Hecks Grassfinch Fledglings

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Sun May 04, 2008 6:33 am

Two fawn and two normals...these younger ones can't make it back to a perch yet and have spent the night in a spare nestbox I put on the floor of the flight.
I have 5 pairs in a colony..three have built nests ...these are the first this year.
Paul

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sun May 04, 2008 8:23 am

They are sooo cute. I raised my first two just recently but they were both normals. I love the fawn. The parents have built a nest in the bottom of a silk tree pot. It is so strange. I don't know why they didn't go to a nest box. It is in a little hollow in the pot. They have dug it out and laid three eggs. Do you think they will sit on these eggs so low? I though it had to be up high.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Sun May 04, 2008 8:50 am

They will nest where THEY want.Mine have loads of boxes so of course have built nests in the greenery...two of which promptly fell to the floor.
Paul.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Sun May 04, 2008 11:04 am

Little fawn baby desperately trying to fly up to the perches where his Mum is feeding the others.I just put some perches in lower down to give him a leg up.And just discovered he's blind in one eye....hope he makes it...Shame.
Paul.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sun May 04, 2008 4:16 pm

oh my, i am so sorry. I hate it when this kind of thing happens. Keep us posted on him please.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:18 am

dfcauley wrote:oh my, i am so sorry. I hate it when this kind of thing happens. Keep us posted on him please.

Well a week on and he's still with us....bit fluffed up and not as big as his brothers.Adults feeding ok,but I think he misses out with being blind in one eye.I'm amazed he's still with us ...one day last week he was on the floor with his beak touching the ground.I thought he was dying...so I caught him up and gave him some water from a dropper.Put him back and the hen came down and fed him.Not a big healthy lad ...but we will see if he grows ok.
Paul.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:33 am

let us know how it turns out Paul. have never had a bird with this type of problem before. so I'm interested just in case it ever happens

SamanthaL · Post by **SamanthaL** » Tue May 13, 2008 6:35 pm

Awww they are so cute.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Tue May 20, 2008 5:00 am

Little fellah isn't going to make it...he's incredibly thin and the parents have stopped feeding.His brothers and sisters are ok and feeding themselves.
Unfortunately at this age he won't allow me to hand feed so I think it's the end of the road.I'm not surprised...he's so tiny with a deformed beak and blind in one eye...
He's in a hospital cage with eggfood and water but he's making no attempt to feed himself.I took him out of the flight as he was on the floor and being ignored, he was so weak he couldn't make the perches.
I've kept birds for years but it still upsets when there's nothing you can do.Just keep him warm.
Paul.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Tue May 20, 2008 5:42 am

sorry to hear that Paul. its never nice to see a bird fading away

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue May 20, 2008 6:53 am

poohbear wrote:Little fellah isn't going to make it...he's incredibly thin and the parents have stopped feeding.His brothers and sisters are ok and feeding themselves.
Unfortunately at this age he won't allow me to hand feed so I think it's the end of the road.I'm not surprised...he's so tiny with a deformed beak and blind in one eye...
He's in a hospital cage with eggfood and water but he's making no attempt to feed himself.I took him out of the flight as he was on the floor and being ignored, he was so weak he couldn't make the perches.
I've kept birds for years but it still upsets when there's nothing you can do.Just keep him warm.
Paul.

Paul,
Have you ever considered putting a bird down? I know thisi is a very sensitive thing for people, but I culled a little birds a while back.
If you go back and read that forum you will see how difficult it was for me to reach this decision, but in the end I was really glad that I did. Actually, my husband did it for me, but I watched and it was very quick and humane. I couldn't deal with the suffering. I am so sorry this has happend . It is alwasy difficult to watch a bird die slowly.

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Tue May 20, 2008 9:11 am

The only time I would kill one of my own birds would be if it had horrendous wounds.A sickly bird will just become comatose and die quietly in a short time.
I have no particular sentimentality when it comes to death in animals or humans.As long as no cruelty is involved we all gotta go sometime.But it doesn't stop me feeling sorry when I see some poor little beggar fighting for life.
Paul.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Tue May 20, 2008 1:40 pm

Yes it is always hard to watch. I never thought I could do that either, but it just seemed right at the time.
My husband always teases me about one day seeing me on television boycotting with all those animal right activist

I love animals and hate to see any mistreated or suffering.
I am sorry about the little guy.

James · Post by **James** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:52 pm

I know what you mean I don't know that I could put one of my birds down and I have only had them a week I can sit and watch them for an hour at a time how is he doing? James

James · Post by **James** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:47 pm

What's the latest on the little guy?

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