FINCHforum

My finch aren't sitting on the eggs... Should I just incubate them? And if so, how should I start the process? Should I give the eggs to my male pair? I read somewhere the males would tend the eggs....

Moon

How long has it been sine they laid, and how many eggs are there? My society finches sit tight from day one, and my gouldians by day four, but most birds wait 3-6 days after laying the first egg before incubating overnight. Incubating eggs yourself often fails, and a male pair might only take eggs if you put one in each day. If it has been over a week since the last egg was laid, or if the eggs were incubated overnight but then abandoned, they most likely will not hatch.

Sometimes you may trick the males into fostering. You have to prepare them with 1 egg (fake or real) a day, until they think they need to SIT. But since male zebras don't usually SIT on the eggs at night, they may not SIT at night, and the eggs will die.

I would NOT incubate, without knowing what you are getting into.

If/when the eggs hatch, you are now the parent.
- You will have to care and hand-feed the chicks until they wean (about 6-7 weeks after hatching).
- If you don't feed them as they need to be fed, especially when young, they may/will die.

FYI, I have NEVER been able to keep a hatchling alive past day 4. That first few days is the most critical. Once past a week, they are easier to feed and keep going.

I've had a fast, crash course with freshly hatched babies of various species. Nothing as small as a finch, of course. I'd rather avoid incubation all together, but I'm looking at breeding aviary ideas and purchasing more females to pair off with the males.

Alternate to doing it yourself is to set up a couple/few pairs of societies to use as foster parents. This is a somewhat tricky subject, and you need to do research to determine how YOU want to do it. Example MM or FF or MF pairings.

I have use a FF pair of zebras to foster a gouldian, ONCE.
But I found societies were more reliable, so that is what I use as my fosters.