FINCHforum

Hello all. I have three baby Zebra Finches, approx. 2 weeks old. Two days ago they left the nest. They can't fly yet, and will not stay in the nest when I place them back in. They are on the cage floor, and although they are begging, the parents seem to have no interest in feeding them. They have raised one other baby with no trouble. I'm certain that they're getting little or no food, so tonight I have started to try hand feeding them. Any suggestions would be very helpful here folks.

Put some spray millet on the floor of the cage for the chicks. It is easier for their soft beaks to crack the millet compared to the regular seed. You can also offer them eggfood.

before you put the millet down soak it overnight to soften it a bit.as tammie says offer them eggfood when ny canaries are starting on eggfood i always mix it and put it in big tray so they have to sit in the middle to eat eat so wherever they sit there is eggfood about to encourage them more you can put some maw seed down (pronounced mew) poppy seed it is a tiny blue seed which turns black when moist

ken

Hi all. Thanks for the replies, we seem to be on the same thought waves. We've tried the millet. Tried the egg. Even tried the millet softened in egg, lol. I'll be making another attempt at getting something into them in a few moments, and will post again later with any results. I've read that stroking their backs and tapping on their beeks will get them to open and beg, I hope so. I won't give up as long as they're still living.

If you have a spare cage, remove the hen and see if the male will feed the chicks. I have found that often the parents are eager to start a new clutch and the hen will begin attacking the chicks, where as the male is usually more willing to continue feeding the fledglings. It's worth a try.

Some good news. The Society Finch has adopted the babies and is feeding them. Still not sure if the smallest one is going to make it, but at least there's some hope now.

Ahh, I didn't realize you had a Society. They are handy birds to have around as they will feed anything that begs. Glad to hear the chicks have been adopted.

That's so great that the society finches came to the rescue!!

Sad news this morning. One dead baby.

Was it the smaller chick that you were most concerned about that has died?

Oh Lord, now two dead.

So sorry for this sad turn of events Beep. Has the Society stopped feeding the chicks?

You know it could be that these chicks had something wrong genetically and the parents sensed it. Unlike us humans, they aren't going to waste their time & energy on a hopeless cause.

Well, that was not a pleasant day. The first to die was indeed that small weak one I was most worried about. The second one died less than an hour later under what I can only describe as a tragic accident. While taking out the first dead baby, the second baby panicked, and broke it's own neck in a frenzy trying to get away. Baby #3 is doing fine, and still being fed by the society, and the father, who has seemed to take interest again.

Hi everyone,
I am new to the Forum so I think I have just put a question in the wrong place!
It concerns a Gouldian cock bird that wont rear his chicks, just builds another nest on top of them, even though I make sure there is no nesting material in the cage he manages to pull some out from the bottom! I also stopped giving them eggfood from the time they laid until they hatched the chicks, so I would welcome any suggestins that anybody might have as all my other pairs are behaving properly at the moment!!
Thanks,
Joy.
Cambridge England.

Hi Joy,

I also replied to your posting in "breeding".

I am wondering why you stopped giving the eggfood from the time the eggs were laid til they were hatched. I understand that the parents must feel that there is plenty of food for the chicks so omitting the eggfood for this period of time may be giving this particular bird a signal that all is not what it should be. So he aborts this clutch and then begins again.