Taming fledglings?

tlyn589 · Post by **tlyn589** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:36 pm

Hi,
Although I'm not new to owning birds (I was raised alongside very tame cockatiels and budgies) I am about to become the new owner of two zebra finches. My roommate's finch couple have been raising two chicks for about two weeks now. They are almost fledglings - their feathers are developed (out of sheaths) and it seems as if they'll be leaving the nest fairly soon. I'm aware that fledglings still require the attention and feeding of their parents for quite some time, but I'm not sure how long. I'm wondering when it is acceptable to transfer them from their parents cage. Also I've been reading a lot of about cases of tame finches and I'm very interested in trying to gain their trust and have them be comfortable with sitting on me. Is it wise to try to start hand-feeding at this point? Or is it acceptable to handle them a little bit each day (not feeding but just handling) or will the parents then reject them? Is it crucial for me to attempt taming before they are taught to be wild by their parents? Thanks

Mat657 · Post by **Mat657** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:46 am

Hi tyln589

i hope you enjoy your new found freinds. i got into finches about a year ago and its the best decision i've ever made. As for your questions...well im no expert but ill try to answer them. i invite everyone to correct me if im wrong.

I'm wondering when it is acceptable to transfer them from their parents cage.

When it comes to removing finches from their parents i would say wait until they can eat by themselves. i am not sure whether you can encourage them to start eating by themselves by removing them earlier so if it were me i would play it safe and wait.

is it acceptable to handle them a little bit each day (not feeding but just handling) or will the parents then reject them?

Whenever one of my baby zebra finches falls out of their nest, or leaves the nest before they can fly, i simply just pick'em up and place them back inot the nest. The parents don't seem to have a problem with this but i'm not sure if this is because i only hold them for a short amount of time or they are just cool with it. Mabye one of the other members will have a beter answer.

Is it crucial for me to attempt taming before they are taught to be wild by their parents?

Probably. with my finches the older they get the more frisky they become. I'd get in early...but not too early...so that you build relationship with the bird like you said, and get them used to u.

well i hope i have helped, like i said i'm no expert.

as for taming finches i remember reading an article on it so i'll see if i can find it and get the web adress for you

Good luck
Mat

Mat657 · Post by **Mat657** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:50 am

as for taming finches i remember reading an article on it so i'll see if i can find it and get the web adress for you

i found it.i don't know how good it'll be but its a start

http://www.finchworld.com/tametalk.html

Post by **Sally** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:37 am

I've never tried to tame any finches, so can't help you there, but I can tell you about the hand-feeding. I have had to do this with some of my babies, but I only do it in an emergency, if I can't get the parents or the fosters to feed. In all cases, hand-feeding was started while the babies were quite young, usually before their eyes opened. Once you start feeding them, they look on you as 'Mom'. They become quite used to you. Mine would start begging as soon as I approached their cage, would fly to the open door, and even fly to my arm or shoulder, begging for their food. It was actually pretty thrilling to experience.

However, as soon as they weaned themselves away from me, I again became the big predator, and they flew away from me just as quickly as all the others. So my little fairly-tame babies became wild again overnight. They even did it in age order, with the oldest baby rejecting me first, while the others still begged, but within days, it was total rejection.