Questions about Zebra finch book

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CathyCraftz
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I have a book about zebra finches and would like to ask a few questions.
1. What is the difference between a normal grey zebra and a Timor one? I have seen photos of the ones from Timor and they look like one of my hens, but she looks like a normal grey. She also has yellowish feathers in the area under her wings and all the way to the end of her tail.
2. The book says that zebras can be bred once they are at least 9 months old. When I searched on websites, the minimum age is 1 year. Which one is correct?
3. What part of the dandelion can they eat? The stem, the flower or the leaves?
4. I don't normally feed my finches lettuce, but I have heard that it is low in vitamins but high in water content, meaning that the finch will usually get diarrhea after consuming it. Is it true? My hens usually get green droppings after eating their favourite green: spinach!
5. Does using nest boxes produce healthier fledglings than nests? I have used only nests because they are cheaper but the eggs that my old pair laid are always infertile and they had been trying for months.
6. Also, if the eggs keep being infertile, should the pair be split up and given new partners or wait till the next breeding season to try again?
7. Is it compulsory that the parents must be fed with soft food when their chicks hatch to feed them?
8. I have seen in photos that the male is always larger than the female. Why is this?

Sorry for giving everyone so many questions, I just need to know so I can improve the life of my hens. I am planning to pair at least one of them up with a male and the other a male or female because one of them is really showing the potential of becoming a great parent. When she lays her eggs (she is old enough now) she sits on them nonstop and only comes out of the nest for a few pecks of seed or a drink of water and it's back in the nest again.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
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Rod_L
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No idea about Timor zebra finches. There might be a sub species from Timor but no idea.

In the wild zebra finches can breed within a month of leaving the nest. However, they should be allowed to mature properly before breeding. It is preferable that they are 1 year old before breeding, but it doesn't make a lot of difference if its 9 months or 12 months.

I don't feed dandelion. Zebra finches eat mainly grass seeds, especially green grass seeds during the breeding season. Some birds will pick at and try thistle leaves and flowers but they usually need to learn that from canaries.

Any bird that is given a lot of green feed suddenly, and when they have not had greens in their diet, can get diarrhea. If you are unsure if a bird has had greens in their diet, then only offer a very small amount once a day for a week and then increase the amount slowly. This applies to all green leafy vegetables.
Spinach and silverbeet are much better for birds than lettuce. Dark green leafy vegetables are better than light green ones like lettuce.

Nest boxes do not give healthier young. If the adults are well fed and looked after, the young should be healthy. Try to get birds that are unrelated and they will produce healthier young that birds that are related.
Replace nests or nest boxes each year and keep them clean.

If your birds are not producing fertile eggs, then one bird is sterile, usually the male. But you could also have 2 female birds, depending on their colour. The best way to get breeding pairs is to have a group of birds (3 or more prs) and let the birds choose their own mates.

Adult birds do not need soft foods to successfully rear young. They do need a good diet and green feed each day, and if possible green grass seeds. Egg biscuit or boiled egg is helpful and most birds take it but it is not essential.

Male birds are generally slightly bigger than females.
death to all cats & ants
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starman
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The Timor Zebra Finch is a slightly smaller bodied bird than the Australian Zebra. It has a grey coloured breast rather than white, and fewer breast bar markings. It is thought to be the evolutionary parent of the Australian Zebra, spreading from the NW over many millennia and evolving with slightly different features and habits, mainly attributed to the differences in terrain and climate.
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CathyCraftz
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Rod_L many websites about zebra finches do not recommend feeding them lettuce because it is very low in vitamins and high in moisture. Like you said, I only feed my finches spinach, partly because they wouldn't take any other greens, the fussy little things :lol: . I also thought that it is best to feed adult finches soft food because it's easier to digest then they can feed the babies with it? I did a little research about Timor zebras and the only difference between them and the normal grey is that they are smaller.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
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Rod_L
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Australian finches are seed eaters and don't normally take much if any live food during the breeding season. African finches do take live foods.
Australian finches use primarily green grass seeds for their young. However, they can be given live food and egg biscuit mix to supplement the seed diet. Egg biscuit will be taken more readily than most insects but it depends on the birds an what they have been fed previously, and if any of their cage mates are willing to try live food. Birds learn from each other so if you have birds that take live foods and egg biscuit mixes, then the other birds usually watch and learn and eventually try the new foods.
A simple egg biscuit mix consists of 1 hard boiled egg and 1/2 cup of cornflakes. Put the cornflakes into a paper or plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into little pieces. Then peel the boiled egg and crush that into the cornflakes. Remove the food at the end of the day and make a new mix the next day.

You can use soaked or sprouted seed for them too. Put 1/2 cup of finch seed into a container of tap water. Leave it to soak overnight. Then put the seed into a sieve and rinse under the tap. Put the rinsed seed into a plastic bag and seal it up. Leave it on top of the fridge or window sill for 24 hours before rinsing again and offering to the birds.
Soaked seed is seed that has been soaked and swollen up but has not germinated yet. Sprouted seed is soaked seed that has produced a root, which is quite east to spot. You can use either, I prefer sprouted.

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Are the zebra finches in your avatar (picture) the ones producing infertile eggs? If yes it is because they are both female. Males get the orange cheek patch and have a red beak. Females have an orange beak.
death to all cats & ants
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CathyCraftz
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My zebras in my avatar sometimes lay eggs and I know that they are infertile. I used to have a male finch with the finch on the left but their eggs never hatched. I torched them and they were infertile.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
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finchbreeder
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Feed them the whole dandelion plant. Mine pick through it and take what they want. Most will be left, but that's fine because when I eat a pomegranate most is left but I get the good stuff. So think of dandelions as the finch equivalent.
You said your old pair had infertile eggs. Perhaps old is the relavant word? The cock may be too old? Or they may have been incompatable and it might work with a different hen. Birds like people are allowed to say "no way, he/she is not my type" :shifty:
The most effective way to get birds to try something is to introduce it as soon as the young exit the nest. Curious kids will try most things. That way if the parents have not had it the young can still learn to do so. This is particularly useful when you get birds from a source that is not as good as you intend to be at giving the best to the birds. (and with petshop birds in particular we have no way of knowing, and some of the most interesting mutations came from a random petshop bird)
Like Rod said, mostly the boys are bigger than the girls but you will come accross a few exceptions.
Enjoy your birds.
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CathyCraftz
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When I mean by my old pair, I mean that my male had escaped from the cage so I had to buy the female another companion.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely, Cathy
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore
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