Zillion questions about my society finch babies

[HillbillyFinch]

My society finches laid 6 eggs and hatched 5. Now have babies that are 12-16 days old as they hatched over 4 days. I am worried over them fledging and the nest is pretty high up with a wood perch underneath it. I can't move the perch because it is there so they can access the seed hopper which needs to be stay where it is. Is this a safety concern when they get kicked out of nest? Should I put a cloth wadded up over perch to cushion fall? Do I need to put food and water dishes on the floor of cage and what about where they will sleep? How fast do they learn to fly up on a perch to sleep?

Also are the parents being weird feeding the babies back their own poop? I have watched the father pick soft poop off the egg of nest and feed it back to babies. Babies seem very healthy, crops are full and they have feathered wings except for the youngest one.

[Sheather]

Feeding droppings is abnormal, but parents will ingest the droppings of very young chicks to keep the nest clean, this stops by two weeks of age normally.

Remember that these are birds, and in the wild nest in trees, and there's really no way a nest can be too high for them when they come out, because they don't come out until they can fly.

[paul-inAZ]

As Sheather said~ Birds can fly [sort of] when they first fledge. It may not be pretty but they will flutter their way to a fairly soft landing on the floor the first time out. No injuries to worry about.
As they test their wings they will be pretty awkward with landings for a day or so. They often prefer landing on a sibling which is a bigger landing strip.
Let them do their thing. They'll figure it all out.

[HillbillyFinch]

I thought the parents pushed them out. Really the nest is too small and don't see how 5 babies are going to fit in there much longer. They are about to spill over the edge. The picture I posted is about 4 days ago and they are bigger and more feathered now. I am just having nightmare thoughts about the babies being pushed out of nest and smacking that hard perch.

[HillbillyFinch]

Is it true what I read to take the nest out after they fledge or the parents will immediately lay another clutch and kill the fledglings?

Also how old do they have to be before you can tell if any will be crested if the mom is crested? Is their a ratio percentage how often the mutation shows up in genetics?

[Icearstorm]

HillbillyFinch

You can leave the nest in; society finches almost always get along with their offspring, and should continue feeding them until they wean, even if they start a new clutch.

The first time I had one chick fledge (only one of the eggs was fertile) and left the nest box in while they had another new clutch, and the fledgling started feeding the new babies before he was fully weaned. The second year I bred a different pair, and took the nest out immediately after they fledged (probably after 10-20 minutes after fledging). They also did well.

50% of the babies should be crested, since crested is dominant. You should be able to tell who is crested by the time they fledge, as the head feathers should be mostly grown by then.

[Fraza]

Pictures !!!

[HillbillyFinch]

Pictures !!!

Hey Fraza! I posted a picture yesterday, but I don't see it here now. I had trouble getting into my photobucket account to post pics so maybe that has something to do with it. Assuming you are wanting pictures of the babies?

[Fraza]

HillbillyFinch yep lol haha I like society’s the most never miss a pic


I’ll wait out till u can get it sorted hope all goes well

[HillbillyFinch]

HillbillyFinch yep lol haha I like society’s the most never miss a pic


I’ll wait out till u can get it sorted hope all goes well

Here's some of their earlier pics. Will be taking and uploading more soon. They may fledge this weekend. The oldest is standing on edge of nest flexing wings and looking around. He's almost completely feathered.

[HillbillyFinch]

Daddy bird, Cricket, fed each baby several times and yet they are still screaming as he flies off to get more food.



Look at this hair-do! 4 of the 5 babies appear to be crested like their momma Pixie.

[Fraza]

HillbillyFinch oh wow they look very healthy and I can’t wait for ther first molt to see if they have nice colourings

[Babs _Owner]

HillbillyFinch

Yeah, the nest isnt large enough. But you are in luck! You picked a dedicated/polite species.......I LOVE societies

Take a small box and make a nice nest filled with coco fibre or tommy hay and make a bigger nest for them. Put it on the floor of the cage , and in front of the parents gently place each nestling into it. Parents will continue to feed them..they are fantastic parents by instinct. They dont abandon.

Remove the smaller nest they are in, so the parent's focus is on the new nest you created.

Enjoy!

[HillbillyFinch]

This morning one of the babies was on the floor of cage. I don't think it fledged; I think it either fell or got pushed out because it was one of the youngest. The first born who I thought would be first out is now hunkered down in nest and not even peeping out. I'm so scared to pick them up for fear of squeezing them to hard and hurting them. I've never held a bird before! Can't find a small box, darn if I didn't throw one away last week, but I found a plastic container I think is shallow enough. Seems just wrong it was a container honey roasted turkey came in. Is using white tissue wrapping paper a safe liner for the container?

[Icearstorm]

HillbillyFinch

I don't see why tissue wrapping paper would be an issue, but newspaper and printer paper are both known to be safe, so you could use those. Make sure the birds have something to keep a grip on so they can keep their legs directly under them; it's unlikely chicks that old would develop splay leg, but it's good to be careful.

Baby birds feel a bit floppy and mushy when you pick them up, but it's pretty easy to handle them without hurting them. Support their abdomen and chest when you pick them up, and they should be fine. With birds that can't yet fly, you can sit them on the palm of your hand and loosely curl your fingers around them so they don't fall off.