FINCHforum

My Societies hatched 3 babies, and they were in the nest for about 3 1/2 weeks didn't know exactly how many I had as I couldn't see in and didn't want to disturb. Anyway, 2 of them emerged and flew across the cage and are out and about all day. The third seems smaller and is still in the nest for the most part, except when it falls out to the bottom of the cage, about a foot (12 inches). The baby that falls out, looks like a "runt" and does not seem to be able to stand on the bars on the bottom and looks pathetic. I keep picking it up and putting it back in the nest. Should I be doing this? As soon as I put it back, it is at the edge looking to come out again with the same results. It is significantly smaller than the the other two. When I pick it up, it seems as though both legs work fine. It does not seem to be getting much attention from any of the three adults during the day that I have seen except when it lands on the bottom of the cage, then the adult(s) seem to hang around close by. Any thoughts?

thanks and as a side note i was expecting my Zebra's to hatch around the 1st, still hyaven't and the eggs have a very light grey tint to them, is this good?

Rob

I would leave the zebra eggs alone for alittle while longer.

The societies sound normal to me. Normally there is one that is smaller than the rest. He just wants to come out like everyone else. Do you have a bottom grate at in the cage or down you take it out?

The parents sound like they are still feeding it b/c they still seem protective. I wouldn't put him back in the nest until night time....

The bottom of the cage is a barred floor, they type where the paper sits below it on a tray. should i move the nest closer to the floor so it is n't such a long drop, orleave that alone too for the societies. I will leave the Zebras and eggs alone.

You can keep it how you want if you'd like.

However, my personal preference with my finches is to remove the bar grate at the bottom so that when new babies fall/fly out of the nest, it is a softer landing. Do you know what I mean?

A lot of people keep that bar grate though b/c they believe it keeps the finches away from their own poop. However, I think finches can still get to their own poop if they really want to with the grate still their.

Update, the Society baby (runt) died today, it looked after all, that he may have been a bit deformed in the leg area and I am wondering if it may have been from the other 5 sleeping on top of him in the nest.

Anyway, the other two are doing fine, flying all over the place, and seem to every now and then when I catch it, open their mouths on the perch and turn their heads to an adult for food. Can I take out the nest now? They do sleep there at night, but all seem to be doing fine on the perches during the day.

Also, the Zebra eggs have not hatched, does the grey color tint signify anything? I had them due around 9/30 - 10/3.

Thanks in advance, this forum has been great, I have learned a lot

hi
the grey colour in the eggs could mean 2 things ,they are due to hatch or that they are dead in shell which happens a lot if there is no humidity in the air and it is very dry ,if they are dead in shell you could try spraying your birds in future when they come out of the nest to feed or give them a bath to use that way they will take the moisture back to the nest and it should not happen again

ken

Thanks Ken, The weather here has been very humid and hot, and the birds have a bath attached to the cage 24/7. Hopefully it means they will hatch shortly then.

Is there a timeframe when you say, "OK, these eggs have been here long enough"? Or will the birds themselves keep sitting on them forever, or get rid of them on their own?

hi
it depends on the birds really (nothing is simple in bird keeping )they may just sit them forever or some throw them out,or they may just layer the nest and begin to lay fresh eggs on top of the old ones i would wait another 2/3 days and if they havent hatched then i would throw them out you may try to look inside the egg to see how far the embryo has advanced then it will give you some idea asto when they started to go off

ken