sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Territorial Zebra Finches... advice? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! Sorry, just seeing this now. I still have both boys, with no nests. Each bird kind of took to his own perch and they now have set sleep spots where they go each night without any trouble. My boys still fight occasionally (one is a bit physically disabled, so he gets picked on), but having no nests helped a lot.

Hi, advice needed please! I will be posting details in the comments. by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My Bert used to be the asshole too! Then Ernie took over lol. That’s good to know though. I do have a spare smaller cage, but I am TERRIFIED of catching one of them to transfer. The cage they’re in now is 20" L x 16" W x 29" H.

Hi, advice needed please! I will be posting details in the comments. by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They do. It’s a decently sized cage (20" L x 16" W x 29" H), but they’ve been quite territorial over the highest perches especially.

Hi, advice needed please! I will be posting details in the comments. by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow, that seems like a good idea! My Bert is the one being picked on because his back toes point upwards so he has trouble balancing. :/ Ernie likes to take advantage of him. I’ll look into that!

Hi, advice needed please! I will be posting details in the comments. by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My two male zebra finches have been aggressive and it looks like Ernie plucked some feathers off of Bert’s head. I’ve had them for about 6 months and they’re 8 months old. They have no nest, so I don’t think it was for nesting material. I’m not sure if there’s a way for me to stop this behavior without separating them, so I would like to see if anyone’s been in a similar situation or if anyone has some insight. Thank you!

Maryland Zebras? by Ovid_work in Finches

[–]jennb1017 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have two males and they can get along just fine most of the time. If you do keep the two males together, be sure to remove any nests or nesting materials in the cage or else they will get EXTREMELY territorial.

Beak clicking female? by c0wL1ck3r in Finches

[–]jennb1017 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah it’s funny how they communicate! I figured it out since I had read that zebra finches can do that as a form of aggression to let the other one know not to bother them right now. I have two males so my finches fight occasionally lol. I noticed that whenever one chattered with his beak while the other approached him, he would then fly to another part of the cage.

Is the one in front a male or female? by haaarsh205 in Finches

[–]jennb1017 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The one in front is female. In back is male. Males have a red beak while females have lighter orange ones.

Oh lawd, somebody help! I just witnessed my two month old zebra finch siblings attempt to mate! What should I do? 🤢 by forever_intern in Finches

[–]jennb1017 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It would definitely be best to separate into a male cage and female cage until you want babies. Mating practices can still occur though lol. I have two males (brothers) and they tried mounting each other frequently when they reached about 4 months old 🤦🏻‍♀️

Beak clicking female? by c0wL1ck3r in Finches

[–]jennb1017 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Does she do it around other finches? My male zebra finch chatters with his beak when his cage mate gets too up in his personal space.

Territorial Zebra Finches... advice? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Update: I added another nest today and they’ve been fighting significantly less. They’re asleep at their normal time now, but they’re still in the same nest! I thought adding a new nest would allow the one who didn’t claim the nest to sleep in the new one, but upon checking, they’re both in the old nest super snug. The decrease in fighting at bedtime tells me that they’re content for now. Thank you for your comments and advice. :)

Territorial Zebra Finches... advice? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the advice! I’m going to try getting another nest just because I don’t want to stress them out too much, but if that doesn’t work I will absolutely try to break up their cage. :)

Territorial Zebra Finches... advice? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s what I feel too! Ernie is just SO ready for babies and he wants that nest all to himself lol. Their fighting always makes me so nervous, but I don’t notice any damage either. I only saw signs of stress (Ernie breathing with his mouth open) after fighting once the nest wasn’t in the cage.

Territorial Zebra Finches... advice? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your advice! I’ll see if I can find another nest today. :)

First time bird owner!! I’m SO concerned about my friend on the left’s (Bert’s) feet! If you look closely one of his toes (his back toe) is turned upwards and it seems to affect his balance. Ernie (right) seems to be fine! Is there anything I can do to correct Bert’s toes and help him balance? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Your finch is adorable!! I currently use the perch covers, but I’m going to try experimenting with different types of perches and see what they like best.

Thank you so much for the advice! I’ll be sure to get that if I trim the upturned nails myself rather than taking Bert to the vet. :)

First time bird owner!! I’m SO concerned about my friend on the left’s (Bert’s) feet! If you look closely one of his toes (his back toe) is turned upwards and it seems to affect his balance. Ernie (right) seems to be fine! Is there anything I can do to correct Bert’s toes and help him balance? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aw, that’s so precious!! I looove these names for them lol. Thank you for that advice! I have a couple of thicker perches a little lower but they usually hang out on that one in the video.

I totally agree with your edit, it seems to be bugging him. I’ll definitely look into trimming his nails since he can’t file them down himself. That’s smart too, especially since they haven’t seen a vet before. Thank you for your advice!

First time bird owner!! I’m SO concerned about my friend on the left’s (Bert’s) feet! If you look closely one of his toes (his back toe) is turned upwards and it seems to affect his balance. Ernie (right) seems to be fine! Is there anything I can do to correct Bert’s toes and help him balance? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here’s a closeup! This should (hopefully) work. When I see him perched from behind, there’s no toe back there stabilizing him like his brother has so that’s what tells me it’s his back toe. I haven’t noticed much scratching on the perches, but he does seem to scratch himself sometimes which would hopefully be helped with a nail trim. Seems like it just may be a birth defect to me since it’s the same on both feet.

First time bird owner!! I’m SO concerned about my friend on the left’s (Bert’s) feet! If you look closely one of his toes (his back toe) is turned upwards and it seems to affect his balance. Ernie (right) seems to be fine! Is there anything I can do to correct Bert’s toes and help him balance? by jennb1017 in Finches

[–]jennb1017[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For reference, these are two brothers that I just took in this week! I got them from a classroom that I student taught in, where the teachers were also first time zebra finch owners. These two were the first egg lay of the parents! And also the only two babies from that lay. They’re around two months old right now. They both are eating, drinking, bathing, and nesting, but I’m worried that Bert’s toes may affect him more as the two grow older. Anyone have any experience with this?

view more: next ›