A friend gave me a zebra finch as she got it from a friend that was not caring for it properly. I do not like animals of any kind to be single so I bought another one. They started multiplying so quickly that I moved them to an aviary. I wanted it to look and feel natural to them so I put real tree branches in it, pine straw, grass clippings, cotton balls (which does not look natural but they seem to love to use), sticks, etc. for them to build their nests. They must have liked their new surroundings as they did build and so did their offspring and so and so on.
This started about 1 1/2 years ago and I now have about 20 birds. I have sold some, but it stresses me out so badly as I am so afraid that I will sell one's mate. I can not see inside some of the nests, as they have them built so high up inside the aviary. How do I tell if they are mated with another one and is there a way to tell if they have young if you can not see in their nest? I do not want to sell a parent or one's mate. I am very stressed.
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Hi Rule of thumb to discourage breeding pull out all nesting materials. Arbutus Manzanita trees or fruit branches are OK. Swings, toys, food dishes only, prevents breeding. Two females will lay eggs as well if nest is available, cuttle bone is very important for calcium.
To wrap up what you have to discourage hatching: for new eggs rather than pull from clutch (because they will continue to lay replacing egg amount...)shake egg or poke pin straight through egg place back in nest.
Lots of breeders will have 3 or more cages with paired mates for breeding program then place babies into small medium flight cage ready for resell after fledgling is completed. Hope this helps, have zebras as well, they breed very fast!
Don't do that. If u want to discourage the parents from having eggs take all bedding material out and get all the eggs and just put the in a cool place and then the babies won't grow as the need warmth to grow. That is the kindest way to do it
That sounds pretty cruel! Why not just take the bedding out so they can't nest! The Wildlife Center
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