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Zebraman

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Posts posted by Zebraman

  2. Posted

    I read this in yesterday's paper, believe it or not, it's a fact...HAVING a muscular body and being in peak physical condition in not enough to attract some birds.Adventurous female Zebra finches preferred males who seemed the most outgoing - irrespective of their appearance - in a series of 'personality tests'. They were shown two similar-looking males who had been placed in an unfamiliar cage.The adventurous females spent more time with the male who appeared more confident in exploring his surroundings. Less outgoing females showed less preference, in the study of more than 150 birds conducted by Exeter University.'We have the first evidence that it's important for partners to have compatible personalities in the mating game,' said study leader Dr Sasha Dall.'This is something that we would probably all agree is the case for humans but which has been overlooked for other species.'Co-author Dr Wiebke Schuett, from the Royal Veterinary College, also said the offspring of adventurous couples tended to be better conditioned than others.'Similar patterns have been seen in other birds and fish,' she added.Gary.

  6. Posted

    I tried crushing some seeds in a pestle and mortar today, but they are too oily to crush so I put them in a blender, which produced better results and chopped them in to smaller pieces. I have placed a few dishes into several cages to see how the birds take to them.I also plan to add a small amount to my next egg food mix to see what effect this will have on the breeding pairs and their young.Gary

  7. Posted

    I'm always on the look out for bits and pieces when I'm out with the misses as there's all sorts you can pick up cheap if you just look in the right places.Does anyone use Spirulina?Gary.

  9. Posted

    Well I went to my local market today whilst out shopping with the misses a got a big bag for £1.45, there must be between 2 or three thousand sunflower hearts in it. My plan is to crush some with my pestle and mortar and offer in a small ramekin dish to see what happens. If they take them I'll add them to my list of supplements to use during and after the breeding season.Based on the size of the bag and the price it's a real cost effective way of adding to the birds nutrition.Gary.

  10. Posted

    I've recently been following the post on building up birds for the coming show season and was interested to hear that some members use Sun Flower Hearts to build up their birds.Now I know that everyone has their own concoctions to add weight to their birds and bring them in to show condition, but how do you feed these seeds? Do you crush them and add to normal seed or is there something that I'm missing?Your reply's would be greatly appreciated.Gary.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Marc and Jo,Welcome to ZFFUK.If your birds are in breeding condition they will usually go down almost immediately after the chicks have been weaned or the chicks have died or the eggs have been removed.Just make sure you clean the nest of old material and give them some new. You should then see the cock bird start to build the nest for the hen. Once complete she will start to lay eggs a day apart.They should start to sit constantly after she has laid three to four eggs, then after 12 to 14 days you should see the first chick hatch dependent on conditions.The rest is as Mark and Paul have advised.Good luck and just ask if you need any help, I know how it feels to lose your first chick, we've all been there...Gary.

  19. Posted

    don't loose hope Ty, it will heal given time and the bird will still breed even with a leg out of place.I've had a couple of birds that have broken their leg and they have still produced young once the healing process has past.You will be surprised how much a bird will adapt to a small disability.Gary.

  20. Posted

    Hi Tyrone,I think you might be looking at a broken leg, but it's hard to say without seeing it. If it is there's not a real lot you can do. I use Savlon cream, which is good and it's antiseptic based as well.A broken leg will heal on it's own in time, but it is essential that the bird is isolated so that it doesn't cause any more damage by being in with other birds.Hope this helps,Gary

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Now, I have to disagree here, based on the photo, i would agree that he has good feather, his flanks are bold and the under parts are consistent in colour. The head seems to be in shape with the body, but as we have said before, photo's can be deceptive. Based on what I can see I certainly wouldn't knock this bird.Just my personal preference though.Paul if you don't mind can you email me the original photo, I'd like to study him in more detail. Looking at the picture again the flanks seem to be outstanding on this bird, what year is he?regards,Gary.

  23. Posted

    I had a strange thing happen recently that I’ve never experienced before; I’ve currently got a couple of pairs down at the moment, one being a pair of Normals split for lightback. This pair recently raised five young, which had successfully fledged and were at the stage of feeding themselves and were just about ready to be removed from the adults.Sex and colours of young:-2 x Lightback Hens1 x Normal Hen 2 x Normal CocksOne evening I went into the setup to lock up for the night only to find that all five young had set upon the male and had him pinned in the corner of the cage (not the normal gaping for food). This must have been going on for some time as he was exhausted to say the least.I immediately removed both the parents and put them in a double breeder with some older birds, which I had retired. The young settled down and everything seemed to be fine.The next night I went in to lock up as usual, but this time the adult cock bird was doing the same thing to his partner?This is the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like this, yes I’ve had pairs squabbling with each other before and I’ve also had the usual plucking episodes, but I’ve never had them go at each other to these extremes, this sequence of events seems a bit strange to me and I was wondering if anyone else had suffered anything similar?Gary.