FINCHforum

I have 2 society's in a cage with their 2 babies. The babies are about 16-17 days old. I came home this afternoon to find one sitting in the corner at the bottom of the cage, out of the nest of course. He'd been sitting there a while so I took a closer look and his feet are through the bottom bars of the cage and they appear bent (could it be because he's an uncoordinated baby or is there something wrong with his feet)? I'm hoping he didn't break them on his first time out of the nest. Should I move him back to the nest or leave him alone? Please help!

Pop him back in the nest..If the feet are deformed there's nothing you can do about it.
Get rid of that bottom grill they are a damned nuisance.Why cage manufacturers think they are a good idea I don't know.There are more crippled birds because of them than anything else.

Okay, so I lined the bottom of the cage with newspaper and put the baby back in the nest. So far so good, but when I was putting him back in I got a better look at his foot and it's from his elbow to his thigh that's stiff (he can't move it well) and it sticks out from his body. Nothing looked like it was snapped in half or anything, just that his leg sticks out instead of bending back in toward his body at the elbow and he can't move his toes well. Is he going to be able to learn how to live with it, what usually happens in a situation like this?

Nature is wonderful - most animals will adapt. The will to survive is strong.

I have a little silverbill that I thought would never be able to perch. When it first came from the nest I had to put special perches in for it and it had a difficult time the first few weeks. Now it is in the aviary with all the other birds and doing great. So do not give up on it yet.

dont give up hope. if it is meant to survive it will if not
sometimes the parents will decide that a baby isnt strong enough to live & just stop feeding it. I guess it is just natures way, the strong survive

I have a diamond dove that has most of its toes missing.I got him from a private breeder who popped him straight into a cage and of course I didn't notice till I got him home. He manages quite well, rather than perching he sits on anything flat such as the tops of nesting boxes. If he survives, you can adapt the cage for him, perhaps make him little platforms.

I have a Strawberry which sounds like your description, and he is getting around quite well. I just read a good hint on another forum--get a soft plastic asparagus fern plant from a craft store and secure it in the cage with pipe cleaners. That will give him something to sit on easier than a perch.