Zebra Finch - Help Please!

mr-marky · Post by **mr-marky** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 5:09 pm

I've had two Zebra Finches for about a year, one of which died earlier this week. If I bought another Finch would it be ok to house it with the remaining finch or would they fight?
Also, are Zebra Finches like Budgies, who usually die within a short space of each other?

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:37 pm

hi marky
i think it would be a great idea to buy it a mate if you want to breed with them you could always get a bird of the opposite sex to your existing one as for them dying within a short time of each other that is a new one to me

ken

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:58 pm

Your remaining finch will certainly appreciate having a new friend, but I would hold off getting another bird. Give it a week or two to see if it becomes ill from whatever killed the other bird before adding a new one. Also, it is best to quarantine any new birds you bring in so your exisiting bird/s aren't infected with something the new bird might have been exposed to.

Most people don't follow this rule unless the birds in question are expensive or difficult to replace. So do what you feel is best.

Finches don't mate for life, so they will usually accept a new partner when one dies.

Welcome to the forum!

mr-marky · Post by **mr-marky** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:22 am

Thanks for your help, the remaining finch seems fine but I'll leave it a few more days to be sure.
Don't know what happened to the female, when I went to bed on Saturday night she was really puffed up then when I checked her the next morning she was dead.
About a month before that, she lost the feathers on one side of her head but appeared to be fine, eating well, flying & singing etc.

JeannetteD · Post by **JeannetteD** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:45 pm

Hi Mr. Marky..

It's possible your female died because she was eggbound. I've lost a few females to this, when I stopped feeding them boiled egg. They usually look puffed up and if you pick them up and look at the vent you can see they are straining to get something out.

I have found that when I have an eggbound female there isn't too much a person can do. Make sure she stays warm, and hope she passes the egg.

To prevent this from happening again (if this is the case) you can make sure she regularly gets calcium/boiled egg, and I use a bit of wheatgerm oil as well.

JeannetteD

Hoji · Post by **Hoji** » Fri May 25, 2007 12:39 pm

Should you feed egg food when you have young finches, just in case they might breed?
---Hoji

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri May 25, 2007 3:24 pm

hi hoji
i feed my birds eggfood twice a week regardless of wether they are young or not it does them good!obviously when they are breeding you need to feed them eggfood everyday

ken

plantsandbirds · Post by **plantsandbirds** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:45 am

I'm sorry about your finch mr-marky.

Thanks for the information Ken, on the egg food. I too feed it at least twice a week and if it will help prevent an egg-bound hen that is quite a benefit!

I always learn something on this board!

Post by **Sally** » Mon May 28, 2007 6:21 pm

If you suspect a hen is eggbound, you can give them a drop of liquid calcium, like Calcivet, right in their mouth with an eyedropper. Then put them in a hospital cage with warmth (heating pad or heat lamp), and they will very often be fine the next day. Before I started doing this, the hens often died within 24 hours. And sometimes, instead of putting them in a hospital cage, I just put a ceramic heat emitter aimed at them.