Sweet little zebra finches...

**Sheve** · 06-17-2004, 04:21 AM

A month or so ago I was visiting a breeder when a lady came in to deposit an entire cage full of zebra finches. All of them were related: mother, father, and babies. I couldn't resist, so I took home two! I have a male and female now, and they share a cage with Rush, my Bourke's parakeet. He may be easily four times their size, but his is such a docile breed that the zebras occasionally bully HIM around.

It's never the other way. Anyhow, here're some pics!

Bibbity (the female):

Bobbity (the male):

They're still immature, as indicated by the white patches on their forehead. I'm very happy to have them though because I love their song and they provide a lot of entertainment for my cats. *coughcough*

**Kalvin** · 06-17-2004, 07:10 AM

Nice birds, I have a hen like yours, the male looks like he may be a pied?

**bird lover** · 06-17-2004, 04:42 PM

Wow they are cute. I love my pair they are so sweet and fun to watch. Right now they are starting to nest and laying eggs. Be carfull with that parakeet he might seem very docile around them but just one bite and he could kill them or break one of their little toothpick sized legs.

**Sheve** · 06-17-2004, 06:08 PM

I'm not too worried about the parakeet in with them because it's not anything like your typical budgie. He's a grasskeet and even though he's larger than they are, he's incredibly docile. That species is known for their docility and finches are recommended as cage-mates/aviary-mates for them. They live in a large flight cage, so they have room to spare.

Hey Ratty... pied? I didn't know a zebra finch could be pied. All the males looked like him, including his father.

**Kalvin** · 06-18-2004, 12:57 AM

He's definately not a normal, since he has the white on the top of his head.

This is a pair of normals.

This is a pied.

There's a lot of varieties of zebra finches listed here.

**Shariah** · 06-19-2004, 10:50 PM

You definitely have a pied zebra for your male. I love this variety because the patterns are like thumbprints - no two exactly alike! And it makes sense that the other finches carried the same trait as they were a family. They will likely nest and you will have pied babies.

I think the most amazing pied finches I have come across are some Blue Capped Cordon Blues. A friend of mine in New York - an expert African Finch breeder - received these via import and has actually successfully bred them and donated some to zoos! I look my bright blue cordons and imagine adding that gorgeous frosting of pied white... how beautiful that would be!?!

Congrats on your new family members.

I also have kept parakeets on occasion with finches and have had no problems. As long as you have the space for the parakeet to fly without knocking your finches off the branches, you will probably do fine. In my experience, my zebras have always been the most accepting of other types of birds.

Good times!!!
Just s'more ponderings from this lunatic friend,
Shannon

**Sheve** · 06-29-2004, 09:11 PM

Originally Posted by ratty41

He's definately not a normal, since he has the white on the top of his head.

This is a pair of normals.

This is a pied.

There's a lot of varieties of zebra finches listed here.

I was told that the white was a sign of immaturity. I don't know what to think, actually. The female also has the same white spot on her head, and all their siblings did too, but the parents did not... it seemed to make sense. I don't know that much about finches though, I'm afraid.

**Sheve** · 06-29-2004, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by Shariah

Congrats on your new family members.

I also have kept parakeets on occasion with finches and have had no problems. As long as you have the space for the parakeet to fly without knocking your finches off the branches, you will probably do fine. In my experience, my zebras have always been the most accepting of other types of birds.

It's funny because the finches are the ones that regularly bully Rush, the Bourke's. He might be four times their size, but he's so VERY docile, nothing at all like your average parakeet/budgie. Bourke's are known for that, after all.

I just wish I could hand-tame him, but it seems that they really need to be handraised to be hand-tame.

**Kalvin** · 06-30-2004, 03:13 AM

I'd suggest the place doesn't know what they're talking about, I've raised a fair few normal males, none of which have had white on their heads. I have one soon to fledge in a nest, I'll get a picture to show you an immature normal.

**Kalvin** · 06-30-2004, 03:50 AM

Ok here are the pictures, the first two are a normal male that I bred, it fledged just over a month ago so is fully coloured, the other two is a normal male that will fledge in the next week or so. After a week or so he will start to get in his coloured flanks and cheek patches, at no point will he have white on top of his head.

**Sheve** · 06-30-2004, 03:13 PM

What a cutey! Thanks for the pics Ratty. It wasn't the breeders who said they were immature because of the white spots, it was the lady that dumped them at the breeders. Anyhow, that's pretty cool that they're pied.

Not that I really care what they are, they're just darned cute. I love 'em!