Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I have a pair of very young zebras that just laid their first clutch of eggs. The female ate one of the eggs, and ignored the chick that hatched from the other. I waited a day after it hatched to see if she'd care for it. After that, with her not going into the nest at all to it, I rescued the poor little thing.

Spike was really cold and barely moving, so I put him in the nest in my indoor aviary cage full of insane society finches (all 11 of them cram into one nest, no matter what size it is - often all I see is tightly stacked birdybutts in its doorway at night!). That was on Monday. I checked on Spike on Wednesday and he was still alive in there, and a bit fuzzier.

It's Friday now and I just checked on Spike again. He's noticably larger, has a sparse white fuzz all over, and is, I'm sure, suffering from a species identity complex. But he's alive, and growing, and that tells me that psychofinches, inc., are taking good care of him. I'm just amazed that he's not getting squashed in there at night.

Never hurts to have a couple of society finches around. They are incredibly social and I've never known them to not feed a baby, even those of other species. I actually had a rubber toy chick in one of my cages a few years ago, for decoration. One of my societies keep trying to feed it and slept on it every night. Too cute.

Nan

PS - Saturday morning - Spike is opening his mouth every time he sees me or anything else alive. Obviously, he's got the idea.

Glad that Spike lived and is doing well with his foster parents! He may not realize he's a zebbie finch!

It sounds like your young couple is not old enough to raise a clutch successfully. With my zebras, they have been over a year old before they "knew" what to do. Give yours more time! LOL!!

>>Hi. I have a pair of very young zebras that just laid their first clutch of eggs. The female ate one of the eggs, and ignored the chick that hatched from the other. I waited a day after it hatched to see if she'd care for it. After that, with her not going into the nest at all to it, I rescued the poor little thing.
>>
>>Spike was really cold and barely moving, so I put him in the nest in my indoor aviary cage full of insane society finches (all 11 of them cram into one nest, no matter what size it is - often all I see is tightly stacked birdybutts in its doorway at night!). That was on Monday. I checked on Spike on Wednesday and he was still alive in there, and a bit fuzzier.
>>
>>It's Friday now and I just checked on Spike again. He's noticably larger, has a sparse white fuzz all over, and is, I'm sure, suffering from a species identity complex. But he's alive, and growing, and that tells me that psychofinches, inc., are taking good care of him. I'm just amazed that he's not getting squashed in there at night.
>>
>>Never hurts to have a couple of society finches around. They are incredibly social and I've never known them to not feed a baby, even those of other species. I actually had a rubber toy chick in one of my cages a few years ago, for decoration. One of my societies keep trying to feed it and slept on it every night. Too cute.
>>
>>Nan
>>
>>PS - Saturday morning - Spike is opening his mouth every time he sees me or anything else alive. Obviously, he's got the idea.
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Canarymom

Finches: Melanie, Fritz, Casey, Sandi, Bunkie, and Sarah
Canary: Paulie
Budgies: Sammy, Curaco, and Pablo
Cockatiels: Elmo, Andy, Cleo, and Marley
And
My Rainbow Bridge Flock who are now singing in that other World

He may well not know he's not a Society! He sure seems to like the Societies.

I've not had many dealings with Zebra finches - my daughter has had a pair for a couple of years. They never bred, but surprised us in January with a male chick. We didn't even know there was a chick in the nest until he fledged!!!! They sure don't make the chirping that Societies do!

The Zebras raised Junior, then were rather unpleasant to him, so I got him a little girlfriend and moved them into my big Society cage. The female got incredibly territorial, and was actively attacking the Societies, who had no idea what was wrong with this weird looking and rude bird, so I pulled them both out and got them a nice cage of their own. I never thought that such a young male would breed! Obviously, I don't know much about Zebra finches! Well, they have no nest now, so Junior can't be making Spike any siblings for a while. I hope.

Just checked on Spike, he's eating (as always) and making the Societies very happy (they seem to like nothing better than caring for chicks). Am considering putting "Finch Cam" back on the air - I have it through Yahoo, but can't figure out how to make it so people don't need an invite to use. Would make it "Spike Cam" instead.

Zebras won't breed without a nest, right? Not like doves, who will lay and brood eggs anywhere, including their food dish? Please tell me no more Zebbie eggs?

She may lay more eggs, but will probably treat them the same way! Is she getting sufficient calcium? Like egg food, cuttlebone, etc.

That cam sounds interesting. You can also post pictures in the Photo album!

>>He may well not know he's not a Society! He sure seems to like the Societies.
>>
>>I've not had many dealings with Zebra finches - my daughter has had a pair for a couple of years. They never bred, but surprised us in January with a male chick. We didn't even know there was a chick in the nest until he fledged!!!! They sure don't make the chirping that Societies do!
>>
>>The Zebras raised Junior, then were rather unpleasant to him, so I got him a little girlfriend and moved them into my big Society cage. The female got incredibly territorial, and was actively attacking the Societies, who had no idea what was wrong with this weird looking and rude bird, so I pulled them both out and got them a nice cage of their own. I never thought that such a young male would breed! Obviously, I don't know much about Zebra finches! Well, they have no nest now, so Junior can't be making Spike any siblings for a while. I hope.
>>
>>Just checked on Spike, he's eating (as always) and making the Societies very happy (they seem to like nothing better than caring for chicks). Am considering putting "Finch Cam" back on the air - I have it through Yahoo, but can't figure out how to make it so people don't need an invite to use. Would make it "Spike Cam" instead.
>>
>>Zebras won't breed without a nest, right? Not like doves, who will lay and brood eggs anywhere, including their food dish? Please tell me no more Zebbie eggs?
-----
Canarymom

Finches: Melanie, Fritz, Casey, Sandi, Bunkie, and Sarah
Canary: Paulie
Budgies: Sammy, Curaco, and Pablo
Cockatiels: Elmo, Andy, Cleo, and Marley
And
My Rainbow Bridge Flock who are now singing in that other World

Hi. Yes, she has plenty of cuttlebone, grit, and the best quality food that the store (Bird Crazy) makes for finches. And I put the odd hard-boiled and mushed up egg in the cages every now and then, too, which they all seem to enjoy. (One egg handles all the cages, thankfully.) I think she's just... wellllll, different. ; }

Spike is getting real feathers! Gawd, is he ugly right now, too.

Hey, Spike is tan! His feathers are in and he fell out of the nest today. Are zebra finch babies supposed to be tan colored? He's very different looking than either of his parents. He has the cutest little tail, though, with the little white stripes like his parents.

Glad to hear Spike is doing well! He will not look like his parents until his first molt. You will see his colors come in gradually. Your female may continue to lay eggs. Just make sure, as was said before, she has plenty of sources of calcium. Also, I'm sure your finches would benefit from fresh food daily. Soft food is important for breeding birds as it's what they feed the babies. Obviously some will do it without, but this could be one reason they didn't feed the baby. Our finches didn't feed their first clutch. The second time around they got everything right. That is pretty common. Our finches like peas, carrots, corn, eggs, collards, birdie bread, and tons of other things. Here's our Flash feeding his kids.
Link

Well, it helps if you put the link in the right secion! heh

Spike died this week. I don't know what happened. He was fat and happy, and asking to be fed one day, and gone the next. He was dead in the nest when all the society finches flew out for their breakfast.

He did fall out of the nest several times, and the nest was 3 ft above the cage floor. Perhaps he injured his neck or something.

Anyway, I guess he wasn't supposed to be here, but we sure do miss Spike. He seemed to like to sit on fingers.