Is it safe?

[FinchLover&Breeder]

Hey Guys it's me Nick. I have a question that happened to me last year but didn't have the knowledge or resources to do this. My question is is it safe to take finch eggs from a nest outside and give them to my birds to sit on if the wild parents abandon the nest? I'm just wondering if it's safe to do so. I had a bird nest with 5 house finch eggs in it and the parents abandoned the nest because of the hurricane that rolled through. So if it happens again is it safe? Would I be able to keep them or would I have to release them when they are old enough?

[lovezebs]

FinchLover&Breeder

Honestly I wouldn't place wild bird eggs under domestic finches.
There could be all sorts of problems and diseases that could come with them. Plus the house sparrows might very well kill your finches as they got older, seeing as they can be extremely aggressive.

As for releasing them back into the wild, without parents to teach them the ways of tge world , they would probably be dead in a day or two (either from lack of food and water, or through predation by cats, wild birds, or other wild animals.

[FinchLover&Breeder]

ok. but if I had a nicer finch species abandon their nest (for example Black-capped- chickadees) and I gently rinsed the eggs off would it be safe for a finch to raise them? They are a member of the finch family however they are very docile. I just want to know in case I ever see birds abandon a nest again.

[Babs _Owner]

FinchLover&Breeder

Hun, a house sparrow is a pest/invasive species. And they do carry disease that could easily spread and kill all your birds.

Those diseases can be looked up, and you may find some are passed to the embryo before the egg is laid.

Most native species are illegal to keep as pets in most states. And hatching their eggs in your home would domesticate them.

[FinchLover&Breeder]

ok. figured I'd ask. Thanks anyway.

[paul-inAZ]

Rinsing or washing eggs would likely damage the semi-permeable shell. Another reason not to try it.

[FinchLover&Breeder]

ok. I get it. outdoors stays as does indoors.

[Rob]

FinchLover&Breeder
Most native species are illegal to keep as pets in most states..

This is very important.

[Fraza]

Hi just wondering so can eggs pass diseases as I thought it’s only onecw they are hatched they can carry dieseases as they haven’t had contact with ther parents yet they wouldn’t carry the disease would they ?

I’m just asking not saying I know for sure

[Sheather]

The original poster is not talking about house sparrows, everyone needs to read more closely, as the advice thus differs.

Eggs CANNOT pass disease. If the chick inside had any sort of bacterial or viral problem, it would quickly be killed. An egg also won't harbor mites - nothing for them on it, and nowhere to hide. So an egg itself, is quite safe.

You could successfully foster house FINCHES to canaries for certain. The dietary needs, and begging posture of the chicks, is identical. Canaries could also raise goldfinches, purple finches, and indeed, most wild finches.

Society finches could possibly do so, if they could figure out how to feed the babies, which beg differently than most pet finches.

No pet bird could successfully raise house SPARROWS. Sparrows require higher protein rearing food, mostly insects until fledging, and will starve on a vegetarian diet that a finch or canary would feed. As stated, sparrows are also aggressive.

Rehabbers sometimes use captive finches or canaries to foster wild finches, and then release them successfully in areas with other wild birds of their kind to follow to food sources. So it would not be unreasonable to be able to raise orphan house finches under a finch or canary, and then release them after weaning. It would be illegal, as per the migratory bird act, to keep them as pets after that period.

Chickadees are not finches, need an entirely insect diet as babies, and could not be reared by any domestic bird species.

[Babs _Owner]

Sheather

Great read Dylan, as always I love your research. Most rehabbers even back in my day , make sure the species hand reared, is introduced as quickly as possible to juvies of their own kind.

So if I had a cageful of blue jays, I would introduce the new juvie to that flock.

Then a few weeks of staying in the cage outside, observing the trees and the local "map" (as your Apollo knew from his aviary). Then we would release them as a flock when all were weaned.
Still have weeks of them coming back for food before they would naturally enter the wild.

It's a painstaking process. And back then you didnt need a license to work under the trained rehabbers. today it's rather dominated with rules and restrictions. Sadly, as many school science projects involved raising baby birds in the classroom, back then.

[wildbird]

English sparrows are LEGAL to keep in the USA. They are nonnative, and I have a letter from a prominant avian vet stating so. I raised & kept four of them for years. Look the laws up if you don't believe it.

[lovezebs]

wildbird

I'm curious...

Are American Sparrows not the descendants of the English Sparrow?

My understanding was, that the English Sparrow came with the English immigrants to the Americas.

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/housesparrow.html

[wildbird]

Lovezebs, I don't know where they came from, but those are considered native, while the English Sparrow is not native to America. It was my understanding that some were released here, and that is how they got started. They are disappearing though, at least around here. Loss of places to build nests around buildings and homes, and the hatred that some people have for them contribute to their decline. I love their chattering when they come to the bird bath, and they make wonderful pets kept with their own kind. They will eat most anything, and are easy to care for. Mine adjusted so well to changing temperatures and environment. When raised as fledglings, they can become attached to you.

[lovezebs]

wildbird

Are these the little guys we're talking about?

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/housesparrow.html

Before I moved to this neighborhood, I used to have what I affectionately called my 'herd of Sparrows'. I started out with a very tiny group, which over a period of 23 years, grew into quite a large multi-generational flock.

I used to toss out the second hand bird seeds (or left overs) after my Finchlings were through with them, and the little outdoor beggers thrived on them.

Where I live now, I have Chickadees who live in the large pines, along with Woodpeckers, Magpies, Bluejays, Robins, Nuthatches, Crows, Pigeons, Starlings, and just a smattering of Sparrows.