Mutations

Many mutations are known to exist, including:

• Pied: Splotches of white feathering are present on the bird, sometimes so much so that the birds' characteristic markings are completely whited-out. Some birds are so heavily pied that they appear all-white with absolutely no markings, not even the teardrop; these birds are known as fully-pied whites. Pied can be combined with any other mutation.
• White: Both cock and hen are completely white (no markings, not even teardrops), sometimes with some minor gray or fawn flecking on the head and back of the bird. The way to tell the difference between the sexes is by the color of the beak: cocks have the red beak, hens have the orange beak.
• Fawn: Everything which is normally gray on the bird becomes a light brown color. Markings remain intact. Fawn can be combined with many other mutations, including pied, black breasted, black cheek, penguin, and more.
• Chestnut Flanked White (CFW): Both cock and hen are an all-over ivory white color, but the cock and hen retain their respective markings (even the tear drop is intact). Usually the cock's cheek patches, breast bar, and flanking are slightly diluted and seem paler in comparison to the markings on a normal bird.
• Recessive Silver: The normally gray body of the bird appears dark silver, being lighter in body coloration than a normal bird. The markings all remain intact and as vibrant as on a normal bird.
• Dominant Silver (Silver Pastel, Dominant Dilute Grey): Bluish-silver body, similar to recessive silver except that the cock's cheek patches and flanking are cream in color, not orange.
• Dominant Cream (Cream Pastel, Dominant Dilute Fawn): Pale cream (diluted fawn) body color where the cheek patches and flanking on the cock are a creamy-fawn color.
• Penguin: The top of the head, back and wings are the normal body color (laced or edged with a silver lining to edges of wing and tail feathers), but the underparts (sides of body, breast, and belly) are all bright white--the cock has no breast bar or teardrop but retains flanking and cheek patches. The hen has white cheeks in addition to the white breast and belly and no tear drops. Penguin can occur in combination with other mutations (silver penguin, fawn penguin, black cheeked penguin, black breasted/orange headed penguin, etc).
• Light-Back: Light grey body with diluted cheek patches and flanking on male, while retaining deep black breast bar and tear drops. Can be combined with a number of other mutations for interesting results, including black-cheeked, cream, silver, black breasted, etc.
• Crested: Birds have a rosette of feathers atop the center of the head, the feathers sticking almost straight up, and growing in different directions. Can occur in combination with any other mutation.
• Yellow-beak: Both cocks and hens have a pale yellow beak instead of a red or orange beak. Can occur in combination with any mutation, but looks particularly attractive when combined with a dark-bodied bird to create contrast.
• Black-cheeked: The cock's normally orange cheeks are completely black in color, and the flanking is a much deeper brown-black. Strangely enough, then hen of this mutation also sports black cheek patches, but she does not have a breast bar or flanking. This mutation can be combined with many others to create awesome looking birds.
• Grey or Fawn Cheeked: Silvery-white to cream body with rich buff underparts. Black breast bar and tear marks are present. The cheeks, however, are not orange but range from orangish-fawn to gray. Both sexes have cheek patches, but the hens do not have breast bar or flanking.
• Orange-Breasted: Teardrops are absent on both sexes, the once-black breast bar and barring on the cock becomes orange in coloration, his cheek patches become enlarged, and both the cock and hen's tail coverts are orange and white spotted instead of black and white spotted. Can be combined with other mutations.
• Black-Breasted: Enlarged black breast bar, enlarged orange cheek patches (sometimes so enlarged that they cover almost the entire head), the white 'spots' on the flanks and tail coverts are elongated, teardrops are absent on both sexes, and the wing and tail feathers often have an orange tinge to them. May be combined with other mutations.
• Black-Faced: The normally white area between the beak and teardrop is black, and the cock's breast bar continues down past the chest onto the belly, ideally all the way down to the vent so that the entire belly is black. Hens have gray extending past the chest and down the belly instead of black. Can be combined with other mutations.
• Florida Fancy / Isabel: Bright white to off-white body color with rich buff-colored underparts. Cock's breast bar is absent and neither hen nor cock have teardrops. Cocks retain cheek patches and flanking. May be combined with several other mutations.

Combination Mutations:

• Orange-Faced: Combination of Black-Faced and Orange-Breasted. The entire area from chin down to bottom of breast and occasionally parts of the upper belly are orange in coloration. Also the majority of the head is orange. Feathers on the back and wings may be orange or laced with orange as well. Cocks retain flanking, but do not have a black teardrop nor the white space near the beak, as they are orange.
• Orange-fronted: Combination of Black-Breasted and Orange-Breasted. All of the would-be black areas on the bird are orange and the cheek patches are enlarged enough to cover most of the head. The entire breast is also orange.
• Black-fronted: Combination of Black-Breasted and Black-Faced. Enlarged orange cheek patches, black area between beak and cheek patches, almost entire breast and belly is black.
• Phaeo: Combination of Florida Fancy (Isabel) and Black-Breasted. Ideally the entire head is orange with the exception of the white area between the beak and cheek patch (the teardrop is replaced with orange). The rest of the back and wings are white with heavy orange lacing, the underparts are fairly buff, breast bar is ideally absent.

This List is still INCOMPLETE.

Fostering

Why Foster? - There are many reasons that finch breeders choose to foster eggs or babies under society finches. Here are just a few examples:

Parents won't incubate the eggs properly...Parents won't feed newly hatched babies, or continuously stop feeding before the babies are fully weaned...One parent dies...Parents eat the eggs or cannibalize their young...A hen lays far more eggs than can reasonably be incubated or raised easily...To increase the quantity of babies, especially for the rare and endangered species

Setting up your Societies For Fostering - Society finches are best parents when set up with 2-3 birds per cage, instead of in a mixed colony. Societies in a colony set-up tend to be very inconsistent breeders and foster parents due to their "social" behavior. I have found that one true sexed pair per cage works best, but have been successful housing 2-3 cocks per cage (The advantage of having only males is that there are no hens to lay numerous eggs when they are fostering eggs or babies).

Provide a five inch square wooden nest box (with a hinged lid) on the outside of each society cage. Although Societies will take to almost any nest you provide, a nest box has its advantages, especially when handling delicate eggs and babies. Other nests, such as wicker or millet hanging nests may also be used.

The best nesting material you can provide your societies is burlap strands from a burlap bag. Burlap bags (without print) can usually be found at local farm supply stores. After purchasing bags, they should be washed, bleached and rinsed thoroughly. Bags can be dried in an electric dyer for added softness (without chemicals or fabric softeners). Once dried, cut the bags into 2" squares and pull out each strand from the squares. Take a handful of the burlap and place inside the nest and push down slightly to make an indentation in the middle of the nest. In a few days, after the societies (mainly the cock) have rearranged the nesting material, check to make sure all four corners are filled in to prevent eggs and babies from falling in (also recheck after you have placed eggs in the nest as well)!

Eggs - Before handling any newly laid eggs, make sure your hands are clean. Natural oils from your skin can easily clog the tiny pores of an egg, causing death of the embryo inside. Keep in mind that finch eggs are very fragile, and should be handled with great care. You may want to carefully use a small spoon to transfer eggs (egg breakage using a spoon can still occur, especially when removing eggs from hanging nests).

Fostered eggs transferred to a pair of societies that includes a hen, should be carefully marked so they won't become confused with any society eggs that are laid during incubation of the fostered eggs. A permanent marker can be used to GENTLY mark the egg. Larger breeders with many cages usually write the parent cage number on the eggs. A small dot of colored fingernail polish may also be used.

When removing eggs to be fostered from their parents, it's best to remove them each day they are laid. Place the eggs on their sides in a dish of seed (to prevent movement) and store at room temperature. It is very important that you rotate the eggs at least twice a day to keep them viable and from drying up on one side. Continue turning the eggs daily until they can be placed under a pair of Societies. Eggs, when turned properly, can be stored up to a week (eggs that have already been incubated, must be moved to a foster pair before they are cooled, to keep the embryos from dying when chilled).

Ideally, all the eggs in the same clutch should be placed under societies on the same day (or up to three days apart to insure the chicks hatch around the same time). Make sure all society finch eggs already inhabiting the society nest have been removed (you can place these under other pair of societies). For the best results, add between 4-5 eggs to the society nest. Some pairs won't sit when there are fewer than four. Dummy eggs (or old finch eggs, marked with an "X") can be added when there are less than three eggs to foster, and removed a few days after the babies have hatched.

After 4-5 days of incubation, eggs should be candled with a bright pen light or candling light to verify that the eggs are fertile. When held up to a candling light, fertile eggs show tiny red veins near the shell of the egg. Infertile eggs remain clear, but should be left under the societies for a few more days and rechecked. If the whole clutch is infertile after two attempts of candling, remove the eggs or replace with another set of eggs that need fostering (if available).

Babies - The eggs should hatch approximately 13-16 days after the onset of incubation, depending on the species, usually early in the day. As the chick emerges from the egg, the societies will help the chick out and eat the nutritious shell. A few days before the projected hatch date, you should provide the foster parents with a nutritious nestling eggfood and soaked seed (seed soaked in water for 24 hours, drained and rinsed well) and continue every day until the chicks are eating on their own.

FOSTERING PROBLEMS:

Here is a list of problems you may encounter if you foster.

1. EGGS - As mentioned earlier, Societies may not incubate fostered eggs unless there are at least 4 eggs. Dummy eggs can be added as needed.

2. ONE BABY - When there is only one baby, it may not be cared for like a nest with two or more chicks. If there are other chicks the similar in age in another nest, the single baby can be added to that nest. Sometimes supplemental handfeeding may be necessary.

3. MIXING SPECIES IN THE SAME NEST- Sometimes it is necessary to mix species' eggs in the same nest due to emergencies, but this can lead to problems. Some species grow more rapidly than others or beg louder. These larger and louder birds are often fed more, causing neglect to the smaller, quieter species. Societies will also favor their own babies over other species, therefore, you should avoid mixing species whenever possible.

4. BAD SOCIETY PARENTS - Not all Societies are good parents of other species or even their own. Some refuse to incubate while others won't feed the young of a new species (handfeedingeggfood, others only dry seed. You may also come across a pair that will refuse to foster any other species but their own, even if they have raised the fostered species before! supplement may need to be given the first few days until the societies start feeding). Some Societies won't feed babies any food except soaked seed or

Once you have a pair of societies that will raise a different or rare species, I highly recommend only letting them raise the fostered species, never letting them raise their own. With delicate waxbills, you might find greater success with Chocolate Self Societies since their young are dark skinned like the darker skinned waxbills.

Societies that refuse to sit may be overworked or too young. For those pairs that won't sit on a clutch of several eggs, are added at the same time, I recommend in the future that you add a dummy egg each day for several days, then exchanging them with the new clutch to be fostered.

5. MIXING OLDER WITH YOUNGER BABIES - Problems occur when there are babies of different ages. There are two problem stages.

The first stage occurs when a new baby hatches in a nest where there are older nestlings (4+ day olds), the smallest babies may get buried under the larger nestlings, and do not beg as loud, resulting in death within a day or two.

The second problem stage, is when the older babies fledge a lot sooner than the smaller babies that have survived this far. The older fledglings are weaned properly, and subsequently the parents stop feeding them. Unfortunately, they may also stop feeding the younger babies as well. These smaller, dependant babies usually end up staving to death. Handfeeding is not always accepted by the babies that are close to the fledgling age, but should be attempted as a last resort.

6. TRANSFERRING HATCHED BABIES TO A PAIR OF SOCIETIES - Sometimes it becomes necessary to transfer babies into another Society nest. Some pairs will accept these babies after a few curious sessions of looking in the nest, others refuse to take on the responsibility!

It is best to transfer newly hatched babies to a nest with the same species (and similar age) if possible.

Another method that works well for me, is to add newly hatched babies to a Society nest with eggs that are being incubated well (tighter sitters tend to accept "changes" better). Remove all but one or two of the eggs and add the babies along with a few small pieces of sterilized chicken egg shell...this fakes the parents into thinking that the baby just hatched when it sees the small babies and broken bits of egg shell!

Care

HOUSING:

Where in house do I put my birds? There are many considerations when providing a place for your birds to live. Recommendations will vary a little depending on whether these are pet birds or you want to setup multiple pairs for breeding. For pet birds, choose a place where the family spends time. You want to enjoy the birds, so put them where you can see and hear
them. They can be a little messy so don’t put them above your kitchen counter. Seeds and seed husks will be falling onto the counter.

Select a place that get a lot of light. Direct sunlight is ok, but you must be careful. They need to be able to get out of the direct sunlight which could get very hot. Zebras basically need the same temperature as we people do.

If you have small children, the cage needs to be out of reach. The same goes for other pets that cannot control the temptation. Most other pets can be trained to leave the birds alone. You will need to simply be watchful of the situation and deal with it.

Do not place the cage where it will get a draft. In cold climates a draft can be cold and very uncomfortable. Remember, the birds are stuck in that cage. They can not go to a different room to find comfort. Air conditioning can also create an uncomfortable draft.

Zebras are very hardy birds. Just remember that if you would not like to be where you put their cage, then they probably do not like it either.

FEEDING:

The basic food of a Zebra finch is seeds. Various varieties of millet is their staple. Buy a commercially prepared mix. This will be a balanced mix and this will do very well for your birds. It needs to be fresh, so don’t buy a fifty pound bag for two birds. Buy an amount that will be used up in about a month. Their seed cup should always have seed in it. They will regulate how much they need to eat.

Keep their water fresh and clean daily. How would you like to drink water that has been sitting out for a week and probably has some seeds in it?

All birds need grit (sand). They use this to grind their food, for they do not have teeth. Buy a commercial gravel/grit mixture. Buy one that also has minerals added, like oyster shell and charcoal. A vitamin additive can be purchased to be added to the food or water. This is not a requirement if the rest of the diet in balanced.

Fresh foods from your kitchen are an optional source for a balanced diet. Different individual birds will have different likes and dislikes. You will have to experiment with a variety of food items. Frozen mixed vegetables (thawed), sprouts (alfalfa, etc), hard boiled egg (mashed), lettuce, spinach, bread crumbs, and corn bread. Most natural foods can be fed to your birds. Just don’t feed extremes like peppers, cabbage, etc. Be sure to feed only the amount of fresh food that will be consumed before it spoils. Remove any that they do not eat.

Egg shells are a good source of calcium. When you have eggs for breakfast, rinse the shells and microwave them for four minutes to kill salmonella, etc. Put them in your bird cage and the birds will go wild for them.

You should also supply cuttlebone for your birds. This can be purchased at the pet store. It is a white and about 2x5 inches. Hang it on the side of the cage and the birds will peck at it.

CARING:

Generally there is little that needs to be done in the way of health maintenance. A balance diet is by far the most important. A few of things to watch for are signs of illness, nails, leg bands, and strings.

If your bird sits in the corner, looks puffy, or generally doesn't look good, he may be ill. Be sure there is food and water in shallow dishes on the floor of the cage. This will make it easier for him to access them. Try to warm him a little by moving the cage to a warmer location or placing a lamp beside the cage. Unfortunately, because of their tiny size, an illness can run its course and kill your bird before you even notice the symptoms.

Nails will usually be maintained naturally. If they get too long, you will need to catch the bird and trim the nails. A nail clipper works good. Be sure not to clip too much. If you clip to the ‘quick’ it will bleed. If you look very closely at the tip of the nail, you will see that the tip looks more clear in color. This can be safely cut off.

Watch your birds that have leg bands. I have had birds that grow up to have thick legs that become too big for the band. This restricts blood circulation and the foot will swell and eventually could cause the bird to die. Remove the band. To do this you may have to cut it off. This will maybe be a two person job. Be careful, that is a tiny fragile leg.

Strings are dangerous. Birds love to play with them. There is a possibility that the string could get tangled around a birds leg or neck and get caught on the cage, thus injuring the bird. Simply be sure the strings are two inches of shorter. Shredded burlap works great for nesting material. I cut the burlap into two inch squares and shred it.

CATCHING:

There are several tricks to catching birds. First, be sure that you remember that your hand is immensely strong compared to this tiny bird. If you keep trying for a very long time without success, the birds will become overly exhausted. Try to avoid this.

Nets can be purchased for catching birds. This works better in a large cage or flight. Removing some of the perches sometimes helps. When a bird is on the perch, move your hand toward him from the rear. Totally encompass the bird with your hand, not squeezing too hard but just hard enough that he can not escape. If you make sure that his head is covered with your fingers, he will be more calm.

The best trick I have found for catching birds is to do it in total darkness. They virtually will not move when it is dark. You sometimes can push them off the perch before they will move. Of course you need to be aware that, while its is dark, they may get scared and fly into the wall of the cage. I have not had any bird get injured with this method, but you do need to be careful. So, how do you see? I usually leave on a night light to give me some light. I stand by the cage until they are calm, notice where the desired bird is, turn off the light, grab the bird, and turn on the light. IT WORKS GREAT!

BREEDING:

Zebra finches are a joy to watch as they prepare their nest and raise their young. The mating dance and song of the male is fun to watch and is a good indication that they are happy and ready to breed. The male ‘sings’ and bounces on the perch to attract the hen. He will soon try to jump on top of the hen. If she is willing, they will mate. This only takes a few seconds. He will try this repeatedly.

There are many considerations when attempting to breed Zebra finches. Zebra finches breed freely in captivity, sometimes even under strange conditions, but we should try to provide them a healthy and happy environment.

Zebras mature quickly and can start to mate at 11-12 weeks. For healthier strong birds it is recommended that they be 6-9 months before allowing the to mate.

The placement of the cage or cages should be in an area that does not have a lot of people/pet traffic. The cages should not be moved once the nesting process has started.

The cage should be large enough to make the birds feel comfortable. Remember, larger is usually better. A cage about 16x16x20 would be fine. When the chicks fledge, there could be up to ten birds in the cage! If you use a nest box/basket that is inside or outside the cage makes a difference on the size of the cage. A nest inside the cage takes up room that could otherwise be occupied by a bird.

Place only one pair of birds in one cage. They will fight when more that one pair is in a cage. If you use a ‘flight cage’ then multiple pairs can be housed together. A breeding flight with many birds needs to be large. At least 3 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 6 feet long. The bigger it is the more birds it can support. Provide more nest boxes than there are pairs so they can have a choice.

Zebras prefer a nest that is enclosed with only a hole for an opening. Wicker baskets can be purchased at most pet stores. These work fine but are hard to clean between clutches. I use nest boxes which hang on the outside of the cages. The type you use will also depend on your budget and how many birds you have set up for breeding.

Place the nest high in the cage. Birds feel safer when higher. Sometimes the birds will not like the nest that you have given them. After they have had the nest for 2-3 months and still do not like it, replace it with a different kind. Sometimes this will be to their liking. Sometimes just moving the nest will help.

Nesting material should be clean and safe. A variety of materials can be used singly or together. Dried grass works well. Be sure that the grass has not be treated or fertilized. Pet stores sell little boxes of cotton that the birds like. Be careful of strings. Strings are dangerous. Birds love to play with them. There is a possibility that the string could get tangled around a birds leg or neck and get caught on the cage, thus injuring the bird. Simply be sure the strings are two inches of shorter. Shredded clean burlap works great for nesting material. I cut the burlap into two inch squares and shred it.

Diet is very important for your breeding birds. They need to be in good shape to do all the work of raising youngsters. The same good seed diet that you normally feed should continue. The hen has to develop the eggs so she must not be calcium deficient. Cuttle bone, crushed oyster shell, and mineralized grit all will help. Both mom and dad help feed the chicks. They eat and then regurgitate into the chicks mouths.

Light is a very import part of keeping birds. They need sun light! If there is not a window in your bird room you need to provide ‘full spectrum’ lighting, lots of it. In the breeding season they need light 14-16 hours a day.

When all is to their liking, they will start. The male will build the nest. He will pick up a piece of string or grass and hold it in his beak and show it to the hen. It looks like he is playing. He will weave the material in the nest box into a concave comfortable nest. He may also pick up feathers flying in the cage to line the nest to make it soft.

The hen will lay about one egg a day, for 3 to 8 eggs. They will start sitting on the eggs when she is done laying eggs. Both mom and dad help with the incubation but mom does most of it. The eggs should start hatching about 14 days after they start sitting. If after 20 days nothing hatches, remove the eggs for they apparently are not fertile. She will start laying again soon. You do not need to empty the nesting material, just the eggs.

When you remove the chicks the parents will start on their next clutch. In fact they may start even before you remove the chicks. If they continue this immediate succession, you will need to separate them to give them a break to build up their strength. I usually recommend only 3-4 clutches in a row. It depends on how many chicks in each clutch and how short of time they leave in between clutches.

If you have a nest of eggs that do not hatch, leave them in the nest for about 20 days after the last egg is laid. At this time you can safely assume that they are not going to hatch. Remove the eggs. If you wait too long she may lay many eggs in the nest. Sometimes she will continue until no more eggs fit.

If you have many pairs of birds you will need to band the chicks so that you can tell who is who. You can keep track of pairing unrelated birds when you have identification leg bands on the birds. You can use closed bands or split bands. Closed bands need to be put on the chicks at about 8 days of age. They are permanently on the bird. Split bands are plastic bands that are not a solid ring but have a split so they can be spread apart and put on any age of bird. Bands come in different colors and some have numbers.

Chicks do not hatch with the trademark orange beaks and legs. Most have black beaks and legs. Some of the lighter color varieties have beaks 'horn' colored or a color similar to our fingernails. These colors change to adult colors at about 5-6 weeks of age.

Chick Development Schedule
incubation is 14 days
8 days old put on closed band
21 days old they fledge (leave the nest)
4 weeks old they start to eat on their own
5-6 weeks old the adult colors will start to develop, along with the beak color changing to orange.
5-6 weeks old move the chicks to their own cage. They will disrupt the next clutch process and the parents may start to pluck their feathers.

Zebra finches live to be 4-8 years of age. I have heard of birds living to 10 and 12 years old, but I think this is rare.