- In response to mite infestation, the mother finch may lay one gender of egg first, which increases the chances of the young finches' survival. The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 14 days. Shortly after hatching, she removes the empty eggshells from the nest.
The cage should be large enough to make the birds feel comfortable. Remember, larger is usually better. A cage about 16x16x20 would be fine. When the chicks fledge, there could be up to ten birds in the cage! If you use a nest box/basket that is inside or outside the cage makes a difference on the size of the cage. A nest inside the cage takes up room that could otherwise be occupied by a bird.
Place only one pair of birds in one cage. They will fight when more that one pair is in a cage. If you use a ‘flight cage’ then multiple pairs can be housed together. A breeding flight with many birds needs to be large. At least 3 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 6 feet long. The bigger it is the more birds it can support. Provide more nest boxes than there are pairs so they can have a choice. Zebras prefer a nest that is enclosed with only a hole for an opening. Wicker baskets can be purchased at most pet stores. These work fine but are hard to clean between clutches. I use nest boxes which hang on the outside of the cages. The type you use will also depend on your budget and how many birds you have set up for breeding. Place the nest high in the cage. Birds feel safer when higher. Sometimes the birds will not like the nest that you have given them. After they have had the nest for 2-3 months and still do not like it, replace it with a different kind. Sometimes this will be to their liking. Sometimes just moving the nest will help. Nesting material should be clean and safe. A variety of materials can be used singly or together. Dried grass works well. Be sure that the grass has not be treated or fertilized. Pet stores sell little boxes of cotton that the birds like. Be careful of strings. Strings are dangerous. Birds love to play with them. There is a possibility that the string could get tangled around a birds leg or neck and get caught on the cage, thus injuring the bird. Simply be sure the strings are two inches of shorter. Shredded clean burlap works great for nesting material. I cut the burlap into two inch squares and shred it. Diet is very important for your breeding birds. They need to be in good shape to do all the work of raising youngsters. The same good seed diet that you normally feed should continue. The hen has to develop the eggs so she must not be calcium deficient. Cuttle bone, crushed oyster shell, and mineralized grit all will help. Both mom and dad help feed the chicks. They eat and then regurgitate into the chicks mouths. Light is a very import part of keeping birds. They need sun light! If there is not a window in your bird room you need to provide ‘full spectrum’ lighting, lots of it. In the breeding season they need light 14-16 hours a day. When all is to their liking, they will start. The male will build the nest. He will pick up a piece of string or grass and hold it in his beak and show it to the hen. It looks like he is playing. He will weave the material in the nest box into a concave comfortable nest. He may also pick up feathers flying in the cage to line the nest to make it soft. The hen will lay about one egg a day, for 3 to 8 eggs. They will start sitting on the eggs when she is done laying eggs. Both mom and dad help with the incubation but mom does most of it. The eggs should start hatching about 14 days after they start sitting. If after 20 days nothing hatches, remove the eggs for they apparently are not fertile. She will start laying again soon. You do not need to empty the nesting material, just the eggs. When you remove the chicks the parents will start on their next clutch. In fact they may start even before you remove the chicks. If they continue this immediate succession, you will need to separate them to give them a break to build up their strength. I usually recommend only 3-4 clutches in a row. It depends on how many chicks in each clutch and how short of time they leave in between clutches. If you have a nest of eggs that do not hatch, leave them in the nest for about 20 days after the last egg is laid. At this time you can safely assume that they are not going to hatch. Remove the eggs. If you wait too long she may lay many eggs in the nest. Sometimes she will continue until no more eggs fit. |
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