Zebra finches

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Discussion

myvision

Original Poster:

1,931 posts

135 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
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My house mate has inherited some Zebra Finches and we have no idea how to look after them. There are three of them all male apparently in one cage.
I have done some research on line that says they like a nest and having things to play with and should be allowed out the cage to fly around the room for exercise once a day. Armed with all this info my mate went to a well known pet shop and has been told the complete opposite anybody keep them and know what we should be doing with them?

When we got in yesterday all three were cramped into the food bowl together and stuck one like in the attached that hangs on the side of the cage why would they all have piled into this together to the extent of being stuck?

Any advice is appreciated.


corporalsparrow

403 posts

179 months

Tuesday 25th November 2014
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Zebra finches are easy to look after and charming, sociable little things.

However, the first thing to make sure of is that the cage is plenty big enough. An undersized cage is just cruel.

Then it's simply a meter of giving them enough of the right kind of food, and plenty of water. They might well exhibit nesting behaviour but if they are all males then no big issue. If the cage is big enough (if not, perhaps get another one) then a small wicker nest box would be a nice touch.

And make sure they're cleaned out regularly. Probably three times a week.

And no, don't let them fly around the house! You'll never get them back into the cage without running the risk of damaging them.

rosie11

196 posts

137 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Feed a quality foreign finch seed mix, millet sprays.

JBR Kiwi

9 posts

113 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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I used to have 3 zebra finches when I was a kid! Snap, Crackle and Pop we named them (yeah real imaginative...) and they were amazing little things that used to sing a little song when you whistled near them smile

In terms of care, definitely get a decent sized cage because they do like to flutter around quite a bit and bounce from perch to perch. Toys wise I think we just got them the standard sort of bird toys, though because there was three of them they tended to play with each other, and curl up together in the evening on a perch (which might explain the behaviour). However they all loved the ping pong ball we used to pop either in their cage, or just on the top so they could knock it off.

I only used to clean them out maybe once a week which they seemed perfectly happy with, along with supplying them with plenty of water and seeds (forever picking up the seed husks the little buggers used to throw out of the cage).

In terms of letting them out, they used to have an evening maybe once a week where all the doors and windows were shut in a room and they would be allowed to flap around perfectly happily. Sticking a bit of lettuce in their cage whilst they were doing that encouraged them to return...most of the time. But in all seriousness just let them have a play in the evening and they will return when they tire themselves out. Only had to capture them a couple of times in the years they were with us and were lovely little things. Actually miss their little antics biggrin

gun12b

353 posts

197 months

Sunday 30th November 2014
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cosy..........