gloudians need help with the baby part

[superfly1977]

i'm not a dealer i think i am doing everything right from what i read i have two gouldains (M&F) the first they laid four eggs i foster them out because they where not laying on them. second batch they laid four more i let them to raise them thereselves to see what happens. all eight have die. first batch 2 out 4 hacth. not all 4 sec. 1 out 4 hacth. do they need more parenting skills to be good at this our do i need to keep fostering them out the other finchs or do i start to hand feed them when they hacth please reply back if i do start to hand feed them when do i start and how ofin do i feed them a day hope the third batch works out

[williep]

Superfly, sorry to hear about your loss.

There are other people in the forum who hand raised chicks before and it is a big responsibility and very time consuming, this should be your last option.

It might be that your pair are inexperienced in raising chicks or that they were foster chicks as well, it is very difficult for foster raised birds to learn the parenting skills first time, that is why I use fostering as a last resort (because I don’t have the time to hand raise due to my work schedule)

Further you might look at your diet, what are you feeding them? Do they have access to egg food ect.

My advice; make sure the birds have everything they need in terms of nutrition and see how they go. If they start tossing chick you can always foster the chick then.

[Sally]

You said 2 out of 4 in the first clutch hatched, and 1 out of 4 in the second clutch. Did the babies die because the parents weren't feeding them? Were their crops full when they died? Did the parents toss them? I agree with williep, they just may be inexperienced. Gouldians often take a while to figure out what they are supposed to do.

I have only handfed once, and it is very time-consuming. At first, you have to feed every two hours. It takes a little time to get everything prepared, then you have to take your time feeding the babies, then clean everything up--before you know it, it is time to feed again! I would only handfeed as a last resort.

Nutrition is key to breeding--without good nutrition, the birds don't get into breeding mode, and then if they feel there is not enough of the right food to raise their babies, they might abandon them. When you look at how tiny they are when hatched, and then see how big they are just three weeks later, you can realize how much food they need in that short period of time.

[superfly1977]

the first clutch i foster out 2out of four hatch one die two days but ohter die about week-half i look like the crop was full don't know why it die the second clutch 1out 4 hatch i let my gouldians try to raise it it die the next day i don't know if my gouldains were raise by they parents or not.

[L in Ontario]

My young pair of Gouldians also pitched their first two clutches. I was able to save two hatchlings and fostered them successfully.

I believe it's a learning curve for young Gouldian parents to get accustomed to rearing young successfully. I'm sure your next clutch will be fine. Good luck to them.

[superfly1977]

i hope so....