Early Fledging - ok?

[flrancho]

If you didn't hear, I had a dead four-week old baby Java yesterday. I had to take the best down off the cage and pull the dead baby out. When I did, her sibling flew out the back of the nest. Parents seemed real upset and only Papa was feeding the chick out of the nest. I eventually scooped him up and put him in an open canary nest so I could monitor him better.

I'm away today, and my Mom called this morning to say that when she was feeding the birds, the baby jumped out of the canary nest. She said parents din't seem upset and both are feeding him out of the nest. He is four weeks old but visually a little more immature than other fledglings I've had (he can't fly too well, his legs aren't completely straight yet like an older chicks, he doesn't have the beginning of his white cheek markings yet..... I'm guessing he's about a week early on fledging.

Will he be ok? Or should I try to put him back in the nest again?

[L in Ontario]

Typically finches fledge at 3 weeks of age. He should be fine if he is all feathered up. Congrats on the fledgling - but sorry you lost another.

[Martie]

I might be beginning to suspect this pair is not caring for the chicks properly because the baby should be fledging around three weeks and be very able to get around by itself. If this is the same pair that has lost all the white ones, it's possible they are just not feeding the white ones - or getting confused about different colors in the nest. If they are abandoning white babies, this clutch had just one other normal baby and birds often don't care well for singletons.

I am not a Java breeder, but is it possible the pair is getting tired and needs a breeding break?

Just some rambling speculations. I would think the baby will do alright - and may begin to develop faster now that it's out of the nest and can begin eating on its own. It should catch up to where it should be very quickly.

Congratulations on the new one!

[flrancho]

According to the FIC Javas fledge at 3.5 to 4 weeks; guess they take a little longer. In any case, I'm definitely giving them a rest. Papa seems good but I can tell Mama needs some more conditioning before her next clutch (ehich win't be until next year at earliest).

This is her third straight clutch this year; I think she started laying this one before the last ones fledged or very soon after. I didn't have the heart to take the eggs away and toss them. I need to get the nest that's in there out ASAP.

[L in Ontario]

According to the FIC Javas fledge at 3.5 to 4 weeks; guess they take a little longer.

Just goes to show how little I know about Javas and proves I've never owned any. So he IS fledging at the right time for him then - that's terrific! He'll be chasing the parents for food very shortly, I imagine. How about some pics of the precious / precocious chick?