i want to get a pair of zebra finch ? so help me

[lil shant]

i would like to get a pair of zebra finch so plz tell me how to take care of them and how to breed them.and what to feed the young and how tto take care of them thanx.

[charmedagain]

Firstly i would like to ask why you want to breed them.

Buying zebra finchs is easy you can get the from either a reputable petstore which i do not advise or from a reputable finch breeder.

Finchs are prolific breeders which mean they will breed constantly which can be fatal in a female that is not in excellent condition.

You feed finchs on a good quality finch mix aswell as fresh fruit and vegtables.

Finchs are the easiest birds to breed, But the problem is they can not be handle, they are fast and will abandon there nests and chicks if the nest is bothered by humans.

Mike

[Jamiya]

As Mike said, you don't really have to do anything to breed them beyond provide a nest. They breed all the time. But that also means you can't sell the babies for very much and they will have a ton if you let them. Why do you want to breed them?

[lil shant]

I made a aviary in the yard so i would like to breed them and have a lot of them such for them to be free. the aviary is 62ft in lenght so it is prity big.

[Mockingcat]

If you buy one pair of zebra finches, and let them breed until you fill up a giant aviary, several things will happen.

1.) You will have a population of very inbred zebra finches with very severe genetic problems.
2.) The female will die from being overbred.
3.) Did I mention inbreeding?

[charmedagain]

Inbreeding does not cause a problem in birds as this happens out int the wild.

Since finch's are prolific breeders it can be very hard to stop them laying eggs and Jamiya can vouch for the one as she is having a few problems stopping hers from laying.

Mine have laid eggs on the cage floor, in there food dishes, if they want to lay there is not much you can do even without a male she will still lay alot of clutches.

Mike

[Mockingcat]

Inbreeding may happen in the wild, but not to the extent that the original poster will end up creating. Severe inbreeding creates problems in ALL animals, because it strengthens any genetic trait that they have. If they're fast flyers, that trait will be magnified... however, if they're prone to seizures or to being eggbound, that trait will be magnified as well. If you inbreed once, it will strengthen that trait, but if the inbreeding continues unchecked, the trait can often become very severe.

Edited to add some articles I found:

http://www.birdhouse.resteddoginn.ca/inbreeding.php
This discusses the ins and outs in inbreeding, discusses the possibility of weak recessive genes causing problems such as stunted growth, losing feathers, and making malformed eggs.

http://www.finchniche.com/f-inbreeding.mgi

This breeder discusses results he had of an accidental inbreeding, including dying chicks and chicks born with no eyes.

I'd post a few more, but most just say "don't inbreed, it's bad" and leave a reason why. I'm not going to say that it's never done or doesn't have benefits, but usually a professional breeder who can check his birds history for the past 3 generations to discover genetic problems is the person that needs to be doing this.

[charmedagain]

Yes i understand what your saying, I totally agree with you that only professional breeders should inbreed due to knowing the background and genetic side of things.

What i am saying is that its always best to buy from a reputable breeder if planning on breeding birds this way you can be sure that any bad traits have been eliminated from the line.

Most breeders breed to improve there line.

I have a friend that has bred mother to son just to get the right colour mutation and correct build and size for that species of bird.

There is also the chance that the pair he buys never breeds or the female never lays a clutch of eggs as this happens.

I am not saying go ahead and inbreed because that would just be wrong on my side due to me being a breeder.

But providing he/she buys excellent show quality birds with proof of health and genology there will be no problems.

The main problems arise when breeding birds that are not of good quality and these are usually found in petstores.

But again i am not disputing what your saying so please dont think i am jumping on you.

Mike

[Mockingcat]

Oh no, I completely understand what you're saying. To me it's just one of those things that a first time bird owner is better off not trying.