HELP why my owl finch babies always die

[New owl]

For the past four weeks i lost 6 owl finch babies out of 10 . Some are under society, some under zebra & one is under own parent. Some die before fledgling some couple days after fledgling. I feed them regular finch seed , egg food, some meal worms, dry blood worms & romaine lettuces . I am thinking romaine lettuce might be the problem ? But all my other finches have the same diet but have no problems . Does anyone have any ideas ? Thankering

[Sally]

I wouldn't think the diet is the problem, since other birds are OK with it, and it sounds like it is sufficient. Is there a reason you are fostering the Owl babies to Societies and Zebras? Only one Owl baby is parent-raised? Did you foster eggs or did you wait till they hatched and then placed them under fosters? Did the babies die with food in their crops, or did the fosters stop feeding them?

[New owl]

Hi Sally thanks for responding to my post . I just lost another owl finch baby this morning this one has been moved out to aviary for the past two weeks and I don't understand why it die . I always foster eggs. There is no food left when they die . I saw zebra mom try to feed the owl babies & they don't seem to have any appetite. Usually they die after couple days. I suspect it might be the romaine lettuces , I stop feeding the lettuce & replaced it with broccoli . All my other finch loved romaine lettuce , owl parent don't really like lettuces . Lastly most owl babies only die under foster care , they are ok when it under their parent . Maybe there is a certain way to feed them since they are smaller than other finches?

[Sally]

If the Owl babies are dying under fosters but living when raised by their Owl parents, I would stop fostering and let the Owls raise their own babies. I only foster if the real parents will not raise their own babies. Parent-raised babies should always be the goal, as those are the healthiest too IMO.

[dutch]

New owl....sounds like the society and zebras are giving the young a disease.....and from what you describe it sounds like society wet disease

It cannot be the greens. ...my money is on the society finches

You need to take your birds to a vet a get them tested

[Olympic_Aiairies]

New Owl is there a specific reason you're fostering your chicks? I agree with Sally fostering should really only be a last resort (eg their own parents are chick tosses or don't feed properly).

When do you give the fosters the eggs? Also are you properly setting your fosters up before they are given eggs?

The lettuce wouldn't have anything to do with the chicks dying.

[dutch]

New owl.....just checked your other topics

You have also lost gouldians fostered by societies

The societies are killing your chicks through disease. ....see a vet immediately......

[debbie276]

Here's is a very good article about fostering with society's you just might want to read.
https://ladygouldian.com/Fostering-with-Society-Finches

If the society's are passing on one of the two diseases, Campylobacter and/or Cochlosoma I would stop using them immediately and keep them away from the rest of the flock. There is no cure.

Your owl seem to be able to raise their own so I'm not sure why you would foster anyway.

[cindy]

May I also add that once the owls fledge the begging action the do with the wing, wing blocking can put some fosters off and they can stop feeding the baby owl especially if the have raised their own babies and can see the difference.

I have used zebra to try to raise a lone owl baby that was rejected by the parents, everything was fine until the baby fledged and started begging with the wing in the air. The zebra refused to feed it, I had to take over after watching the zebra refused it food after it begged several times...the owl baby retreated to the nest and gave up. I handfed it to weaning, I still have her in my aviary.

All my owl pairs went on to raise all of their own also. If yours have raised a single owl they will likely raise a full clutch.

[New owl]

Thanks everyone . The only reason I foster the eggs when the prnts refused to sit on the eggs becanse they are young parents , or they have another clutch when they still feeding th young .
I usually don't bother them if they sit on the eggs . Some eggs was given to me by my friend. I don't have any problems with lady gouldings . I have 10 goulding fledging a week ago . It was either foster by society or zebra , they look very healthy . Sadly I just found another problem just earier , there was some tiny bugs on the owl chicks feather .

[New owl]

I will post on health section to see if anyone will provide any answers . Owl is one of my favorite . Thanks everyone

[finchmix22]

If you have gouldians, they are prone to air sac mites (ASM) so you should treat all your birds with S76 so they don't get worse. Cindy made some good points with foster parents. I had a pair who fed until fledge and then they fed infrequently, but it was too early to wean the little guy. I tried to supplement and then tried to get another pair to feed him as well as putting eggfood and millet on the food dish, to encourage him to eat. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. It's very hard to lose them.

[New owl]

Sadly I just found some tiny bugs on the owl chicks feather . Would anyone be able to provide any help on what cause this issue. Is there any medicines or spray I can purchase that will be safe to use on them . Thanks

[finchmix22]

I merging the topics from your other thread and this new one, under Health. Look at my post after your last one about ASM.

[debbie276]

ASM are internal not external so I doubt very much that it is Air Sac Mites. If you are seeing tiny little mites on your birds you need to go to any bird store and get a mite spray, most all have the same ingredients. These are the ingredients you should look for, Permethrin, Piperonyl Butoxide and Methoprene. When you have time to order a spray, a good one to have on hand is Avian Insect Liquidator.

good luck