Zebra Finches have very strong breeding drives and often seem constantly eager to breed. Since raising young is a demanding job (especially for egg-laying females), it may be necessary to force zebras to stop and rest, particularly if they have raised three (or more) nests of young already.

To stop zebras from reproducing, remove everything that stimulates breeding, beginning with nests, nesting materials, seedling heads and anything else zebras might use for nest building. Keep non-breeding zebras away from other birds with babies because the begging calls from other birds' young will stimulate zebras to breed. If these measure fail, separate the sexes to prevent continuous breeding.

After breeding zebras for two years, I have 14 birds. I want to move them to an aviary with plants and take out nests to prevent further breeding.

Although zebras do like roosting in nests, they will adjust to sleeping on perches if the perches are secure and protected. Try including a few perches angled in the top back corners of the aviary, and put some hanging plants or other camouflage near these perches to screen them from direct view. If the perches appear secure and private, your birds should be satisfied to use them for roosting.

It is very rewarding to keep a small flock of zebra finches in a spacious aviary where these social birds can interact with their neighbors in a fairly natural way. The enclosure must be roomy, though, because zebras are very susceptible to problems caused by crowding (such as aggression, feather picking and breeding failures). For each 3 to 4 square feet of aviary floor space, you can probably house one pair of zebras. For example, a flight 6 feet long by 3 feet wide (18 square feet) can house four to six pairs of zebras. If you experience aggression or feather picking, reduce the number of birds.

Select nontoxic plants for the aviary because finches nibble foliage. Try Ficus species (such as weeping fig), ferns (especially Boston ferns, which are fairly sturdy choices), spider plants, palms, schefflera, grape ivy and bamboo. Jade plants, Swedish ivy, wandering Jew and Norfolk Island pine are also safe.

After the exterior of the nest is completed, most finches eagerly collect soft materials for use as a nest lining. If soft materials are not provided, finches may pluck their own feathers to place near their eggs or tiny nestlings. When your birds are ready to line their nest, you can prevent feather plucking by offering feathers (saved from your birds' last molt), plant down (from dandelions or thistles, for instance), bits of white tissue paper, moss, short pieces of string or shredded burlap.