We have a pair of Zebra Finches. The male and female lined the nest (the female actually plucked feathers from the male's neck to do some of this even though there was material in the cage) The hen laid the eggs, 3 over 4-5 days. Our concern now is that the Hen will not let her partner anywhere near the nest and pecks and chases him away.

Is this normal behaviour? We do not want to seperate them unless we really have to.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

zebra finches are normaly very sociable and share nest duties. some indaviduals are overly defensive with the nest area bu8t ive never heard of one seeing off their own partner from the nest site. leave them to it just now and provide some more nest material

I have two zebra finches. They both always share the nest, take turns. And when the lights are off the both jump in there.

This does sound like odd behavior. I'd suggest going to a pet shop and talking to someone who knows a lot about the birds. Or maybe google it? The only problem I've ever had is my birds forgetting about the eggs. And sometimes the male pecks on the female, but thats to be expected.

__________________

Ive got 3 pairs of Zebras.
1 Pair of Normals with 3 chicks at 2 weeks old now.
1 Buff pair with 5 eggs and incubating on 5th day.
1 Pair Whites with 9 eggs and incubating on 5th day.
This is the Whites first clutch and all are fertile from what I can see!!
How are they going to manage to feed them all..Im expecting most not to hatch or die fairly soon after.
This is the 1st time Ive tried my hand at breeding and Im quite shocked. All are in the living room in large breeding cages until the Spring when we will be building an aviary for them. Any advice would be great!!