my zebra boys are fighting! help please

[beeps and peeps]

hi i'm new to the forum and to owning zebra finches! tho i have had other birds. after lots of research i have 4 lovely little zebra finches 2 males and 2 females i bought them 4 weeks ago all have got on brilliantly, sleeping together playing together up to 2 days ago! one of the males keeps attacking the other male, pulling feathers from around his beak and eyes he wont let up constantly chasing him. i have split the cage into 2 with a pair in each part tho the females prefer to be together. the cage they are in is very big an indoor flight one, there is 4 seed bowls in, 2 water feeders, regular greens and millet,cuttle bone plus twice weekly baths, No nests. the cage would take another pair as i have read that that 3 pairs should stop aggression tho other sites seem to contradict this. i'm just not sure what to do? thank you in advance for any advice

[Sally]

Two pairs in one cage often leads to problems, especially with the species that are more pushy or aggressive, such as Zebras. There are too many territorial issues, the two boys are each wanting the whole cage. If dividing the cage still leaves enough space for the birds to be able to have some flight exercise, that may work, though being able to see each other may still be a distraction. Sometimes, you just have to have separate cages. Three pairs can often reduce aggression, but even that sometimes doesn't work with Zebras.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, including articles on housing and dealing with aggression. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for members to answer locale-specific questions later on.

[beeps and peeps]

hi! and thank you for replying and the welcome! id come across the info center its what made me join up at the moment they cant see each other but can hear and the aggressive zebra is constantly trying to find a way through. it was such a sudden change they even slept together! the other male is quite placid and tho it defends itself it mainly tries to get out of the way.

[finchmix22]

I would separate the males and let the hens stay together, unless you want to breed them. zebras breed like rabbits, so make sure you have more cages for ant offspring

[lnlovesorange]

I can attest to that rabit comment, I bought my zebra pair in December and had 4 more zebras in February..... But I wouldn't recommend breeding that aggressive one, as that is how aggression happens breeding aggressive birds, my female is like that, and had I known I wouldn't have let them breed, she was AWFUL to her chicks.... and now they are aggressive with each other.... and towards their parents, althought they are usually put in their place by the mother.... But same as with dogs you wouldn't breed an aggressive dog for fear of aggressive puppies? Same goes for birds, and unfortunately most people don't care much about this b/c birds are so small and it doesn't effect them fi the bird is aggressive as alarge dog breed being aggressive would. Just my 2 cents, and that's probably about all it's worth... if that. But good luck with them, little zebs can be nasty to each other... they don't tell you that when you buy them clueless from the petstore.... But I wouldn't trade them in, the meeps and beeps grow on you! good luck!

[lovezebs]

beeps and peeps

Hi, and welcome to the Forum.

Zebras, will be Zebras..... they are the feisty Terriers of the Finch world. Most everyone who has Zebras, has had trouble with Zebras. Either the boys are fighting, or the girls, are trying to kill each other, or someone is plucking everybody, or....

You could try another pair, but there are no guarantees that all three pairs won't go at it.

My recommendation, would be, to create different little areas in your flight, with artificial plants, flowers, vines, twigs, braches, etc. This offers the birds private little nooks to go into, to get away from whomever happens to be on the rampage.

Zebras, being territorial, will tend to adopt certain areas in the flight as 'their own'.

Will that solve all the aggression problems? Probably not, but it should help a bit. I would also offer some swings, and a foraging box, to give them something else to focus on rather then just each other.

In the long run, they will simply have to figure out the pecking order for themselves (as to who the top Zebra is ), and then things should settle down.... for a while anyway

Good luck.

[beeps and peeps]

hello! thanks for the replies! and advice i decided on getting 2 more! another male and hen and the fighting and feather plucking has stopped! there is bickering but nothing aggressive, they are all currently enjoying a bath.....wetting everything! including me! ( my chair is next to them) the bird that was being bullied is back to his happy bouncy self. I have no wish to breed them they are purely pleasure birds i really like the idea of the artificial plants etc they are very playful and inquisitive. my OH thinks its cute that i talk to them all the time and they beep back lol