Aussie Finch Forum

Yes please Sierra , we are all intrigued as to how this works out in the long run . I dont know much about Finches but I do know they look to be very healthy little birds .

Tintola wrote: Was there a hen zeb in the same aviary?

Yes, 2 pair.

djb78 wrote: And is that the father in the picture?

Yes, that's Poppa.

Oh!! Uh, never seen a Society feeding it, I just thought it was half-breed because the beak is the same color as Society and the overall color is deeper, like the Society (not the pattern, butt he color). The beak changes color as they age? Here is a pic of my Society finches.



I did think it was odd because I've only seen Poppa (Zebra) feeding the young, and never the mother, who I thought was a Society. There are a few nests in there and I figured a Society hen must have mated with the Zebra and laid eggs in a nest that was thereafter taken care of by the Zebra pair.

Well, if so that's good. No hybridizing going on. Just a little embarrassed.

No need to be embarrassed, that's called learning. Next time you'll probably be on top of things and know who's with who and where they're nesting and what's going on in there.

OMG!!! Another mystery solved!! Fledgling Zebs always have a dark beak. It is thought that this is an adaptation to stop aggression in the father and to keep him feeding them. When their beaks start to turn to orange or red he will reject them, especially if they are male. By then they will be independant. No need to feel embarassed it had us all going there for a while! By the way, did you hear that YOUTUBE, TWITTER and FACEBOOK are merging to from a new social networking site called:.........YOU TWIT FACE.........lol: No offense meant.

djb78 wrote:Next time you'll probably be on top of things and know who's with who and where they're nesting and what's going on in there.

Yeah! I'll try. It just seems that everyone goes in and out of all the nests - well, I guess the Societies anyways. The Zebra's seem to stick to their nests.

Tintola wrote:Fledgling Zebs always have a dark beak. It is thought that this is an adaptation to stop aggression in the father and to keep him feeding them.

Ingenious!!

Tintola wrote:No offense meant.

None taken. Sorry for causing a stir...appreciate all the feedback and the new things learned.

Tintola wrote:OMG!!! Another mystery solved!! Fledgling Zebs always have a dark beak.

thanks for letting me know that, i never knew that. but still on that topic i sometimes get fledgling zebras that have pink beaks when they come out of the nest, also white and black. what does that mean ??? or is it only black when it's with the normals??

Youngsters having a dark beak on fledging is dependant on whether they are normal or dark coloured birds. Obviously a white or one of the lighter coloured mutations will have a much lighter beak (cream or pinkish) A young pied may be pretty dark all over but if the lightly pigmented skin happens to be on the face then the beak will not be dark.
Many experiments have been done on zebs. One was to paint the young ones beaks red, father not only refused to feed them but attacked them.