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Sotonzeb

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Posts posted by Sotonzeb

  3. Posted

    Has anyone previously experienced with their Zebbies what i can best desribe as a white crusty like build up on the bird's beak? Any ideas what this could be and how to treat it?This male now also appears to have some feather loss on the back of his neck. Another male has had missing feathers on the back of his neck for a few weeks now but he doesn't have the crusty formation on his beak.

  4. Posted

    Hi Dean,I did something similar when building my own aviary this year. I secured the aviary to the shed with screws ensuring that it was tightly secured. The link between the outside flight and the shed is a hatch roughly 6 inches square. Place it as high as you can as the birds will probably dislike flying "down" from their perched position to get in and out.It will be handy to have sliding a cover for the hatch so that you can shut them in when the weather is bad or shut them out when cleaning the shed. I have a batten about a foot long attached to a flat piece of wood just big enough to cover the hatch. This is placed in my indoor flight, just because i found it easier that way.Perches inside would be pretty much a must as it will invite the birds to stay inside when you want them too. In my experience they don't need boxes, unless you want them to immediately use it to nest!! I keep the food in the inside flight. This helps prevent vermin contamination and also encourages the birds to recognise the indoor flight as being somewhere secure to return to.Hope this helps!Sean

  5. Posted

    Hi everyone.I haven't posted since my first imploring help a few weeks ago having lost some of my first ever Zebbies. Being a bit superstitious i decided to hold on.Anyway, i was left with 1 pair out of the 3 pairs i bought and kept them in the internal flight while i waited if they recovered. In the end i put a nest box in so they had somewhere to rest and recuperate and generally feel a bit more comfortable. This co-incided with them improving so rather than buy new birds i thought i would add some nesting material and soon enough they made a nest and gave me the impression they had eggs.As it's mine (and theirs) first ever brood i consciously left them alone and let nature takes it's course. As a result my first ever chicks fledged a week ago, 6 of them!It might help others for their first broods to know that i put out special soft food mixed with a bit of water every day but the adults never took to this at all. Fortunately i read on this forum that you could use a hard boiled egg, which i mixed with a dash of cod liver oil and my chicks were raised almost entirely on this.Sorry for the rambling on but i would just like to thank Mark, Paul and Zebraman for taking the time to respond to my first posting. I still can't put my finger on what caused my 4 zebbies to die but your input lifted my spirits when my chin was on the floor.Before i go, the parents are both Fawn. I have read somewhere that i will only have Fawn chicks and yet one has a lot of white on the wings and around the face, like a Pied. Is it possible i'll have a Pied from a pair of Fawns?All the best to everyone and Thank you for this Forum!

  6. Posted

    Thank you for the comments Paul and Mark.I am now down to 1 pair having bought 3 pairs less than a fortnight ago. I had a close look at the one that died yesterday but i couldn't see any sign of mites, and the birds haven't been scratching either. Neither is there still any sign of mice.I have been adding Avipro plus to their water on a daily basis.Since i bought them from an outdoor aviary (so should be used to the outdoor temperatures), there is no sign of mites or vermin and i have been careful to feed them correctly i can only think they weren't 100% when purchased or didn't like their new surroundings?As i am down to 1 pair do you think they would benefit from the company of birds bought elsewhere?Many thanks again.Sean

  7. Posted

    Thank you for the replies.I hae left a mouse trap and sprinkled flour on floor by the door but not discovered anything yet.How could i check for mites?I am currently left with 1 femalethat looks fine, a male puffed out with a bald patch/lump on a shoulder and anothr female looking a bit sory for herself, though eating and drinking.Thanks again.Sean

  8. Posted

    Last week i bought my first ever Zebra Finches (3 pairs) to go in my 6'x6' aviary, with smaller internal flight/shelter.They settled in fine, so much so that a pair soon paired up and left an egg even though i wasn't ready to allow breeding to start. The very next day (a week after purchase) the "Father" suddenly died, followed by another male. The 4 remaining looked lethargic and sick and i am currently left with 3. Can anyone give me clues as to what caused things to go so suddenly wrong? Could it be that i hadn't cleaned the new perches thoroughly enough? They picked something up when groundfeeding? This is all i can think is the cause but i bought them from an outdoor aviary shop so expected them to have some hardiness.I fed them securely packaged finch seed, millet, cucumber, lettuce, carrot and of course water. Is there something i am missing? Any comment would be greatly appreciated as i am currently worried about buying replacement birds.Sean