The pair of zebra finches that had been part of our finch
community were very much a couple. From eh moment they entered the aviary, they hit it off
as though they had known each other all their lives. Whether or not this is true is
debatable. Based on the information I've read about zebras, the way Mr. and Mrs. Howell
behaved toward each other is fairly typical zebra behavior. Boy zebra finch meets girl
zebra finch and the rest is history. They mate, he builds a nest, she lays the eggs and
they both go on about the business of raising the resulting chicks.
So, why did we give them away if they bred so easily?
Precisely because they bred so easily. More than three clutches per female per year can
and will cause egg binding in the female which can ultimately kill her. As responsible
finchkeepers, the last thing we wanted to do was cause the death of a bird in our care due
to negligence. After the third clutch of eggs, we decided to remove all nests and nesting
material to discourage any more clutches.
So what did those eager little zebras do? They bred some
more. Soon, we began to find eggs broken on the aviary floor. Those busy birds!
Enough was enough, and something had to be done. After
considering our options, we chose to give the pair to a lady who had other finches. She
put the female in with her other females and the male in with another male. I have since
spoken to her and she assures me that both birds are happy and doing very well.
Would we get another pair of zebra finches? Probably not a
male and female pair, that's for sure. With the recent completion of the Dream aviary, we
have decided to not increase the population, so the addition of any birds, zebras included
are not in our plans. It is our belief, however, that zebras make good pets, but be
careful with the breeding issue, for the health of the birds!
