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Prior to flying for the first time question
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 1:52 pm
by CHIRP
I was reading this amazing story and want to ask;
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=29845
My young ones are due Friday or Saturday coming, now when my pride get's to about 15 days old and want to fly or they are older and maybe fall out the breeding box, CAN I PICK them up and put them back or will the hen then reject them?
Thanks.
Re: Prior to flying for the first time question
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 3:26 pm
by debbie276
If they fall out by all means put them back in but if they fledge then why would you? If they fledge then they are ready to leave the nest. Many fledglings never go back in the nest once they leave.
Touching them will not make the parents reject them.

Re: Prior to flying for the first time question
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 3:32 pm
by finchmix22
Some finches fledge a little early and don't look ready, but usually they are ready. I've put some young looking fledges back in their nest, Only one time, did the fledge stay in the nest a couple of days more. Most stayed out and explored the cage. Mom/Dad continue to feed them out of the nest. You'll hear the begging and they follow the parents around when they are hungry. I also start giving them more eggfood and millet to help them wean.
Re: Prior to flying for the first time question
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:17 pm
by MiaCarter
Squeepers fledged before he could fly or perch.
The cage he's in is super tall so he had to fly up over 3 feet. He just couldn't make it.
It was pitiful. He'd try and try, then go to the corner and rest. Then he'd try again.
So I intervened and picked him up and put him in the nest at the end of the day. It took him about 3-4 days before he could fly up on his own.
Pippin and Piper, on the other hand, are expert flyers and they have no problem perching or flying around the cage. They never returned to the nest, whereas Squeepers slept in a nest up until just recently.
Same parents. Same species. Same cage. Just a slightly different developmental rate.
But as mentioned above, you can pick them up without trouble. That's a myth that the parents reject the chicks if you touch them.