parrots world

Zebra Finch Terms Fledge A chick first leaving the nest.  A fledgeling is a chick newly out of the nest. Flight A very large cage where the birds can fly freely.  Usually many feet long and high. Split Having the genes of more than one color mutation Mutation A trait that is not on the normal wild bird. This is a random occurring event.  In captive breeding we can continue this rare event with selective breeding. The different colors on Zebra finches are mutations. Selective Breeding Manually picking the specific birds to pair up for mating.  Usually done to continue a color mutation or to combine two color mutations. Inbreeding Mating family members.  Mating brother and sister is generally not a good thing.  Weak and/or deformed young may be produced.  Prolonged inbreeding will eventually return very poor results in the offspring.  Examples: Father x Daughter, Son x Mother, Brother x Sister.  From Webster's Dictiona...

Basic Breeding  Zebra finches are a joy to watch as they prepare their nest and raise their young.  The mating dance and song of the male is fun to watch and is a good indication that they are happy and ready to breed.  The male ‘sings’ and bounces on the perch to attract the hen.  He will soon try to jump on top of the hen.  If she is willing, they will mate.  This only takes a few seconds.  He will try this repeatedly. There are many considerations when attempting to breed Zebra finches.  Zebra finches breed freely in captivity, sometimes even under strange conditions, but we should try to provide them a healthy and happy environment. Zebras mature quickly and can start to mate at 11-12 weeks.  For healthier strong birds it is recommended that they be 6-9 months before allowing the to mate. The placement of the cage or cages should be in an area that does not have a lot of people/pet traffic.  The cages sho...