FINCHforum

Ok I know the babies will leave the nest. But is it possible for them to fly out to soon.?

I found them this morning in the feed dish and picked up one of them. A little fawn and white and she just seems so lethargic. Of course that might be because she is NOT afraid of me. I put her back in the feed dish with my little black one. (Society Babies). But she just sat on top of him instead of getting beside him. I just had an uneasy feeling so I put both of them back in the nest.

Should I have just left them? I was so afraid of one of them falling. And how old are they when they start leaving the nest and testing the waters so to speak. If you read any of my other posts I stupidly forgot to write down when they hatched so I have NO IDEA how old they are. Today was the first time of any being out. One stayed in the nest.

Society babies fledge at 19-25 days of age. Since you don't know when they hatched, you really don't know how old they are, but if they are about 3 weeks old, they may have fledged. It is possible for babies to leave the nest too soon, either by being knocked out or falling out, but since two of them are out, chances are they have fledged. You can put them back in the nest, as Society babies return to the nest at night anyway. You said the fawn baby was lethargic, did it have a full crop?

Here is a link to species information on the Society finch. Scroll down to the bottom, and you will see a chart for the life cycle, so you can see about when to expect eggs to hatch, babies to fledge/wean, etc.

http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... _finch.php

flymouse

I had two societies jump out early with Lucky's babies. I popped them back as per instructed by the forum and they didnt wander out again until the youngest joined them.

The chill of being away from warm bodies snuggled in their nest makes them shiver if they come out too soon and they get very "still". And Sally is right, if their crop is full from feeding from their parents, they will get sleepy within minutes.

Remember your son when he was tiny going to sleep minutes after being full? Baby birds are the same way. When their feathers grow over their crop it is harder to see if the babies crop is full of seeds.

I'd pop them back in the nest and see how it goes over the next few days. If they come out again, then its their time. If not, then they explored beyond their abilities for a little while.