Zebra amadins are very common indoor birds that do not require special care and therefore are perfect even for very busy people. These birds are very beautiful, their body length is about 10 centimeters. There are many species that differ in the color of plumage. You can also distinguish a male from a female by color and by its beak. With regular and proper care, the life expectancy of birds is approximately 8-10 years.
The main food at home is millet yellow or red. In the winter season, zebra amadins love to feast on white cabbage and carrots, which should be finely grated. Fresh greens and slices of fresh apples, cucumbers, pears and zucchini should be added to their daily diet.
In summer, if possible, you can give them spikelets of cereals, stems with leaves of an oyster and unripe dandelion fruits. Birds need protein for proper growth and development. To do this, periodically you need to offer them a grated chicken or quail egg, cooked in a steep. It would be better if you add a little bloodworm and a couple of flour worms to the egg.
The cell containing zebra amadins should be 60 x 40 x 50 centimeters in size. In it you need to attach a small bath, as these birds just love to swim. You can’t pour too much water so that the birds do not drown.
In winter, due to the short daylight hours, feathered pets behave sluggishly and do not move much. Therefore, it is recommended to install artificial lighting next to the cage.
A drinking bowl, a feeding trough and two poles are also an integral part of the house. The bottom of the cage should be covered with clean river sand or shavings.
It must be borne in mind that in small amadina cages, zebras can be aggressive towards other birds, but in large open-air cages they are very peaceful.
Even in captivity, small zebra amadines can easily appear. Breeding of these birds begins quite early, so you need to be prepared for the appearance of chicks, even if the parents are only a few months old.
It is best to buy not one bird, but a couple at once, as they are pretty much attached to each other and will be very bored when separated. During the breeding season, it is best to put the box in the brightest room without drafts and to a height of at least 2 meters from the floor. Be prepared for the fact that zebra amadins, when hatched and feeding their chicks, will restlessly fly around the room.
The female lays from 4 to 7 eggs per clutch. The duration of hatching is 11-17 days. In the daytime, the female and the male sit on the eggs in turn, and at night together at the same time. Chicks feed on the semi-digested food of their parents. After about three weeks, the babies begin to fly out of their nest. Even after the chicks leave their native nest, the parents continue to feed them for some more time. It lasts about a month.
If you decide to have another bird, you should know that in order to avoid infection of other birds with possible diseases, you need to put it in a separate cage and watch it for some time.
It is necessary to monitor her litter. If the bird eats well, does not have diarrhea and constipation, it means that its digestive system is healthy. For the timely detection of endoparasites, you should take the litter for analysis to a veterinary clinic.
If diarrhea occurs, the bird can be given a decoction of rice or oats. Drink broth until diarrhea stops. Potassium permanganate also helps. Dilute it in the proportion of one crystalline per liter of water and drink it every other day.
Diseases of zebra amadins most often occur without symptoms, and they manifest themselves too late.