FINCHforum

I am keeping a log of everyday since the start of the family, from the day the cage was developed etc, so I take note of everyday happenings and by now I know my birds well, I want to ask the following;

When the little ones eventually break through the egg shells and need feeding, what will the typical body language be? I cannot and DON'T WANT to open the box to look in, I am to scared to mess with their little home, so I wont know the day when the little ones start appearing, what is the behavior, is it radically different to now?

Thanks. I am trying to make this first attempt with the birds a successful one and don't want to take chances in what I do, this cage and its family are now treated like royalty, nobody touches that cage only me!

To witness nothing becoming something is something I want to enjoy, so each day I keep track of everything, just want to know if anything will change in the birds actions when young are out that I will know.......Thanks.

The easiest way to know is to listen. At around three days they start begging audibly. You will here tiny hisses at first. I have never noticed a behavioral difference with my Zebra's or with my first recent Gould clutch. Good luck!

If they are already eating egg food, often you will notice a huge increase in the amount of egg food they eat after the eggs hatch.

CHIRP -- It's hard to tell when the little ones are born just by looking at the parents' behavior.

As Sally mentioned, there will be a noticeable increase in the amount of food consumed.

With my guys, there is *never* a time when the nest is parent-free once they hatch, so that's how I can tell.
During incubation, they'll leave the nest unattended for brief periods when breakfast and dinner are served. But once the babies arrive, they will take turns eating, with one parent always in the nest.

In fact, this one-parent-inside-the-nest behavior is so consistent that it helped me save the life of my little Squeepers!
He kept falling out of the nest in those first days. Once he fell, the parents would both leave the nest, as he was a singleton without any siblings. So they no longer had any need to be inside the nest.

Once I saw them both outside the nest, it struck me as odd so I went in to check and there he was, on the floor! I put him back and he was just fine. He fell 3 or 4 times in all. In fact, the first time I ever saw him he was on the floor, having fallen through the grate! Then I put up a paper towel crash pad for him and I ultimately adjusted the nest to make it deeper since it kept happening. Once I did that, he stayed in.