subject: A Good Source of Information about Breeding Zebra Finches [print this page] A Good Source of Information about Breeding Zebra Finches
Breeding Zebra Finches can be a satisfying process it can usually be done well with a good diet of quality finch seed mix and a good pellet mix. Finches also like plenty of fruits and vegetables, egg food can be given when there is young to help with feeding the young and other bird safe fresh foods. Fresh sprouts are also highly nutritious and good for when you're breeding your finches.
Always make sure to provide your finches with a good calcium supplement, cuttlebone can be given and other calcium supplements are also very good to support for the hen during the egg producing process and also helps prevent egg binding when laying eggs.
The average Zebra Finch can lay up to 8 eggs in a single setting, with the average being between 3 and 6. When laying starts the hen will lay one egg each day until she is finished, she then starts the process of incubating the eggs once the last one is laid. Some breeders like to take the eggs out of the nest and replace them with dummy eggs until all the eggs are finished been laid, this ensures that the chicks will hatch at the same time and will all be the same size.
Most of the time eggs will start to hatch about 13 to 15 days after the hen begins to incubate them. As a rule, if an egg still hasn't hatched within 20 days, you can consider it to be infertile and remove it but sometimes it's a good idea to leave these eggs till the young is big enough so that the hen will not crush the chicks buy sitting to heavy on them. Always make sure there are no drafts because this will affect the young dramatically and can affect the digestion of food in the young chicks.
Most Finches are not a type of bird that can be handled under normal conditions because they are so miniscule little birds, the parents finches should be allowed to raise the hatchlings undisturbed. Disturbing them can upset the parents and the can sometimes stop feeding the young and abandon them. Be sure to provide plenty of millet for the parents to feed the babies and not forgetting the egg food, fruits and veg's. They will usually start to wean the young between the ages of 4 and 6 weeks and in this time the female may start laying more eggs to start the cycle again.
it's a good idea not to try an over breed your finches because this takes a lot out of the hen and can sometimes kill the hen. it usually take a long time to recover if you breed them to much two to three clutches per year is enough and its sometimes better to stick to two clutches per year.
