Hi Penny,
Zebra finches do not like that type of nest box. Those are for Gouldian finches. Zebra finches like the hut type nests that are made from natural woven grasses and sticks or thin reeds. It should be hung in the cage as high as possible, leaving just enough room that the birds can sit on top of it. The male will often sit on top of the nest while the female is inside, so he can guard it. I don’t fully understand your plan, but basically zebra finches are really easy to breed if you set them up correctly and then leave them alone. You can’t try to make them conform to what you want. They are hard wired by instinct to do things a certain way. You should not be disturbing the nest or checking on the eggs or chicks. The more you interfere, the more likely they are to abandon the nest, eggs and any chicks. Captive breeding pairs are much more sensitive than wild birds. You can’t mess with their eggs or chicks, or clean the nest, or they will abandon everything. If they get spooked by something, they will leave the chicks and let them starve to death, or throw the chicks out of the nest, or in some cases kill the chicks and even eat them. The same goes for unhatched eggs. You simply can’t be hands on with breeding finches like with breeding something like budgies, cockatiels and other parrots. If you happen to see both parents out of the nest, sometimes you can peek and see the eggs or chicks, but again you have to be very careful not to upset the parents or they will decide the nest isn’t safe and they will abandon it.
You mentioned letting them out of the cage, but you can’t do this when they are breeding. The cage needs to be in a quiet, private place and the parents confined to the cage as long as they are nesting. You should only be around them to feed them or clean the cage – never clean the nest while they are nesting. With some pairs you can’t even clean the cage because they get too upset. Never move the nest once they have eggs. If they try to build their own nest, take the nest they make out and do not give them nesting materials. They sell soft liners that can go into the hut nest, and they sell nesting material that the parents can use in the nest. But if they try to build a nest, it usually ends up too flimsy and the eggs or chicks fall out of it.
I’m sure once they have the right type of nest, they will start using it. If they do lay eggs and hatch chicks, you have to remove the nest as soon as all of the chicks have left it. Otherwise the parents will try to nest again right away and this is very bad for the hen’s health. You should make them rest for several months in between clutches, and only allow two clutches per year – or with finches, sometimes three is OK. But you have to remember that in the wild, breeding season is once a year, so most pairs only have one clutch each year. Rarely a pair might start early and get two clutches in, or something happens to the first clutch so they have another. But you can’t allow a pair to keep having clutch after clutch without resting them in between – this means removing the nest and moving the cage to a busier place in the house. You also can’t keep the chicks. They need to be separated from the parents as soon as they are weaned, and then if you still have them when they start getting their adult markings, you need to separate them by sex. You should never allow related birds to breed. As I said, breeding zebra finches is really easy as long as you do things their way, but you also need to remember that you have to find homes for the offspring.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
