Ask Lafeber

Zebra finches and their babies

Hi. I have had a pair of zebra finches that had a clutch of 4 babies. My cat ended up killing the dad who was feeding them and the mom stopped caring for them. So I took over. One survived and she or he is about 6 weeks old now. I got the mom another mate and they had a new clutch of 4 about a week or 2 ago. Last night I noticed they (mom & dad) are now sleeping in another nest they made. I took the nest with the babies down to see if they were still alive and they are. I’m not sure if I need to one again start caring for them, or if mom and dad will continue to feed them if they aren’t sleeping with them. I will care for them if I have too, but I’m hoping mom and dad are going to feed them. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Hi Lisa,

It sounds like the pair is done with taking care of chicks. The chicks will get cold and die without at least one of the parents keeping them warm. You made a few mistakes here. You got a new mate too soon, and allowed the birds to breed much too soon because they didn’t have time to form a strong bond. And you let them have more than one nest. In the wild, they would only breed once a year, care for the chicks, teach them to eat, and then the breeding season ends. In captivity they do not get the environmental triggers to stop breeding. They will breed over and over until the hen dies from laying too many eggs and exhaustion. Some males have been known to die when allowed to breed year round. Egg laying is hard on the hen’s health, and caring for eggs and chicks takes a toll on both parents. If they are no longer caring for the chicks, take the nests and any nesting material out of the cage. If they are still feeding the chicks, take the extra nest out as well as nesting material, and as soon as the chicks leave the nest, take the nest down. Birds do not need a nest to sleep in. In the wild, the nest is only used during nesting season. The rest of the time they sleep in trees or other places, but not in a nest. Your pair should be rested from breeding for about 6 months, and then you can give them a nest again. Never let them have extra nests – if they start to build one, remove the nesting material.

You need to make changes to get this pair to stop breeding right now.

Limit their light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening.

Move the cage to a busy place in the house – move the cage about once a week if they seem like they are trying to nest.

Do not give them anything they can sit in. If they start to sit in a food cup, replace it with smaller cups. If she tries to nest on the cage floor, put something in the way like some toys. And of course no nesting material.

If the cage does not have a metal floor grate, do not use any bedding in the tray or they will try to use it as a nest.

If they continue to mate anyway, you probably need to split them up to make them take a break.

Thank you for Asking Lafeber,

Brenda