Good news about a foster egg 4/5

[cindy]

They aren't sitting anymore...not one bit all day. Theey have raised 4 clutches with out incident. The 3 would have hatch if they completed the incubation time.

I'm taking the nest box away and they are getting R&R for about 3 months.

[Sally]

They may be telling you that they are ready for a rest. After some R&R, you can try again with them. Sorry this last clutch didn't make it.

[cindy]

Sally I have been watching throughout the evening, they are trying to take nesting material out of the box to use for a nest in the plants. Then the male just went back in and now is sitting. This is definately the last clutch for a while.. The last clutch was suppose to be their last but they laid eggs in the nest before the little ones fledged.

[cindy]

A third baby hatched, they destroyed it (I'll spare you the details). I took the remaining 2 eggs that are fertile and very dark from the nest and removed the pair's nest box. I will wait about 3 months before letting them breed again.

I put the eggs in a Black cheek's nest. The female does not have any eggs of her own but has been sitting in the nest they built. She readily sat and is sitting on them. I hope the BC zebras hatch the eggs out and raise the chicks as their own.

I am not sure what is going on with the pair, Patches and Cleo(Cleopatra). They have raise 4 clutches sucessfully.

[CandoAviary]

I am not sure what is going on with the pair, Patches and Cleo(Cleopatra). They have raise 4 clutches sucessfully.

That statement is exactly whats going on. 4 clutches back to back is a lot. The stress that it causes the parents will make them behaive in ways that are not normal. It would be best to rest them until next breeding season. They should probably start a moult soon.

Zebras do readily breed but should not be bred any more often than other finches. In the wild they will have 2, 3 at the most clutches per year. But when we pack them full of high protein foods and give nesting materials they will be driven to breed more and wear there little bodies out. This is a tough lesson to learn.
Sorry for the little chicks and hopefully your new Zebra pair will foster the last 2 eggs.. Though if they do, you should consider this like it was thier first clutch. It is the raising of the chicks that wears them out...not so much the laying and incubating.

[Domenic]

Cindy I'm very confused. Did the goldbreasts kill their chicks or was it the zebras? Are the goldbreast chicks still alive? I got sort of lost somewhere and now I have no idea what's going on.

[cindy]

zebras...Patches and Cleo are the parents and the ones the egg came from that I sent you.

[cindy]

I am not sure what is going on with the pair, Patches and Cleo(Cleopatra). They have raise 4 clutches sucessfully.

That statement is exactly whats going on. 4 clutches back to back is a lot. The stress that it causes the parents will make them behaive in ways that are not normal. It would be best to rest them until next breeding season. They should probably start a moult soon.

Zebras do readily breed but should not be bred any more often than other finches. In the wild they will have 2, 3 at the most clutches per year. But when we pack them full of high protein foods and give nesting materials they will be driven to breed more and wear there little bodies out. This is a tough lesson to learn.
Sorry for the little chicks and hopefully your new Zebra pair will foster the last 2 eggs.. Though if they do, you should consider this like it was thier first clutch. It is the raising of the chicks that wears them out...not so much the laying and incubating.

Candace this last clutch (as explained earlier in the post) was laid while the chicks were still being fed in the nest about a week before fledging. I intended fully to have the clutch of two be the last for awhile but when the chicks fledged and I saw five eggs in there I let them sit...who would have known that they would do this based on their track record...I did not have the heart to destroy the eggs and remove the nest because they could have very well incubated, fed out and weaned the clutch. No tough lesson here, it was a 50/50 gamble. I do understand/know that the rearing of chicks is taxing but I was not about to destroy eggs. Who knows they could have raised the 5 to fledging.

The nest is now removed and they will rest for 3 months as I intended prior. The remaining eggs are now with a pair of BC zebras. The eggs may not hatch even though they are close to the hatch date since the parent did not incubate them for a few days.

Oh..I stand corrected they have raised 3 clutches, first was 3 males, second clutch had 2, third clutch had 2...the 5 eggs would have been the 4th. The 4th would have been this last clutch.

[CandoAviary]

Rearing always contain somewhat of a gamble. Am I breeding too much, am I feeding the right foods, Is there enough light, and on and on. No condemnation meant just advice from past experiences of my own. Most times when I loose chicks it is a hard lesson for me. I have found that it is most always something of my shortcomings and not the birds that result in failure..... Breeding immature birds, not feeding enough eggfood, birds set up when not in breeding condition, not enough privacy provide and so on............
Just trying to offer some insight as to why they may have abandoned the clutch

[cindy]

This was an especially tough call since they laid eggs before the clutch fledged. I was concerned about both parents feeding out another clutch but by the time the chicks fledged the eggs were fertile. The 3rd clutch was to be the last for a while.

I found that taking thin pieces of craft plaques (WalMart craft section) drilling a few holes to attach it to the sides of the cage to make a platform, the young and parents are likely to roost on that rather than having an nest or box to return to. Most of the time they end up on top of the seed hopper so a platform introduced with the box helps prior to breeding helps when removing the box for a bit of R&R for the parents.

All my zebra baby cages have platforms for roosting.

When I bred parrotlets and lovebirds tradionally after each clutch I rested them for a month or two before letting them clutch again, or if they had gone to clutch again then reast them 4 to 6 months before breeding again. With finches, especially the shaftails and zebras they are very quick to go to clutch again sometimes very much to my surprise.

[CandoAviary]

Yes, Zebras do like to breed I never supply them with a roosting nest.... not for the chicks either as the parents will continue to lay with fledglings in the cage or not. Zebras are not nest roosters and the presence of the nest will usually bring out brooding behaviors. What I do is as soon as the chicks fledge the nest comes out....though sometimes this does not stop them from laying eggs on the bottom of the cage, seed cups, etc.
Then you really have no other choice but to seperate the sexes, just like with Gouldians. I don't breed zebras anymore but when I did I would seperate the sexes until breeding was desired, decided by me.

Though many colony breeders will let the zebras stay together year round and simply remove the nest. I always found this rough on the hens though because the males would still harass them and try and mate. I always figured they deserved the R & R vacation with just the girls

Resting the finches only a few months may not be enough for them to sart and complete a moult...I guess it depends on the year cycle they are on. Are the Black Cheeks still incubating the foster egg?

[cindy]

The Black cheek female (fairly calm pair) have been sitting on the eggs. I was gone most of the morning, to nice to stay in and took a long road bike ride today. Upon returning I noticed the male BC zebra sitting watchfully outside the box while the female incubates.

At first I place the eggs in the othe BC pair's box (separate cage), they seemed very upset and sat away from the eggs/box on the other side of the cage. So I decided to try with the other pair, she took right to sitting. This pair is very sweet and loving towards each other. I will keep an open mind, if the eggs don't hatch then this is good practice for the Black cheek.

I am looking to go in a bit of a different direction with species I plan on raising. I would like to concentrate on the BC Zebras and Gold Breast along with the RCCB and may get another pair from a gentleman I met that raises them. I sold him my shaftails young. So then I would be able to do unrelated pairs from offspring. The Green singers are for my enjoyment, even though there is a nest provided for them it is not crucial they breed, I just love the songs they sing.

The shaftails are raising 4 young and will go for a long rest for 4 to 6 months as soon as these wean. When raising different mutations of lovebirds I would normally let a few pairs breed, rest them and let the rest breed and do this on a rotating basis, with enough time for a molt and energy to be restored. I am going to establish this routine but do this based on species. I don't want a houseful of to many babies all at once.

So vacation time for the normal zebras and shaftails. Boxes have been given to the BC zebras, Gold Breast have young and the other pair have eggs and are still mating. The owls...anyone's guess as to when they will finally do anything!!!!

The RCCB's courting, singing, building...just waiting!!!

[cindy]

Out of the two eggs being fostered by the Black cheek pair, one chick hatched and is doing well, the other chick was dead half in the egg at the bottom of the tray.

The BC zebra pair are caring for the little foster zebra, it is pretty fuzzy so it might be about 2 days old. The BC pair are also incubating their own eggs so I am hoping they feed this little one out and it is on it's way by the time their eggs hatch.

Fingers crossed!

[dfcauley]

Cindy, I have just caught up with this post. So sorry to hear of the tough times you are having. I guess it sometimes comes with the territory so to speak. Brighter days are ahead for you and your finches I am sure!!!!

[MLaRue]

I just read this post in detail too. I'm sorry to hear about the Zeebs - they certainly never have a dull moment in their little drama filled lives...

What kills me is when you want them to stop breeding they don't and when you want them to breed they don't... Their schedule seems to be exactly how they want it all the time. Unless you keep the sexes apart except when breeding but then this means more cages...