A little help please -- Male or female

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Luppo
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Joined: 14 Sep 2020, 19:50
Location: Gold Coast , Queensland

Hi all,
New on here so hope everyone is doing ok and looking forward to reading an awful
lot of posts in the next few weeks.
I'm relatively new to finches and was just looking for a little help with the sex of this zebra finch , i was thinking female
but it has a very light cheek patch which only males have , is this correct .
Any help would be great .
thanks in advance.
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Craig52
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Joined: 11 Nov 2011, 19:26
Location: victoria

I'm fairly sure red strain zeb hens have the cheek patch although not as strong as cock birds.
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Rod_L
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Joined: 05 Mar 2018, 15:30
Location: Mandurah WA

Males have the orange cheek patch, females don't.
Males have a red beak and females have an orange beak.

I would say it is female.

Make sure she has a nest to sleep in at night.
death to all cats & ants
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finchbreeder
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Joined: 27 Jun 2009, 20:00
Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

In Red Zebs the females have a lighter version of the males cheek patches. She is a female Red Zeb. I have a number of Red Zeb hens with cheek patches even darker than hers. Put her to a normal fawn cock with the biggest chest band you can find - if you can't find a Red cock for her. Enjoy.
LML
LML
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Craig52
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Location: victoria

Thanks for clarifying that FB. :thumbup:
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E Orix
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Location: Howlong on NSW/Vic Border 30km from Albury
Location: Howlong NSW

I was informed that apparently you can't have splits in the Red Zebras.
If this is so if you put a fawn etc to a red then you should get red chicks.
Not sure if there is a ratio,the last two nests that have fledged were pair one
3 reds and a grey pair 2, 2 reds and a grey and to back the others up hens do have
an orange cheek patch
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finchbreeder
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I've been breeding Red Zebs since I bought my first pair in late 2015, and still don't really know how the genetics work. I just know what I have done and that I have some very good Reds. I started with a pair. The hen died. I put the cock in with (what I thought was) a normal fawn hen and left them and their offspring in the avairy. Taking those that showed no sign of red (and those that had pied feathers - which the hen must have been ((a white toe as I have examined her in detail))) out every now and then, and adding outcrosses that took my fancy (those that were "charcol or heavy on chest markings generally" in now and then. 2 years later I bought another pair of Reds and added them. Then continued to follow the same process. Another 2 years on I swapped some of my Zebs for a couple of Red hens - this time a fawn and a gray - up till this point I had been using fawn only. This is what has worked for me. And I started with 1 only Red. Hope that helps.
LML
LML
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Luppo
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Joined: 14 Sep 2020, 19:50
Location: Gold Coast , Queensland

Thank you everyone for the great responses.
Got some great tips and ideas .
Have a great weeknd.
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finchbreeder
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After 5 yrs of breeding the Reds I now know what happens just not why it works. If you use a Red to a normal, you will in theory get 25% red and 75% normal. If you use 2 Reds together you will in theory get 50/50 red and normal. Its like flipping a normal coin and a 2 headed coin or 2 normal coins. How often does tails come up? Well that's what should happen with the Red gene. Now go flip the coins and you will see what I mean about in theory. Love the challenge myself.
LML
LML
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RPatchett
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Joined: 04 Dec 2019, 20:35
Location: PERTH WA

Looks like a female - we have same colouring zeb. Male cheek patches on these colourings look pale, not necessarily orange. Also beak looks lighter colour - males are red beak MOST of the time. Also check feathers under wings - are they spotty? If yes, that could indicate male. If no, then you probably have a little female here. She’s beautiful.
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