The Love Nest

[MiaCarter]

So an interesting shift in birdie dynamics has occurred since I removed Jackson from my main cage, leaving two zebra couples (and Squeepers.)

It's like the walls have come down between these two couples.
Both males flirt, preen (and mate) with both females.
It's not a secret affair either. It's right out in the open. And oddly, nobody seems bothered or jealous at all!
Even more bizarre, the males have started cuddling and preening each other too.

Both pairs are clearly still pairs/mates. They still pair off to sleep at night and clearly favor each other.
But it's like the removal of Jackson made swinging acceptable.

In my years of having birds, I've never seen anything quite like it.
I had a male-male pair once, but nothing like this strange arrangement. It's turned into the love nest!
Very odd. Watching it very carefully, as we still have Squeepers in the midst of all this.....this affection.

[MiaCarter]

Okay, so this situation is getting more bizarre by the day.

There are two couples, plus Squeepers in this cage.

Today, I watched a male (not the foster dad, the other male) doing his flirty dance to Squeepers!
I'm positive it was for her. Mom and dad were in their new nest and wifey was flying around outside the cage.

But Squeepers is a baby! She's 29/30 days old!
She basically ignored him and kept on mouthing a spray of millet.
Then she went up to her nest and he followed her inside and did his song and dance again!

This can't be right.
Aside from seeming horribly wrong in a moral sense...feels a bit pedophilic...is this dangerous to her? Could he hurt her?
He hasn't actually tried to mate with her (as far as I've seen, anyways).
Squeepers seems totally clueless. She just goes about her business.
And neither parent is reacting at all.
FWIW, the parents don't mind the other couple at all; no longer defensive in any way. (They were nippity about the nest when she was younger, but seems that's no longer the case.)

Does that flirty song and dance mean something different when it's directed to a baby?

So strange. Just don't know what to make of it.
All I know is there's a lotta love in that cage.

(As an aside, does that mean Squeepers is definitely a girl??)

[Sheather]

Ooh that is so adorable (and very odd for zebra finches). Don't jinx it!

As far as your pedophile male, that's not really unusual. Male finches like to sing and dance to pretty much anything and anyone, and just because Squeepers is only a month old doesn't mean she's necessarily naive to sex either; my male society Apollo and his sister Lizzie were only 40 days old when Apollo began courting her one day, his song just a raspy squeak, and Lizzie - just barely having learned to fly and still scruffy with baby down - submitted, waggled her tail, and allowed him to mount her! Birds are very strange creatures, and while it might seem morally wrong to us, it's not harming anything (Lizzie never laid any eggs or anything and if she had I'd just not allow them to hatch).

[MiaCarter]

It is super odd for zebra finches! But they're an odd bunch, so.

Well, I'm glad to hear it's not totally abnormal! This is my first chick so I'm new to the chick scene.

As long as it's not harmful to her, that's what's important.
I was afraid that it would cause her to start laying eggs, which combined with a tiny body, seems like it could be a big problem!

But better than having him trying to pluck or hurt her, I suppose.

I love the name Lizzy for a society finch! So cute! I'm adding it to my list!

[Sheather]

Thank you! I like the name too. XP

I've only had one clutch to judge by, but Lizzie is at least 4 months old now and she still lives with her brother and her dad and has "done the dirty" with at least her brother... a lot. But never laid an egg. I'm not entirely sure when that starts, but as long as you have no nest, even if she did lay the odd egg here or there it wouldn't be too harmful even at a young age with a good diet and care. Now raising a whole clutch, that would be pretty unhealthy for a very young bird.

Oh, yes, it means Squeepers is probably a female. However, it's not defining proof. Finches will sometimes sing to other males (or their reflection, or the wind...).

[MiaCarter]

Well see, at the moment, we DO have a nest -- four, actually.
There were 3 couples in there originally (and I always have 1 extra, so everyone gets a choice and they don't squabble!)
I haven't gotten an opportunity to remove the nests yet as I don't want to cause any upset while they're still caring for Squeepers (she only just started mouthing food within the last day and still can't drink, so totally dependent on her parents.)
Plus, she still sleeps and rests in her nest, so I'd feel bad taking it away. She doesn't seem comfortable resting on a perch yet.
Before she could fly, she would choose to sit on the floor in the corner under the food cup rather than perching.

So that's why I was a bit worried that the male's courting, plus the nest could be enough to result in an egg, which I imagine would be awful for a small, developing body.
I read that zebra females reach sexual maturity around 6 mo of age, but that's not to say she can't produce an egg much sooner.

It's funny because the male who's courting Squeepers isn't a real flirt! He's actually been very picky about girls.
The big flirt is actually Molly Sue, Squeeper's foster dad! He'll quite literally flirt with his own reflection!

I actually can't wait to rearrange the cage, as I've got all sorts of new foliage and perches and shelves and so forth!

I also have a female friend for Squeepers (assuming she is female; if not, I guess a potential mate?) I'd purchased the new female as a mate for Jackson -- Squeeper's bio dad. But he ignores her and much prefers to spend his days wooing a Society girl! LOL

That's so funny about Lizzy and her brother!
I have to keep reminding myself that birds especially don't share my moral hang-ups on incest and pedophilia! LOL