A cute pair of Zebra finches was my introduction to the finch world. At first, I was in love with their energetic antics and personalities. It seemed they never slowed down, being active from the first rays of the morning sun till the last shadows before night fall. They would eat, bathe, explore, sing, eat again, and so on till they abruptly went to bed when the sun went down. I then noticed the male singing specifically to the female and an increase in allopreening, and before long the not so shy mating on a perch. Only a matter of weeks went by before it was apparent there were eggs, then babies hidden in the nest I had provided. This resulted in three more Zebra's being added, and at first it seemed like the perfect little family had formed. That is until the parents decided they were ready, a few weeks later, for brood number two. Then the harmonious family environment turned chaotic. The male no longer lived peacefully with his growing kids and started harassing them at all turns. To combat this, I built a bigger cage which seemed to fix the problem. But only weeks later the calls of new babies once again emitted from a nest and I knew I was in for it. It seems that when people state that something 'breeds like rabbits' they mean 'breeds like finches' because Zebra finches are unbelievably fertile and able creatures that can turn a small collection into a zoo in short order. With the addition of three more babies, I was suddenly up to 8 Zebra's in no time at all. To make matters worse, the now 2 month old siblings began showing signs of pairing. Something had to be done. I first tried removing any new eggs, but this only delayed the problem of more chicks. I also felt it was not good for the females to essentially being laying a new egg every day to replace the ones I had removed. I then tried adding ceramic eggs which did serve to stop the stimulus of more laying, but didn't address the problem of their defensive nature when eggs are in the nest. I then separated the male and female into different cages, but this seemed to drive them crazy, with all the birds calling incessantly and trying to fight through the cage bars to reach their significant others. Finally, despite the fact that Zebra's love to sleep in a nest, I put them back together but removed all possible nesting material. This did the trick, both for the non-stop breeding and egg laying, as well as the defensive nature that they showed. They now are as peaceful as is possible for a Zebra finch, though this is still quite boisterous for some of the more peaceful finches, so I decided to place them all together in a separate cage so they could romp to their hearts delite without annoying the quieter types. phew...
Now to the good and the bad of the Zebra finch.
The good:
Beauty: They are a beautiful subtle gray bird, with males having an oval orange cheek patch, chest of zebra striping, and deer fawn brown sides with small white spots.
Interesting: Constantly on the move, engaging in some activity, whether it is nest building, bathing, exploring, etc.
Not picky: Will essentially eat anything that you give them, though it is best to provide a good seed mix.
Hardy: Can thrive in most temperature extremes that I have seen at least. They do well when it is hot and humid, and have no problems when it has reached the 40s, though that rarely happens where I live.
Healthy: With even the most basic deworming protocol, I have never had a single Zebra finch show any signs of being sick.
Fertile: They are willing and able to breed in almost any environment. I have even heard of Zebra's being shipped in small boxes to people who buy them via the internet, who found eggs had been laid upon arrival of the FedEx truck. They also are indifferent to nest inspection and very rarely toss chicks from the nest for any reason.
Price: Besides Society finches, they are the cheapest and most widely available of all the finches, costing around 10$ for a single bird, and being available at most chain pet stores (e.g. Petsmart, Pet Supermarket)
The bad:
Noisy: At first I found the males unique call interesting. But after days of non stop squawking (reminds me of a chicken yard) I realized these are not the quiet birds I had always read that finches were. Now get a couple of males singing together, with the background constant cooing of the females, and your peaceful relaxation by the aviary may go unrealized.
Uninhibited breeding: As I mentioned, it is much harder to get Zebra's to NOT breed, as oppossed to most finches where they require certain environmental considerations. So expect your 2 birds, to multiply quickly if the right steps are not taken.
Aggression: Everything I read said that Zebra's do fine when mixed with other small seedeaters. The fine print would add 'when not breeding'. Unfortunately, even if not actively breeding, Zebra's are thinking about breeding and begin to get aggressive. And from I witnessed, this is not the 'please give me some space' type aggression, but the constant pursuit and feather pulling type aggression. Very few of the birds that I have housed with the Zebra's would stand up to this abuse (of note: Societies and Cordon bleu's were the least bothered by the aggressive attempts).
Boisterous: Even when not aggressive, they are simply all over the place in every other birds business, so the quiet environment needed for some of the exotic finches to breed, will not happen when the Zebra's are around.
Nervous: After daily interactions with all of my birds, most have become quite tame to my presence. The Gouldian's rarely even leave the spot they are at when I approach. The Bleu's only occasionally send me the Cordon chatter to warn me not to get too close their nest. The Star's and Parrot's seem to actually be curious what I may be bringing and often come closer. But the Zebra's scatter and scream every time I come around. Despite having had them the longest, they still seem the most shy and stressed when I come near the cage.
The conclusion: An awesome bird in many regards, but one that may not be the best choice for the new or casual aviculturist, due to some potentially problematic qualities.
Rating Score: 7/10
Mixed with other finches: 2 out of 5 (Potential for injury to other birds in a mixed collection)
Thrive/Breed in cage: 5 out of 5
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| Our first female Zebra finch, Nala. Beautiful subtle gray coat, with distince black tear stripe under her eye and orange beak. |
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| Our original male, Simba. You can see the distinctive orange ear patch, zebra chest striping, and brown side stripes that make the Zebra a beautiful bird. |
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| Prepare for the fact that your Zebra's will go to nest if it is available, choosing any structure with any available nesting materials to complete their task. |
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| Quite soon after you will see the nestlings emerging with an over protective dad being close to chase off any nearby neighbors. |
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| You would be amazed at the decibel level of baby Zebra's begging for food, something they seem to do every 5 minutes for a minimum of 2 weeks after leaving the nest. |
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| Here is an example of the unintended disturbance of the Zebra finches boisterous activity, as a quiet Gouldian is frightened away from a peaceful perch by the energetic and frequent Zebra cage exploration. |
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| As soon as Jr grew up, it seemed like father and son would have a harmonious relationship, but things got a bit too cranky when one, then both decided it was time to breed. |
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| No amount of covering plants could give enough space for the other birds to live quietly. |
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| Alas, it took the removal of nests and a move to a new cage for peace to return. Now the Zebra's are happy together, though not breeding, in their new environment. |
Very Interesting Imfomation
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