By their high value and mostly people are high interest with them is drag some people to try raise him. High profit will be the guarantee while we see about the enthusiasm to this thing. Yes, it is. It is Zebra Finch. Zebra Finch is one all the most hunted finch for birdsong lovers besides Gold and Trucuk finches. Besides their voice, their beautiful feathers is one thing to be considerate why people looking this bird. Their body is dominated with grey-green color with orange touch in their eyes area.
Their below body is covered with white and brown leathers with white dots accent over it. Their beak is orange with black strap in the end side. It also has black eyes. And the last is the reason why this finch called as zebra finch. On the tail side is dominated with black and white color which strapped randomly like zebra. Unlike other finch, this type claimed as perfect package with both beautiful feathers and voices. Their beautiful feathers are also support their original skill like good survivor, smart imitator, and easy-benign. How to raise Zebra Finch for beginner in simple way?
The Steps
Well the step to raise Zebra Finch is not far different to raise the original. Here is the way:
1. The cage
The cage is mostly made of wire with size of 75x75x100 centimeters. The bottom of the cage will have to be given with land. It makes when the Zebra Finch threw away the dirt, it can be directly on the ground and not attached to the cage. Besides land, you can use sand to place it for bottom layer.
2. Tub giving
It must be tub inside Zebra Finch’s cage. This place will be their place to clean up the feathers. Don’t forget to also make nest for their birthplace. Make their cage as same as their wild life.
3. Food giving
The mainly food of Zebra Finch is soft fruit like banana or papaya. They are also ate some insects like grasshopper, butterfly, caterpillar, and etc. The more you change their food as long as usually what they are ate, it is easier he getting used with you. Usually Zebra Finch eats 3-4 grasshoppers per times, but don’t use it as mainly food that you give them every day.
4. Hang it
Don’t be lazy to hang your Zebra Finch every morning and evening in your terrace home. With hang it, the temperature and fresh air will drag him to comfortable feeling. If you too often lock Zebra Finch inside your home, it will increase stress level.
5. Change the water commonly
Water is important thing while you treat a bird, so does Zebra Finch. With using healthy and clean water, zebra finch can rise healthy so your finch will avoided from some diseases. Not only that, their tweet will be louder and more beautiful when he is strong and health. You better prepare new water every morning and evening.
6. Keep them clean
Bath your Zebra Finch every day in the morning. Wet their body using spray water. You can inside some water in bottle spray or also by directly from pipe. Your Zebra Finch will be fresh. After that, hang the wet Zebra Finch in the sun light. Nice timing to hang it is in 7-8 A.M.
7. Give a curtain to the cage
The curtain is using for as a cover when the night coming. As we know at the night, the air is become cooler than the day so the curtain will helps you to keep Zebra Finch still warmth. Zebra Finch is doesn’t like hotter or cooler temperature.
8. Make a perch
Every bird needs a perch to climb while he is in cage. Just put a piece of wood and let him climb it.
9. Vitamin and vaccination
Don’t forget to give them vitamin as additional nutrition to help them keep healthy. This vitamin also formulated for their tweet to make it louder and more beautiful. So does for vaccination. Aves are easily to infected virus so it is important to vaccine it commonly. You can find both of vitamin and vaccination on livestock market that sell various feeds and supplements.
10. Choosing brood
The more good quality when you choose brood, the more good quality Zebra Finch produced. Choose the good one like healthy, nice and shiny feathers, and the important thing that she is up to 8 months old and under 3 years old. Also, you need to pick brood which has lively motion, good appetite, and physical condition is free from disability. You could buy a couple male and female Zebra Finches to begin the raise process. How to know the sex of Zebra Finch? It’s easy. The male is fatter than female. In the bottom of their tail, the male’s feather is orange and the female is yellow. The male Zebra Finch has topknot above their head which is straight up and their head is bigger than female’s. The male’s voice is louder than female.
11. Breeding time
How i can breed that couple? Firstly, put both of male and female Zebra Finch in different cage and then get closer together. It makes them to know and interesting each other. To inform you that they are love each other, the male will keep close with the female and it means ‘okay’ when the female is always flapping her wings. After they show this symptom, put them all into same cage to let them breed.
Fun fact
- Zebra Finch: a mysterious lover
Female Zebra Finch leaves a mysterious love letter to the male. Well, it is not just poem that created to exaggerate the words. If you think that selective and well criteria love is only done by human, with this research, it would be breaking down. A research prove that Zebra Finch has not any criteria while choose their pair. Let me clear. There are so many kind of Zebra Finch sort by feathers. Black beak, red eye, red beak, or orange head, they are all Zebra Finch. Interestingly, female Zebra Finch has not same pattern when chose their pair. This is become unique while bird chooses the same feather as their pair. She doesn’t care if you have black beak or red beak or moreover orange head, she will choose you mysteriously. Only she knows the reason.
This fact triggers some researchers to prove it deeply. They are curious what will happen if they ‘force’ the female to pair with bird that doesn’t like. Firstly, the researchers organize speed dating to 160 Zebra Finch inside a cage which makes them able to create free pair. After that the half of them both male and female is arranged. And the result said Zebra Finch which free-choosing their pair 37% has more ancestry than arranged. The female will really nurture the children and the male are more diligent to visiting the nest.
The arranged-pairing is more produced bad eggs and mostly their baby is dead. The family situation is fake. The male is lazy to visiting the nest. They may be looking for new pair. Zebra Finch paired for live as parents which support each other. While their baby is allowed to choose their own pair, they will be more diligent parents. “It seems like love pairing will be more love their marriage, more invest to reproduction, more commitment, more loyal, and has more motivation to increase the family”, said Malika Ihle.