How to Breed Zebra Finches

Before attempting to breed zebra finches, a lot of things must be considered first. These attractive little birds breed freely in captivity, they are a very active breeder that sometimes you will have to separate them just to stop breeding.

 

Zebra finches are of the easiest bird to keep and breed. They are hardy, inexpensive and active little birds. I have provided here some guide in breeding zebra finches:

1. When buying zebra finches, you must select healthy couple, that is at least one year of age and place them in one cage.

2. With regards to cages, zebra finches need enough flying space for their exercise. The width is more important than its height, but the bigger cage you have, the better for the finches.

3. The cage should be placed in an area in your house where there are less traffic and noise and cage as much as possible must not be moved if the nesting process has started.

4. Zebra finches need sunlight. During their breeding season they will need 14 - 16 hours a day of sunlight but if there is no window in the area where your cage is located, you can put artificial source of light with timer.

5. The nesting material must be clean and safe. You can place their nest in the highest part of the cage as they will feel safer there.

6. Zebra finches need to be good shape. Continue feeding them with a good seed diet and they must not be calcium deficient so that their eggs will be developed well. You can increase their calcium by putting cuttle bone in their cage and including crushed oyster shell and mineralized grit in their diet.

7. Zebras lay one egg per day and it usually lasts to five days. They will start incubating the eggs on the fourth day. Both of the parents sit on the eggs and at around 12 days the eggs will start to hatch, both of the parents will also feed the young.

8. At about three weeks the young zebras will leave their nest and in five or six weeks they will be on their own. The parent zebra finches will start producing another clutch and you may need to separate the parents after 3 or 4 clutches in a row to give them break and build their strength again.