Zebra finches are small birds native to the Australian grasslands. Zebra finches make delightful pets, and you can house them in either indoor or outdoor aviaries. Adult males are typically more colorful than the females, and are easily recognizable by the black and white stripes across their throats and their bright orange cheeks. Zebra finches breed easily in captivity and raise their young without fuss. These little birds are highly social and are not aggressive toward other bird species unless housed in overcrowded aviaries.
Social Creatures
Zebra finches are highly social birds but retreat in the presence of people. These small finches gather in huge flocks in the wild and instinctively retain the need to be surrounded by others of their kind in captivity. Keep zebra finches in pairs if you do not have facilities for a group of these seed-eating birds. Despite their social nature, zebra finches do not like to be handled and petted.
Close Physical Contact
Zebra finch pairs spend most of their time together. Aviary owners will frequently see these birds grooming each other or simply resting together. Male and female zebra finches may bicker occasionally. These squabbles are often related to nest duty, in cases where both parents want to incubate their eggs. You can distract an aggressive male by offering him a toy on which to vent his ire.
Aggressive Parents
Some zebra finch parents will occasionally pull at the feathers of their older chicks. This rare behavior is geared to encourage the young birds to leave the nest and become independent of the parent birds. An overcrowded aviary also causes this behavior, which may appear hostile to the uninitiated eye. Despite trying to drive the chicks out, the parent birds do not harm the chicks in any way.
Aggression in Captivity
Female zebra finches become aggressive in the absence of mates to choose from, and male finches will squabble over nesting space in overcrowded aviaries. If you want to keep zebra finches, always ensure that they have sufficient space, nesting material and food. Also make sure to house your birds in the correct sex ratios. A pair of these very active little finches requires an aviary at least 28 inches long by 18 inches high and 18 inches wide. Spacious aviaries prevent zebra finches from bickering among themselves and with other finch species.
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