why won't they mate?

[stonewind]

My two zebra finches won't mate and I don't know why?
Whenever I put a nest in the male keeps trying to mate, but the female won't let him and keeps pecking at him. Then after he's tryed to mate a couple of times she won't stop pecking at him, even if he's not doing anything just sleeping or something, after that she won't let him go near her at all. That continues until at least a week after I take the nest out, then they're back to normal. How do I get them to mate?

[popcornbird]

Sometimes birds just don't like each other and won't mate no matter what you do. Maybe she doesn't like him! :confused: You may want to consider getting another bird for the male and another for the female. Maybe that will help. Be sure to provide the birds with proper food and the female with enough calcium if they end up mating and laying eggs.

[AdoreMyDogs]

Just as some humans are not attracted to each other, the same goes for animals. It's not always a given that they automatically feel attracted enough to mate, and there's little you can do about it. If the female is pecking at the male while the nest is up, keep it down and find another male for the female, or another female for the male. I think it sounds like the pair you have are not bonded and there's little you can do unfortunately.

Good luck. I raised zebra finches and I lucked out with chosing the right mate for my male and they made some beautiful chicks, but I was prepared to seperate them and find another female for my male if they did not bond. My male was a rescue. He was actually in a huge flight cage with 2 dozen other zebra finches and he was attacked so bad that his leg was bitten off. He was unsellable so I took him and he was a sweety. What beautiful songs he made! I ended up buying a white female, which I was not even 100% sure was a female until they began mating and she layed eggs. They bonded immediately.

Is it possible for you to try to get another cage set up and seperate the un-bonded pair, and try again with another bird? Or are you really bonded to the male and female pair that you have now, maybe you could return the female for another female, which your male might like better? Or vice versa? That would be my best advice.

Let us know what you decide if you can. I'd like to hear about the outcome.

[stonewind]

I know that they like each other because they always take care of each other and love to snuggle with each other. I'm hoping it's just because the female isn't ready.