Henry and Pearl

I am fascinated by these two little zebra finches. It never gets tiring, watching these two. They make the sweetest little sounds and their devotion to each other is truly heartwarming. I'm not an expert and don't claim to be, but I do know enough about my pets to keep them healthy and happy.
That being said, Zebra finches are originally from Australia and live on the seeds from the grasses that grow there. They have no "set" breeding season and will only reproduce when they think the environment is just right for rearing their young. This is why I feel really blessed that they have tried at three clutches and successfully reared three healthy, happy babies. Their first two attempts ended sadly... I think they were to young and inexperienced but the last one gave us alot of joy!!! (If you look closely you can see a baby just about to leave the nest in the above picture. )

This is the happy family. in order...Pearl, Henry and the babies. They first begin by getting the nest ready. This is really fun to watch. Henry is so busy taking bits of fiber and wool yarn and paper up to the nest. Then he eats while Pearl arranges things just so. This continues until they are quite satisfied with the way "things" are. Notice that it is so full with fiber that it is spilling out the little door. When she is sitting and the babies are young she can pull the fiber up and almost completly close the door.

They work together like this for about a week or so, back and forth, back and forth and then one day Pearl goes in and you don't see her so often any more. Henry takes her food and cuttle bone and sings proudly on the perch just outside the nest. She will come out to take a bath with him or just hang out, outside the nest. As soon as she does he pops in and keeps the eggs warm until she is ready to go back in.

The devotion and team work is really impressive. "They" say to not let your pair have to many clutches in a row and I can definitely see why. Pearl continues to lay eggs off and on when the next box is out of the cage so it's not really for her health in that way. I think its because they work so hard to prepare for the babies and then afterwards feeding them for so long.

Henry is the main care giver after awhile. Pearl seems to have less of a hard time telling them ENOUGH. When they begin to feed themselves and are drinking water well I removed them from the cage. Even though poor Henry was getting so thin, he continued to take care of them to the end. He even tried to feed them through the cages when I took them out. They get really greedy and aggressive, the babies do. I learned alot from this experience. It was great fun.

It has been several months, I removed the nest box and made sure they had a rest. We got an egg from time to time. And I just let them eat and sing and bathe to their hearts content. The babies were successfully given new homes and so.... We being again.

Henry and Pearl are busy feathering their nest and singing away. Their little nest is soon to be a very busy place. There is always so much to be learned from this world when we take the time to slow down and watch and listen. Its not always in the big stuff and that's refreshing to me.

Blessings, Sue

PS... Its really hard taking pictures of these little guys. They are fast. I als wanted to say that the babies were two little boys and one little girl. People have actually studied these guys and found that the song that the father bird sings is passed down generation after generation with only a slight varieation due to envirnment. I found this to be true as both the "boys" were singeing their daddie tune before long. COOL huh!!!