Ask Lafeber

Parents warming up the egg

My Zebra finches,,The parents have just laid 3-5 eggs. I don’t know if they are warming up the egg enough. They stay in their nesting box for about 5-14 minutes, then leave for about 3-1 minutes To eat, Drink, Or just sit on perches. They stay in their nesting box with their egg almost the whole night. I don’t know if they stay in their nesting box to provide enough heat for the eggs , I’ve never bread Zebra finches before and don’t know how to care for them. This is also their first time laying eggs. Should I put more nesting material in there Box?

Hi,

Zebra finches prefer a woven nest – the hut type with one small opening. They generally do not like a box. The nest needs to be hung as high as possible, with enough room for the male to sit on top. The male sits on the nest to guard the female and the eggs or chicks. They must sit on the eggs 24 hours a day, with only short breaks out of the nest to eat and drink. If they are only sitting part time, the eggs will not hatch. They also prefer to add their own nesting material. You can make it available to them, but if you make any changes with the nest right now, they will most likely abandon the eggs. But if they have not been sitting on the eggs most of the time, I would get rid of the box, get the right type of nest, and let them try again later.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda