with no nesting material they aren't going to get very far. I give her plenty of calcium and monitor them closely so hopefully it will slow down.. but Sparrows cage would be even less likely of a place to attempt any nest making or egg laying without them breaking.

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