My Little White Baby....

[MiaCarter]

lnlovesorange - Fawn and lightback are the only two options. (And lightback is ruled out because they'd have full black markings....unless they molt into darker tearmarks. Possible, but not too likely.)

There's also a dominant and a recessive silver gene, but I don't think that's the case.

There are lots of other mutations, but they wouldn't cause that coloration or they couldn't possibly come from your parents.

Peek at this page:
http://www.efinch.com/varieties.htm

[lnlovesorange]

MiaCarter checked that page out yesterday. The guy doesn't like the fawn/cfw split. ... oh g well i think my babies are precious ! Can't wait to see them in adult colors! How long is that!
? And how long is the weaning process? Also didn't my babies fledge really early? Something like 16, 17, 18 days (only one i KNOW for sure is EB cuz i KNOW the day he hatched and fledged. The others are guestimates but I gutta be pretty close! I think the fawn mutation is pretty i in really like the fawn cheek too . Can't wait to see who is who, i think i have one of each NG girl Fawn girl and NG boy and fawn boy, but we shall see!

[lnlovesorange]

Btw,really weird thing? My first fawn won't go back in the nest, the others slept in the nest, mm not him, he slept all alone òn n a swing last night! Lol to each his own i guess

[MiaCarter]

They're on the earlier end of normal for fledging. I've had zebras fledge at 17 to 22 days old.

My three are still snug as a bug in a rug in their nest. So it's going to be the later end of that window for my lot.

It'll be 2-3 weeks +/- until they're weaned. Around the end of weaning you can start to see some adult feathers coming in. Usually around 7-8 weeks for zebras. It's pretty quick. Takes a few weeks for them to color up, though.

[lnlovesorange]

MiaCarter Is it like a real "molt" for the adult plumage? Just wondering if I should change the food to a good "molt" maintenance mix. Thanks for the time frame. I wasn't sure, it's funny living it, it seems so slow, but looking back it flew by so fast!!! Wierd huh? Yeah, I think my baby (another fawn!) fledged a litter early from his siblings egging him on (no pun intended) cuz he's very uncoordinated, and very small... and all piled in the food dish this morning (wicked cute) he was on the bottom, not sure if this was by design, but it seemed as though they were keeping him warm... and protecting him.... then two left the seed cup, and his other brother was standing on his head/face, and walking on it...so maybe not !!! HAHAHAH. Can't wait to see the sexes, and see their adult plumage, I think they are going to be beautiful!!!

[MiaCarter]

Yes, it's like an actual moult, so a bit stressful for them.

I actually feed a moulting/breeding mix from the time they start building the nest to the time the babies finish their moult.
And of course there's egg food and mealworms and lots of fresh stuff. Calcium/D3 and protein are the two big ones for breeding and growing, and protein is the super important for moulting because keratin -- the stuff that makes feathers -- is also a protein.

It's funny how they tend to stick together. They really do seem to form close a bond in the nest. I tend to keep sibling pairs together as mates (non-mating mates) as they have really strong bonds.

It's crazy how much of a difference a day makes for coordination when they fledge. The babies who fledge earlier are noticeably clumsier. It's so endearing.

[lnlovesorange]

MiaCarter Hello!!! Wondering how your hatchlings are doing? No fledges yet? Also, wondering about the "Moult" mix you give them. Do you know what it consists of? right now i give them tonic seed mix (the one from ladygouldianfinch.com specifically mentions being for feldges/weanies) egg food twice a day, a regular seed mix which i got from glamgouldians.com (the woman that runs it mixes it herself, there's all sorts of different things in there) lots of spray millet everywhere, sprouted seed and veggies (romaine lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, and spinach) any other veggies btw that I should try? Thanks, btw all my babies are becoming scared of me, they see the way the parents act and they are copying, so my chances of having tame finches are slim to none oh well.... It's actually kind of funny, the parents act WAAAY different, I'm sure it's cuz the babies, they are just much more skiddish in the cage than they were before. I'm sure the lessened "free flight" time is probably not helping either, but I don't really have a choice....OH And Guess what!!!!??? Charlotte the Harlot yesterday was acting wierd standing over this seed cup.... and I guessed right, plop, out comes an egg.... i immediately disposed of it, and put a fake egg in it's place.... these birds are running me ragged!!!

[MiaCarter]

lnlovesorange - Nope, no fledges yet!

On Monday (or maybe Tues?), they came out for a little while, but they weren't ready yet.

I was concerned because I hadn't heard them begging in a day or two (they don't beg all that much anyways; very well fed!) and nobody had fledged yet.
So I pulled down the nest and peeked in there. As I did that, the oldest one, Wigglebug, shot out of the nest like a feathered cannon ball and started zipping around the room!
I caught him and put him back into the cage.
By this time, the other two had come out of the nest. Any sort of fright can cause them to fledge prematurely.
They just weren't ready. They couldn't seem to stand on the floor grate properly (feet kept falling through to the bottom.) The youngest 2 weren't perching. I could tell they just weren't ready.
The 2 youngest were really scaring me because they both were in a panic and they started trying to stick their heads through the bars! Clearly panicked. So I caught all 3 and put them back into the nest and I haven't seen them emerge again. (And I haven't peeked, as I don't want to frighten them again!)
No peeking out as I typically see before they fledge, so I think it's at least another day or two.

The oldest is 22 days and the youngest 20 days. So it will happen soon.

I did get a chance to check them for any physical abnormalities/injuries. That can delay fledging. But everybody looked good, so they're just taking their time, I think.

I wonder if they're a bit slower to fledge since they're fosters with another bird species? Certainly possible.
The foster dad is the same species - zebra. But he's not too involved. I see him feed occasionally, but he doesn't ever sit with them. That's how it was with his former mate, Maggie (RIP.) Maggie took the lead.
For all intents and purposes, these are his wife's babies. Sylvia (society finch) has definitely taken the lead, as I expected she would.

I use tonic seed.
I use the mix from Glam Gouldians - probably the same as you.
As a "regular" general purpose seed, I use the gouldian mix from Laraine at LadyGouldian.com
https://ladygouldian.com/Deluxe-Gouldian-Finch-Seed-Mix

Some don't love that one. They get the 3D Pet Products Premium Gourmet.
http://www.3dpetproducts.com/products/c ... inch-food/
OR
http://www.3dpetproducts.com/products/parakeet-food/
^^This^^ is the parakeet version.
Both blends have virtually all small seeds (which is exactly what my guys like. They don't eat any of the colored bits and large seeds).
It's a pretty cheap brand, but it's the mix I've found they eat the best, with the least amount of waste. (And really, I don't need a fancy premium brand of seed with lots of added vitamins and minerals. That would be more important if they only ate seed. But they get lots of fresh foods and supplements, so they get sufficient nutrients via those foods.)

I repurpose the canisters for use as baths and storage containers for mealworms, waste seed (I collect all the waste seed and hulls and toss it outdoors so the outdoor birds can pick through it. I hate throwing it out!)

[lnlovesorange]

MiaCarter Oh what i good idea. I feel as though i throw a LOT of seed away, because that top layer is always the empty hulls, but I am TOTALLY going to start throwing it outside...your genious!! Thanks for the info. I got a grassfinch seed mix for the non breeding season for when all my guys are weaned, which is gunna be soon I think because the parents are trying to make nests out of EVERYTHING. You know the curtains with the Big metal rings in the top that go around a curtain rod? Well I found my melvin in there yesterday (the curtain was closed so all those rings were together) making his (come in the nest with me Charlotte noise) I'm like you gutta be kidding me!! Also, thanks for the info on how to catch them!! I had to last night, they wouldn't go back in the cage!!! The babies were screaming and they were just kind of looking at them and then me, like "yeah, and what do you want us to do?" so i shut out the lights threw atowel over them and put them back in!!! So thanks for that little bit of info, I was so scared, they are so little!!!! Anyone, no more free fly time for them, because they turn into the worst parents ever on free fly time, so I'm leaving them til the babies are weaned.... It stinks for them I know, but it's just too much for me, and theres no way i could be running around the room trying to catch 6 birds that have their own language and tell each other when I'm coming!!! lol Anyway, that's my traumatic story for the night, I really HATED having to catch them, I was just so scared, as it is since the babies fledged they've already spent one night out of the cage.... I didn't want that to happen again. And hey while I've got you, does babies throw the parents habits off? Like mine aren't sleeping right.. (they are in my bedroom) so I know when they are up in the night, I try to give them an even split of light time and night time (about 12 hours each, actually usually more light than night usually 14 hours light and 10 hours sleep) but at night, even with the lights out they've been beeping and bouncing and flying around the cage, the babies are sleeping, but i don't want them to get the habbit....just wondering if things will settle down and go back to normal once the babies are in their own cage.... Sorry, I know I probably should have posted this in it's own post, but I HAD to get this off my chest ASAP!!! Thanks Mia!!!

[MiaCarter]

lnlovesorange - Yeah, collecting the waste seed is one of my better ideas. I'm the type of person who hates to waste food. There are always certain seeds and bits that they don't eat, so the outdoor birds enjoy it.

My first baby Wigglebug and the fawn girl Cecily just popped out of the nest! Two down, one to go!

Yes, babies definitely get them into a different schedule. They feed them during the night when they're babies and when they're bigger, the parents are pickled in there and I think it's just uncomfortable for them.

[lovezebs]

lnlovesorange

Sounds like you had your first 'Zebra Hunt', lol. You have to get yourself one of those long handled butterfly nets from the $ store. They do make life easier, when you've got little escapees going around the room, but you still have to be really fast on your feet.

Regarding seeds. I save all the used sees, take them outside, put small amounts into a shallow tupperware container, and use an old hair dryer to blow out the hulls. Of course there are always seeds that blow out a long with the hulls, so the outdoor crew get something too. They reward me, by pooping on my fence .

~Elana~

P.S. Charlotte the Harlot ???

~Elana~

[cindy]

Just read what mom is and what dad is and that you got a fawn offspring

mom is cfw and dad is normal gray/fawn

mom will only give you ng split to cfw males
dad will give you ng males split to fawn and ng hen and fawn hens

CFW and fawn are sex linked, only the male carries the gene for both
CFW hens not paired with a visual or split to CFW male will only give you split to CFW males.

A male split to fawn will give you fawn hens and split to fawn males if not paired with a visual fawn hen

so you male offspring are normal gray/fawn cfw, your fawn is a hen, any gray hens are just normal gray. hens can not be split to fawn or cfw.

[cindy]

Also a CFW baby is black skinned, black beak
fawn babies are pink skinned, horned colored beak

Markers for Split to CFW, a white edge to their feathers which can also be a marker for lightback.

the above is based on your parents visually and your offspring... after they mature post more pictures for amore exact ID

[lnlovesorange]

cindy Thanks!!! So, what you are saying is that my two fawns HAVE to be hens? And my 2 gray babies could be either hens or cocks? And if they are cocks they will be split to fawn/cfw? It's funny cuz i would swear I saw the makings of a breast bar on one of the fawns and cheek patches!!! Oh well, shows how much I know!!! Thank you so much for the info Cindy. You are great!!! Can't believe I've never harrassed you before now!!! lol I will deffinitely post pics of their adult plumage, as I myself can't wait to see them!!

[MiaCarter]

cindy - Can a bird be split to both CFW --and-- Fawn?


(I've got a mysterious fawn baby myself. NG mom and NG/CFW dad. See the first post here: http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 9&p=363425)