Breeding zebra finches: aviary needing getting chicks by the dozen

My zebra finches are not slowing down in their breeding efforts.

[@JayMiller-tz3dq]

You deserve a million subscribers keep up the good videos

[@birdnerd]

Thank you! I’d love to get there one day. Share my videos so more people and see them. Thank you.

[@thejayviary]

As far as the plucked parrot, my bourkes, which are semi related have done that when stressed. Things like too many nest checks and the kids opening the nest box a lot seem to contribute. I agree on not re-paring those birds and hope she’s ok.

[@birdnerd]

Yeah the crazy thing was we were all out on our vacation so no kids to bug them. The hen seems healthy and is making a nice recovery. I just wonder if the male wanted to breed her again even though she was already on eggs. Definitely will keep an eye on this male and if it’s a trend I’ll not breed him in the future.

[@thejayviary]

I have bred blue faces a lot. I do not agree with everyone who says they’re bad parents or to foster them. All this does is create generations of birds that can’t raise their young. I have found that with daily egg food, and some live food, they are excellent parents. They seem to benefit more from live food than the red throats. I bred mine in a community setting, I don’t think any of the parrot finches do better as solo pairs for breeding.

[@birdnerd]

Thanks for your comment Jay! I’m hoping for some success with them this year.

[@OhanaFeathers]

The female must have been sick. My elegant parakeet lightly plucked his mate while she was feeding their hatchlings because she had been a little puffed up and slow. In my Fire finch’s case, the female was egg bound, and while she was having seizures in the nest, he plucked her back bald. I guess he was trying to wake her up. She survived, but it been 2 months and her back feathers never grew back. I’m not entirely sure expert but them must be a correlation to the plucking behavior and sick female.

[@birdnerd]

Posting this week of my female elegant having her feathers back and being released back into the aviary.

[@OhanaFeathers]

The blue face males love to choose a nest that’s in the lower lever of the aviary. I highly recommend that you swap the blue face’s eggs with viable society finches eggs when you breed the blue face for the first time. That way, you don’t lose the parrot finches, and you get to find out of the parrot finches become successful parents.

[@birdnerd]

Thank you for the recommendation.

[@thomasborg6341]

With the parrotfinches, please dont mix the blue faces with red faces, or with gouldians, as, unlike with yellowback and blueback gouldians, red and blue faced parrotfinches are different species. The blue face breed not by courting but by forcibly breeding with any female they can, so if they are kept with reds or gouldians they will 100% hybridise. Red faces arent as bad as the blue, however is there are any spares they will hybridise, so make sure you have a pair, extra female reds arent a problem. Reds are pretty easy to breed, and i find best bred in a cage, as they are better at rearing chicks and producing eggs. If reds are kept in an aviary, be careful, as gouldian finches will toss their chicks if the gouldians breed at the same time as the redface (gouldians typically have breeding seasons, parrotfinches breed all year round from my experience). The blueface i have heard are as easy to breed as the redface, but i personally dont have a ton experience with them. Sometimes parrotfinch males are amazing parents, other times they toss chicks, so breed them first and then if any toss chicks, next time they breed foster the eggs. Hope this information is helpful for you

[@birdnerd]

Will definitely not mix them when I will breed. I do have them housed together now for molting and resting. Currently they are in their winter diet and no nest boxes or nesting supplies are available to them.

[@marcoducceschi3849]

The Parrot Finch are generally not good parents so fostering is often the best and the Splendids eggs try putting them in the quail incubator see if they are any good

[@birdnerd]

I will have some societies in stand by Incase I do need them. I will try the parents first as I’d love to have them raise the chicks.

[@buxlad88]

Give the silver zebra eggs to another reliable pair.

[@birdnerd]

I may do that.