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My Finch Laid Eggs?

February 7, 2011

My Finch Laid EggsI have 2 male finches and one female finch (all Zebras). I have tried to add a pure white finch before, but they wouldn't play with her or be very nice and she died.

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This morning, I went to clean their cage and found a egg in their seed bowl. I have never put in a breeding nest and am now unsure if the egg will hatch or if this is just something that happens every now and again. I'm rather confused because I was told they wouldn't breed without privacy.

What should I do to look after a baby finch? Will they lay another egg? I'm assuming no, but thought I should ask anyway. Will it be a issue that there is two males?

Thanks to all that help. Lana :)

By Alanah from Brisbane

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Diamond Feedback Medal for All Time! 1,023 Feedbacks
June 2, 20052 found this helpful
Best Answer

I have two finches and I was told that as long as you don't put a nest in the cage they won't lay eggs. Well, mine did, and she layed them in the food tray. So, I just added another food tray so I didn't disturb the eggs. But, I only saw them sit on the eggs a few times. I'm not watching constantly but, when do they sit on them?

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Or are these eggs going to not hatch? Please help. I have made some calls to pet stores and I was told to throw the eggs out. Well, I can't! They are only about a week old. Any information I would greatly appreciate! Thank you,

LilHoneyBrat form Minnesota

 

Gold Post Medal for All Time! 846 Posts
February 9, 20112 found this helpful
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I once had a pair of finches and she laid eggs all of the time but the eggs were never fertilized by the male so, of course, they never hatched. If she has laid all the eggs (zebra finches often will not sit on them until the last one is laid) and is not sitting on them constantly, except for eating, then they are not fertile or something is not right about them. If as time passes the eggs take on a deeper blue/grey color then there is an embryo but if she's not sitting on them the majority of the time they are not going to hatch. Zebra finch eggs generally hatch at 14 to 18 days.

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You should also make sure she has enough calcium nutrition since she'll often lay eggs. There are special egg foods available at pet stores and it wouldn't hurt to have nesting material just in case there ever ends up being fertile eggs. Don't touch any of the eggs until you know they are not going to be hatched because many birds will shun their eggs after being disturbed.

Enjoy your finches! I loved mine because they made the most relaxing sweet sounds and it was fun to watch their antics. Oh, and every time the phone rang they broke in to a chorus. Oh, and there are ooddles of books on finches at the library so maybe check a couple out to learn more about your babies. :-)

 
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22 More Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

April 21, 2017

My two finches laid their egg in the seed basket. Should I move their egg (would the mother reject it) or is it safe if the egg stays in the seed basket? Thanks.


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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
April 21, 20171 found this helpful
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I would move the egg and hope for the best.

 

Diamond Post Medal for All Time! 1,246 Posts
April 22, 20171 found this helpful
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I'd move it but then swap the places of the egg and the seed basket so its technically in the same place.

 
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December 3, 2021

My zebra finches have laid eggs for the second time . First one didn't hatch except one, which I found dead on the bottom of cage. I removed the nest and old eggs and cleaned everything. My husband's clothes are in the same room as the cage but we don't bother them, just food & water.

How can I keep the next ones if they hatch alive?Two zebra finches in a cage.
 

My zibra finch had eggs 1 hatched . She stopped taking care of it and then I found it on the bottom of cage dead.. Now she has more eggs . What can I do to help them live ?

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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 140 Posts
December 8, 20210 found this helpful
Best Answer

These are birds, and they know what to do to take care of there own. This type of breed can even tell when a egg is good or bad. Let nature and the birds take its course.

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When cleaning respect the nest, because , if touched to much , birds will abandon the them.

 

Silver Answer Medal for All Time! 440 Answers
December 23, 20210 found this helpful
Best Answer

Since your zebra finches have laid eggs for the second time, then they are young. A pair of young finches may be unsuccessful in their mating attempts, the female may still lay her underutilized eggs. Also young hen may neglect her eggs and fail to bring them to full term. This is quite common for young finches.
Single eggs in a clutch may fail to hatch, due to an unborn chick not developing properly, or because that particular egg somehow managed to avoid fertilization.

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Watch your birds next time, but do it carefully so as not to disturb them. If the chicks do not hatch again, then check to see if all the eggs were fertile. Hold the egg in front of a candle or strong light to observe for any signs of fertility. A fertile egg will clearly show a blood vessel network; an embryo formed that resembles an opaque shape will be clearly visible.

The most obvious sign that the parents are abandoning their chicks is finding the chicks on the cage or aviary floor. If you find a tossed chick next time, and it's still alive, warm it in your hands before putting it back in the nest. You may need to put the chick back several times.
Another clear sign the nest has been abandoned is if the parents aren't in the nest and don't go back in to the nest for several hours. If their environment is quite warm they may not need to brood their young as often. However if several hours go by and you are fairly sure the finches have made no attempts to return to the nest, it's time to check the clutch: put a finger inside the nest, if the chicks and remaining eggs are cold the touch they have been abandoned.

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The best course of action is to know when the eggs are due to start hatching. Wait 3-4 days after the first egg was to have hatched, then check the nest. If the oldest chick is still alive, it is being fed. If it is dead, then it was not fed. The last option is for you to hand feed the chicks. This is not only extremely difficult and time consuming but it's also quite risky for the chick.

 
January 4, 20221 found this helpful
Best Answer

It may be what food is being fed. More probably the adults are being startled and when leaving the next inadvertently knock a young one out of nest. I didn't isolate my birds, so we were careful to not startle them at their cage. We did move about the house as usual and birds and people cohabitated. We fed our finches a regular but varied diet of birdseed with treats of thistle seed, a few bugs, meal worms and greens like grass or even a bit of lettuce. I feel however that the young birds are falling from next accidentally when mom or pop become startled.

 
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May 5, 2022

We may have two female society finches laying eggs that we are not sure will hatch. Do they need a male to hatch?


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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 267 Posts
May 5, 20220 found this helpful
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If you have no male birds, the female finches cannot lay viable eggs. There could be a small chance that you accidentally got a male but if you see both birds laying, the eggs are infertile and should be discarded soon.

 
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March 28, 2017

This is my first time owning zebra finches. About 20 days ago one started laying eggs and finished about 2 weeks ago. She laid 4 eggs in total. Today I noticed a 5th egg. Should I remove the other eggs?

Also I'm not even sure that I don't have 2 females. I'm sure my grey one is a female. And they make different sounds, but I am unsure about the white one.

Zebra Finch Laid Eggs
 
Zebra Finch Laid Eggs
 

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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 255 Posts
March 30, 20172 found this helpful
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Usually they don't start to sit on them until after they lay the last egg. So, start your timing from the final egg, and then give a couple extra days just incase.

 
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January 7, 2017

What do I do if my zebra finches lay their eggs in different spots and I don't know how long they have been there?


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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
January 7, 20171 found this helpful
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The article I read said that the bird will lay one egg a day until she is finished. She can lay up to 8 eggs, but usually 3 to 6. She will start incubating when the last egg is hatched. An egg that has not hatched after 20 days is considered infertile.

 
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March 9, 2022

Gouldian sits on eggs only during the day but not at night?


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March 11, 20220 found this helpful
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Both Gouldian-parents help incubate the eggs during the day, but only the female sits on the egg during the night. Are you sure the female has already finished laying her eggs? Egg binding is an especially serious problem affecting female Gouldian finches during the time that they are attempting to lay eggs. Often, first time finch parents won't sit on their egg right away. Many species of finch won't even start incubating their eggs until the entire clutch is laid.

 
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February 17, 2020

My finches laid eggs, but it has been over 18 days can they still hatch?


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July 13, 2016

I have a pair of finches. They laid four eggs more than one week ago. After laying the fourth egg they broke the egg.

Initially they sat on the eggs for some time, but now they are not sitting on the eggs. What should I do?

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July 14, 20163 found this helpful
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Remove the eggs, they are spoiled. I raised finches and Canaries for years. The broken egg or it's remains would have spoiled in the nest & made an unhealthy habitat for other viable eggs. Clean the nest & try again. I'm really sorry.

 
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December 11, 2015

I have two finches, one male and one female. She laid to eggs, but I don't know when one egg fell out of the nest and broke. I didn't know until too late and it was dead in the egg.

How can I help the last egg survive? And how often do finches mate and when do they mate?

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May 9, 20171 found this helpful
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That was the best information I received since I got me Finches.
My first male didn't like the female so I took i back to the pet shop.
These two like each other just fine. I have had 12 eggs in a very short time .( in 2 different settings).The first clutch didn't work for me except for one and I tried to candle it and I broke it. I had a moving chick that I think would have hatched in about a week.
Read all you can on hatching chicks.It will help you in the long run.

 
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July 15, 2017

Why hasn't my egg hatched when it's over due?


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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 255 Posts
July 15, 20170 found this helpful
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You start counting from when the bird starting sitting on it, not from when it was laid. Are you sure it was a fertile egg?

 

Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
July 16, 20170 found this helpful
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Eggs may be laid 2 weeks before the bird starts sitting on them.

 
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March 28, 2022

I have a female cannery bird and she laid an egg. Does it hatch without a male bird? Thank you for helping.


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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 140 Posts
March 28, 20220 found this helpful
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You have to have a male, in order to have a liable egg. There are several steps and precautions to take in order to breed male and female canary's . They tend to fight each other if conditions are not good. Here are steps and troubleshooting - www.petcraft.com/.../

 
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September 27, 2017

My finches have laid eggs, but are not sitting on them and are panicking. What should I do?


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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 433 Posts
September 28, 20170 found this helpful
Best Answer

They will not sit on them until they are done laying all their eggs.
That way they will all hatch at the same time.

 
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October 3, 2018

My white finch birds laid 3 eggs and were sitting on them continuously for 3 days. On the 4th day they stopped going into the nest.

They didn't sit on it for around 10 hours. They just see the eggs from outside and hardly go in for less than 20 minutes.

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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
October 3, 20181 found this helpful
Best Answer

That is not a good sign. See if there is another nest, and combine the eggs.

 
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July 12, 2018

Originally I had 2 finches. I assumed they were both female. They would lay eggs then not really bother sitting on them. However, one of my birds died and I got another. I was still unsure whether or not it was male or female. Although I think now it's a male. My other female has just laid 3 eggs and has been sitting on them constantly.

When she's not, he will take over. I am thinking I'm going to have some baby birdies in the next 2 weeks. Is there anything special I should feed them or just let nature do its thing? They seem happy and content.

My Finch Laid Eggs - two white finches
 

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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 107 Posts
July 13, 20180 found this helpful

The best thing to do is provide the birds as much privacy as possible. Don't try looking in the nest to count or check on eggs. You can get some excellent, basic finch breeding information at www.petfinchadvice.com/zebra-finch-breeding/
I hope the eggs hatch and you enjoy the pleasure of watching the little ones mature.

 
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February 14, 2018

My finches laid eggs, but they didn't hatch. Someone has said that they will never hatch, can you tell me if this is true.
Thank you.


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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 105 Posts
February 14, 20181 found this helpful
Best Answer

No this isn't true. Normally the female will lay one egg a day and it could go on for 4 to 6 days. After the last egg is laid that is when she will sit on the nest. If she isn't sitting on the nest then the eggs will never hatch at all.

 
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June 30, 2018

My finch laid twelve eggs. Is there anything I should do or buy besides feeding and watering them?


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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
July 1, 20180 found this helpful
Best Answer

This is the time when you should let nature take its course. Dont bother the birds or handle them.

 
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July 19, 2017

I have 2 pairs of finches in my cage, 1 of the females just laid an egg and now she and her mate are being extra protective and a little aggressive towards the other pair. Should I move the other pair into their own separate cage or should I just leave everything alone since the other pair has started laying?

I don't want to disturb the other pair since they just laid their first egg today and I don't want them to get scared or reject the egg or stop laying eggs. What should I do?

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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
July 19, 20170 found this helpful
Best Answer

They should be moved to a separate cage.

 
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June 18, 2016

I had bought a pair of zebra finches, a brother and sister, from a friend and after keeping them a while the female died. I didn't know what to do so I bought a new zebra finch and put her in his cage immediately and she laid an egg.

They have not incubated it. What should I do?

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January 11, 2021

About a year ago, my LPS sold me two zebra finches. As you can tell by the title, they sold me two zebra finches claiming they were females. I believed them, because I have had a male Finch before. These two "girls" looked like girls. I just didn't want a breeding pair.

Well, now I've got one! I knew that they had some eggs in their little house because they were getting aggressive. My female Canary did that. I cleaned out my aviary yesterday evening and decided to grab the eggs. And low and behold, I grabbed a baby. After freaking out, frankly I am still a bit shaken, I decided to do some research. The baby is about 8 days old, I believe: I can see his eyes behind the film, blinking. Not many feathers. He is about 1/2 the size of the adults.

I would take a picture, but their nest is deep and I have fake plants all over the aviary so they can have places to hide. The nest is conveniently behind one of the fake leaves.

I think there were about 7 eggs. When I rooted around (and found the baby), I saw that two of the eggs were broken so I removed them. So about 5 eggs left. And one big baby. I have read that after 20 days if the others haven't hatched I can remove them.

Here are my questions: Will the Mom keep laying eggs to replace the two cracked ones? Will she keep laying eggs after her baby is grown? I want to remove and put in dummy eggs (I did this for my Canary), but I don't want to unintentionally "abort" any of the babies. Suggestions??

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