Accidental baby - Now what?

[koaloveskato]

I adopted some finches from the Humane Society a couple years ago with the hope of having some low maintenance friends to fill my home with pretty songs. So far they have lived up to my expectations but now I have one teeny tiny problem.

Normally when the female lays eggs I pull them from her, clean out the nest and repeat in a month or so. I must not have gotten all the eggs last time (or wasn't watching closely enough) because after feeding yesterday I heard a very small "peep peep peep" in the nest box. There is just one little baby in there. He looks like a monster.

I don't have the heart to get rid of him now that he is a living thing but I am also not willing to hand-raise at this point. So what can I do to help mom and dad care for him and what normal behaviors should I be looking for?

Yesterday I didn't see any one approaching the nest. (From the little research I did that appears to be normal?) The first time I opened the nest he was peeping and moving his head. Today I have seen some activity near it but I don't have a way to tell if they are feeding the baby or not. It is a small wooden box with a hole in the front. They stick their little heads in but that's the most I've seen. When I looked today there was no peeping but a little head movement, seems to be a little "sluggish" compared to yesterday, but I could just be projecting. I've also seen the "non-parent" finch participating as well! Is that normal? There is a lot more movement overall in the cage and more peeping from everyone. I am also hesitant to continue to open the nest and look inside. I don't want to disturb him.

As far as I can tell they are 2.1, one zebra and two societies. No idea of age, like I said they are adopted.

Thanks any one who has advice. Like I said I did not want this to happen and feel pretty guilty for not being more diligent.

[Sally]

Accidental babies happen, I think many of us can relate. It doesn't sound like the parents are being very diligent about caring for this baby. The parents need egg food to feed to the baby, so you can hard boil an egg, mash it up, and offer it in a little dish to the birds. Give them part of it today, and put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow, unless they clean up all you offer today. The dish should always have some egg food in it.

If the parents don't feed, you have only two options--either you hand feed or you let nature take its course. If you decide not to hand feed, do not feel guilty. Hand feeding is difficult and very time-consuming, and it is often not successful.

One thing you can do in the future is to remove the nest. They don't need it for sleeping, and that will put an end to the eggs that you have to toss.

Welcome to the forum, though it is not under the best of circumstances. There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for members to tell where you can get supplies, etc.

[ac12]

+1 to Sally, after this chick, remove the nest.
The only time I have a nest in the cage is when I am breeding. Otherwise, no nest. I also separate the M from the F.

[Stuart whiting]

You will ideally need to give some egg food to the babies, this will be fed to them until there eating for themselves,

When the youngsters are weaned I'd carry on with the egg food as this being full of protein will help em when they go through their first moult,

I have to agree with act12 that if you don't intend to breed then the nest boxes or baskets need to be all removed,

If there not breeding they won't need em