zebra finches can't fly

[quailmother]

hi Susie Q, Abby and Anny,
i don't have names for them- i call them "babies" so i would love to have your girls suggest names. there is one male, the regular color with cheek patch. the other light tan one is probably female. none of my parent finches were tan. funny how God works it out.
i am relieved i actually uploaded the picture for you to see.
i'm not too good at the computer , but my son is a graphic artist and works for a company that creates websites. my son is my go to man
bye for now.
barb

 

[Veer67]

has anyone ever had a baby zebra finch that can't fly?  i have 2 babies that hatched and have never been able to fly. they try to hop as high as they can, but that's all. i separated them into a cage of their own. it is then that i noticed that each of them has one foot with no toenails. the other foot is normal. at first i thought maybe they had been picked on. but is it just a coincidence that they both  have the same defect?

I used to have 3 little baby zebra finches named Cac, Curious, and Irene that never learned how to fly. Sadly they one by one passed away before reaching full adulthood. They were such sweet little girls. The one named Curious also had one toe without a toenail, but that came from a accident where I cut too close to the quick; the nail never grew out. How are your baby finches doing?

 

[Veer67]

hi Susie Q, Abby and Anny,
i don't have names for them- i call them "babies" so i would love to have your girls suggest names. there is one male, the regular color with cheek patch. the other light tan one is probably female. none of my parent finches were tan. funny how God works it out.
i am relieved i actually uploaded the picture for you to see.
i'm not too good at the computer , but my son is a graphic artist and works for a company that creates websites. my son is my go to man
bye for now.
barb

I believe that you are correct with the genders of your finches. The gray one is definitely a male and your lighter colored one (which I think is a Chestnut Flanked White; CFW) looks like a girl. The rule to sexing most zebra finches is by their orange cheek patch (makes have them while females don't). It varies a lot though with different color mutations. Another way to determine the gender is by beak color, males have a vibrant red beak while females have orange colored ones, but depending on how much light they receive it varies. Do you have pictures of your parent finches? They could have a recessive gene in them that pops up once in a while in their chicks, many of my zebras do.

 

[quailmother]

dear abby,
sure oscar and clara are cute names! thank you so much!
barb

 

[quailmother]

my baby finches are doing well. maybe you saw their picture posted on this forum yesterday? they are so cute and i will enjoy them as long as i can thanks for your reply- sorry about your baby finches.