The Finch Story

Well, Merry Christmas Vicki!

I woke up Christmas morning and came downstairs to find that Mr and Mrs Santa Finch had laid me an egg! Hooray!!! I went on about my day, did what needed to be done... and when we (my hubs and I) got home that afternoon, the egg had disappeared! Poof! Gone. No mas, no more.

Didn't see another egg today so I don't know what their plan is.

So, that's the story of the Finches.... so far. I'll keep you posted, as usual. :*)

What happened to the egg..?

Btw I like your blog

VickiNumbers wrote:

Well, Merry Christmas Vicki!

I woke up Christmas morning and came downstairs to find that Mr and Mrs Santa Finch had laid me an egg! Hooray!!! I went on about my day, did what needed to be done... and when we (my hubs and I) got home that afternoon, the egg had disappeared! Poof! Gone. No mas, no more.

Didn't see another egg today so I don't know what their plan is.

So, that's the story of the Finches.... so far. I'll keep you posted, as usual. :*)

Did they eat it

GlassOnion wrote:

Btw I like your blog

Me too

Eating it is the only thing I can come up with. I've been searching Finch breeding sites to see if that's something that they do and haven't found anything referencing that kind of behavior, but I haven't read everything available yet. (DUH.) Obviously I'll keep looking and in the meantime I thought I'd supplement their diet with more protein and calcium. It seems logical that if they're eating their own eggs that there must be a reason for it, so if I provide them with something else, perhaps they'll stop.

SO... That's that.


Also, thanks for the compliment on my blog! It's kind-of fun. I've found that I have a lot to say and I like to tell it in a story form... it seemed that a blog would be a good way to tell my story as well as keep a journal of sorts. Besides, perhaps someone somewhere will be able to learn from my experiences. Who knows?

Sometimes they eat it, sometimes they toss it out and the egg's so small you have a hard time finding the bits, sometimes they bury the egg with over zealous nest building.

Once zebras start laying, remove additional nesting material so they don't bury their eggs.

Will they do like the Quakers and throw eggs and babies out from another pair?

Multiple pairs housed together will destroy each other's nests. I've had success with multiple pairs in carport aviaries that are well planted. If cage breeding, need to have them only one pair to a cage.

Vicki - you might want to consider decking out the cage/aviary with silk plants. Not usually necessary with zebras, but it won't hurt. Thrift stores sell them cheaper than Walmart or the dollar store usually.

Pdb, what kind of nests do you give your finches?

henpecked wrote:

Will they do like the Quakers and throw eggs and babies out from another pair?

Oh yeah capt, speaking of Quakers, I saw an egg in the Quakers box late last week! I haven't been back in there to look for more, but even one is a good sign if that hen will plant her butt down and cook them a little bit!

I've used a lot of different ones. Their favorites seem to be covered wicker, but those are hard to get into to look at the eggs and babies.

I've used pint milk containers. I've used open wicker canary pans (those seem to be their least favorite). I've used wooden finch boxes. I've used plastic finch boxes (my fave - easy to clean, easy to access, reuseable forever).

Right now I'm using plastic finch boxes and plastic flower pots (I like the drainage holes for airation. Sometimes the poo accumulation inside the nest can get moldy and you can't clean it out until they're done nesting).

For nesting material I like to use cotton balls cut up into tiny pieces. Look at their toes every day for anything that might get wrapped around and strangle them. I have long hair and it entangles toes even though I have no idea how my hair got in with them.

Zebras aren't picky. They'll lay in anything. I usually provide at least two different styles and locations of nest so they have a choice.

Here's hopin for blue babies.Didn't think i sent you a couple of duds did you?

THAT. IS. IT! The finch family NEVER get to get out of their cage again!

I was putting in plants like PdB suggested, thinking I'm doing a nice thing for them, right? And of course, its gonna freak them out a little, and the room is bird safe, so if they get out its NBD! I'll just catch them and go on with my day. An hour!!! That's how long it took me to catch four wee little birds in a small bird safe room! An HOUR! I felt like I was chasing a hummingbird blindfolded! It was insane!

On the upside, the new "Finch Habitat" looks rather nice, if I do say so myself. All the plants are silk and from the $1.00 store, so if they're ruined, I don't really care. (and they won't get more unless they promise to stay in the cage next time!)

Take a look:

Squirt bottle. No stress for either of you and you'll have them caught in 5 minutes.

Very nicely decked out cage.

looks great...buy a big net....lol

dusty

VickiNumbers wrote:

I felt like I was chasing a hummingbird blindfolded! It was insane!

Too funny! Cage looks great though!

patdbunny wrote:

Squirt bottle. No stress for either of you and you'll have them caught in 5 minutes.

Very nicely decked out cage.

Squirt bottle. I'd have never thought of that. How much do you squirt? Seriously? Do you just mist them or do you rain on them? Is the goal to just slow them down or to soak them so they can't fly? Something like that would probably make cleaning their cage easier at the store too... Hmm. Good ideas show up every day!!!

How soaked I get them depends on whether or not I have a net or am using my bare hands. With a net, a light misting is all that's needed. If I'm using my hands then I have to soak them down. They really don't mind. They have no idea what's going on. They think they're just getting a nice bath.

Well, news on the Finch front... As of this evening Mrs. Closet Finch is actively sitting on three eggs and Mr. Closet Finch is tending her. I know this because somehow their cage door came open between 5 and 9 this evening yet no finches "left the building." When I went up to sing goodnight to the birds (don't judge me!), Mrs. CF was sitting in the nest w the eggs and didn't budge when I shut and locked the cage door - totally out of character for her. So, here's hoping that we've turned a corner with the finch family.

Yeah, well, the title says it all!!!

I should have a baby finch by tomorrow!!! YAY!!! I can't WAIT!

PDB, when do I pull for handfeeding??? I'm so excited!!!

BABIES!!

Um yeah... I just found out that I have to feed the little squirts every three hours for over a MONTH until they're weaned! That's a long time to be mixing, measuring, and handfeeding teeny little birds! I may be having second thoughts about this whole handfeed finch business! Lol!

oh vicki...


dusty

Yeah, you have to be a bit OCD like me to do it. . .

Jack and Jill, formerly roach babies but now the most precious little finchies EVER, are beginning to fly! I decided that the business of feeding them every three hours was, well, for the birds! So I just left them to it. I've been reaching in and handling them ever so often, but I don't think it reached the level of co-parenting. They are still nervous around me and I'm pretty sure they'll end up wild. Oh well, I shoulda send Jill to PDB!!! Jack looks just like his daddy. I'm no zebra finch expert, but I'm pretty sure he'll be a normal brown looking guy. Jill, on the other hand, (at least I THINK it's a Jill), doesn't look like mom OR dad. She's kind-of silver colored, with a silvery-grey head and a dark grey beak. She's really pretty!

I'll post pictures if they'll ever stop hiding, in the mean-time... That's it from the finch-front!!