Ask Lafeber

Question:

September 4, 2020

Fledgling Zebra finches not being fed by parent when they can fly.


Zebra Finch parebts stop feeding fledglings that are strong and can fly but they still need feeding and they are dying. Other Zebra finches are pulling their feathers out and sitting on them. How can I save them from this horrible death. I have tried to bring them in from the aviary and feed myself but the fledglings loose interest and I have to force their beaks open. I have had birds for many years but don’t understand this behaviour as they are usually well looked after till they are self sufficient. Breaking My heart to see them begging but not being fed and end up dying even thought they start out strong and are flying.


Answer:

Hi Gina,

I’m very sorry to hear about your baby finches. You mentioned other finches and an aviary, so this is the problem. When breeding birds in captivity, it is best to only have one pair of birds per cage. Sometimes you can do colony breeding if you have a really large walk in aviary. But even then, some pairs are much more territorial than others. In the wild, birds have environmental triggers for breeding season and they have plenty of space to establish territories. Even in the wild, finches that breed in colonies will often attack other nests or chicks. In captivity, it is almost guaranteed that this will happen because an aviary is only so large. It’s OK to keep an aviary of finches, but it is best that you do not breed them, which means no nests. They do not need nests unless you want them to breed, so just do not give them nests. You also need to control what is going on when you breed birds. Because we tend to provide a stable environment year round, birds will breed year round if you don’t take steps to limit them. You should not let any pair have more than two clutches per year, and this is one more clutch than they would have in the wild. They aren’t intended to keep breeding over and over, but in the wild, the weather gets cooler, food gets harder to find and days get shorter so they stop breeding. Even if you are breeding them outdoors, if you live in a warmer climate, they will still over breed unless you stop them.

Every time a pair weans chicks, the nest should be removed and the pair should be rested for about 6 months. The chicks should be removed from the parents as soon as they are weaned, and they should be separated by gender. Otherwise, they will breed with the parents or with each other. You should never allow related birds to breed. It dilutes the genetics and causes deformities and health issues, and the offspring will be weak overall. I’m not saying you have done this, but if you have kept the chicks each time and some or all of the birds in your aviary are related, this is also the problem. If this is the case, I would take away all nests and not ever breed any of these birds again. If you have been giving away the finches and none of your birds are related, you still have the problem of having more than 0ne breeding pair in the aviary. The other finches are attacking the babies because this is instinctive. Not only do they not want to share the aviary with more birds, they do not want another pair’s offspring to survive because they want to make room for their own offspring. It will just keep getting worse, with more deaths, if you don’t stop letting them breed.

If you still want to breed, separate the pairs into separate cages, and control what is going on by forcing them to rest between clutches, and giving away offspring to prevent inbreeding. Take the nest away as soon as the chicks leave it. Otherwise the parents decide to breed again rather than weaning the chicks. Even if things have gone well in the past, there is a problem now. These birds are either over bred, getting too old to breed, inbred, or you have too many in the aviary. No matter the cause, the result is sad so you need to break the cycle by taking away the nests. Not all birds will be good breeders, some birds start out well and then start getting careless as they get older or overbred. It’s too hard on them for this to happen and it’s too hard on you to keep watching the chicks die.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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