HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! ALL THE BEST TO YOU DURING THE HOLIDAYS!
I have searched the web for information on zebra finches and raising the young, but alas, there is no information out there after the zebras lay the eggs...So, i thought that i would put a page on the web so that you may have some idea of what to expect when your zebra finch eggs hatch. I just bought my set of zebra finches 6 months ago but I have done a fair ammount of research before I bought the birds to now. My idea is that you have to make informed choices because these little bitty birds are supposed to live from 12 to 15 years...
WHAT THE EGGS LOOK LIKE
The thing that amazes me is how do those little bitty birds make such big eggs? They are about a centimeter and a half high and about a centimeter around. I have read that they are light blue in color but they looked white to me. My birds started to sit on the eggs after the third one was laid and both the male and the female worked at sitting on them. Sometimes the finches will push eggs out of the nest, if this happens, inspect the egg and see if it is cracked. If the egg is cracked it is no longer good and you have a "bad egg" on your hands. Just dispose of it if this happens. If not, just lay the egg back in the nest gently and the parents should have no problem with it...At first I was worried when the finches were roosting because it seemed like the female was sitting on the eggs the most and she wasn't eating...The male does take over for the female so that she can eat and get out for a while, but I observed in my pair of zebra finches, the female does about 3/4 of the work. The male builds the nest and the female does most of the work caring for the young. The male does his share of work also don't get me wrong...
HOW LONG IT TAKES THE EGGS TO HATCH
Through reading and observation I have found that it takes 2 and a half to 3 weeks for the eggs to hatch.. My birds were not very appreciative when I went in to check if the eggs were firtile after a week of them roosting on them. They flitted around and squeeked at me..They also seem to get a grumpy look on their face when I do something they don't like...That of course is a human-type observation, but it seems like they get a grumpy look on their faces....To tell if the eggs are good,you take one out and hold it up to a 60W bulb (this is called "candeling"). If the egg shows a dark area and maybe some viens the egg is good. If you are not sure, put it back in the nest for another couple of weeks and you will find out whether or not you will have baby birds...
WHEN YOUR BABY ZEBRA FINCHES HATCH
It came as a surprise to me when 3 weeks later I had little baby zebra finches...my fiancee would prefer to call them little aliens...They sure have quite a different look as babies...First off, their eyes are not open for another 7 to 10 days and they do not have feathers until about the same time. While they are busy growing, they also change their skin color from orange to black. Their beak color and the ability to sex them comes around the tenth week....They are always hungry and make mom and dad run around like crazy for the next 7 weeks of their lives... Be prepared for some not so pretty smells comming from the nest...The parents eat the egg shells when the babies are born so that preditors do not know that there are babies in the nest...The parents line the outside of the nest with the babies excretment and that just looks lovely ( I have wanted to clean that nest out since the babies were born)...There is also the smell of the fluid that they come out of the egg with...not very pretty but it is worth it all to see the babies being born and raised.. Some bird parents out there will lay 7 or 8 eggs...most of these probably will not hatch, but keep an eye on them..My finches layed 4 eggs the first time and I lost one baby because they couldn't keep up to feeding them all. I would almost candle the eggs and see which ones are good...maybe even take some out of the nest so that the parents can keep the few remaining ones warm...I must say that it is interesting to observe the raising of baby birds in your own house than on television..The finches take care of their babies just as well as the eagles or any other bird program that I have watched
HOW LONG ARE THEY IN THE NEST FOR?
The babies stay in the nest for 3 weeks until they can fly out on their own...They are not very graceful at first but it is neat to see them when they have all their feathers and to watch the parents teach their young how to do things..It is very interesting to be able to watch these tiny birds care and raise their young...but be careful because the zebra finches are prolofic breeders...You don't want to breed them more than 3 times before giving the female a break... My first set of babies were brought to the petstore when they were 7 weeks old and the parents were busy doing the wild thing within 12 hours. They had a new set of eggs in the nest within a week...much to my surprise! When you want to keep them from breeding make sure that you take out all of the nests and nesting material which will help to prohibit them from breeding somewhat (remember they live to breed)
WHAT TO FEED THEM...
I've had a few questions on what to feed baby zebra finches so I thought that I would put a short note in...Go to your favourite bird shop and they should have food that is called nesting and rearing food, or there is also something called eggfood. These foods are more moist than regular finch seed,and it is easier for the babies and parents to digest. I recommend that you start to feed this to the parents as soon as you see eggs in the nest so that they have some time to get adjusted to it. Just mix it in with the regular bird seed for about a week so that it is not a sudden change in their diet...It is usually pretty cheap to pick up a bag. Just make sure that you have enough to feed them for 7 weeks. By the sixth week when the babies have started to eat on their own you can start mixing it with seed so that they can get used to feeding just off of seed...I have found that my finches love cucumber, broccoli, bean sprouts, lettuce, and egg shells(which are a good source of calcium for the laying mom)and smushed up eggs. Just make sure that when you feed it to the birds, that it is something that they can peck at... When my finches eat the cucumber they always eat the seeds out of the middle first...Take the fresh food out after a few hours so that it doesn't spoil. I have tried to feed my finches grated carrot, but they do not like it. Try it with yours and see what they like and don't like. The more fresh food that you feed them the better,that way they get a variety in their diet and they are also getting important nutrients.
A BIT ABOUT ME...
Just so that you know a bit about me and my likes and interests...I live in Edmonton, Alberta Canada and am a bird enthuasist for the first time in my life. Like any time I think of getting an animal, I like to do some research on them...I am in my late 20's and enjoy surfing on the net, rollerblading, reading, going out for walks and spending time with my fiancee. I graduated from Lethbridge Community College in April of 1998 with a major in Community Television Production. My fiancee was a truck driver and worked long haul from Edmonton to Texas, but now he has finally found the office job that he has always wanted...I have lived all over Alberta from High Level (an hour from the Northwest Territories Border) to Lethbridge (an hour and a half away from the border crossing at Coutts Montana). I have also recently added a lovebird to my small family and it is quite a character. We have named him peaches because he is a peach-faced lovebird(I know, not very original, but it suits him). he is quite a character. I call him a small bird with a big bird attitude. He even has the gall to bite dogs on the nose which I think is not very smart(but amusing) because they bite back ..
Enough About Me
...I would love to hear from you sometime. Do not hesitate to email me and let me know what you think of my page. If you think that I should add something please let me know and i will keep updating this as my baby finches grow.Please make sure to sign my guestbook also because any information that you may want added to this page comes from you!Your input is valuable!
Here are a few Web pages that i found a great deal of information on:
Zebra Finches on the Internet
Finchworld
Zebra Finch Song Archive
for all you gamers out there
The zone
for you comics lovers
awesome daily comics
finally for the people that want some cool gifs for their homepages
Draccs Free Gifs