Help with CFW nestlings

[vienneparis]

Hi,
My CFW pair (housed in an outdoor mixed aviary) recently laid 5 eggs, 3 of which hatched 13 days ago. The pair fed the babies pretty diligently, until about 2 days ago. That's when I noticed them building another nest on top of a wicker nest occupied by a couple of societies. I haven't seen them feeding their nestlings since (although I didn't watch them round the clock). This morning, I heard the nestlings making hungry noises, so I took them out of the nest and saw that their crops were rather flat. I hand fed them nestling food and placed them back in their nest.

At this point, I'm not sure what to do with the nestlings and would love some advice on the following:

1. Should I put the nestlings with the societies and hope that they will be fed by societies or should I continue hand feeding them?

2. If hand feeding is the answer, then how often should I do it?

3. Should I keep the nestlings in the aviary or put their nest in an indoor cage near a heating lamp?

4. Is there anything else I need to know about raising these nestlings until they fledge?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[vienneparis]

Here's a photo of the nestlings

[WrenNAustinTX]

Poor buddies well, try the societies, but if that doesn't take (societies wean sooner than zebra finches and they might not have a long stay with society fosters) if you pull to handfeed, I think the suggested intervals are every three hours 6am to 10pm, but others will know better.

[Ginene]

Those guys are young and will not be eating on their own for a while. It's fantastic that they ate for you . Do you have societies that have fostered for you before? Sometimes, fosters won't feed new babies that are this old, but they might help out by sitting on them to keep them warm. Is it possible to bring the babies, their nest and some societies inside so that you can hand feed? If so, there is a Hand Feeding section in the Breeding portion @ the Finch Information Center (link @ the top left of this page). It will give you all of the info you need for handfeeding the babies and troubleshooting any problems.

[vienneparis]

WrenNAustinTX , Ginene
Thanks for your input. I like the idea of putting the nest & some societies in an indoor cage. I'll try that as well as read up on the hand feeding info. I'm sure I'll have more questions after that

[Ginene]

vienneparis...Best of luck to you!!! The societies will help teach the babies how to eat on their own too. I hand fed a Green Singer fledgling that was abandoned by its parents. I put her in a small cage with a sweet male society, so she would learn how to eat, drink and bathe on her own. It took her a while to wean...I cut down on hand feedings slowly...but she finally learned from her society cage-mate. She's 8 months old now and doing fantastic BTW...feel free to ask as many questions as you need to.

[vienneparis]

Ginene
According to the Finch Info Center, it's best if the foster parents are on the same breeding stage as the true parents. I have 2 pairs of societies that have built nests, but not yet laid eggs. Since they don't have eggs or nestlings yet, I wonder if their parenting instincts would be triggered if I place the CFW nestlings in their nest?

[Ginene]

vienneparis...Yes...I have heard that too. It is not likely that the societies will feed the babies, but they might at least keep them warm. I would bring the babies, their nest and 2 or 3 societies inside and set them up in a cage. Provide the society adults with lots of fresh egg food, veggies, seed and fresh millet spray...this might get their feeding instinct going. You never know...the societies might pitch in a bit, or even once in a while. But pull the babies for hand feeding on schedule and check their crops. They are old enough that they do not need to be fed through the night. Your last feeding can be 11pm or midnight and then your first feeding can be 5am or 6am. My schedule for babies this age was 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, & 12am. The older they get, the less feeding they need. Once they fledge they will hopefully start to nibble at egg food, millet and veggies on their own...and of coarse drink water too. The societies will help them learn this...but hand fed babies do tend to wean slower. Praying for you and your little ones

[vienneparis]

Ginene,
As you suggested, I placed the nestlings in an indoor cage with 3 societies. Hopefully, the societies will feed the nestlings, but I will check on them regularly and feed them as necessary.

Should I put a heating lamp over the cage or will they generate enough heat to keep each other warm?

BTW, I found another nestling burrowed under some nesting materials, so now there are 4 mouths to feed !!!!

[Ginene]

vienneparis...Omgosh...you are going to have your hands full. Once the babies are fully feathered they can be at room temperature. Since they're not fully feathered yet, I would think a heat lamp would be OK. They will not need it if the adults go into the nest...and I also noticed that you live in Arizona. What's the temperature in your place? It's possible the babies might be warm enough. Maybe Sally will pop in and help us both out with this question ;)

[vienneparis]

It's in the 80's here now. Since the cage is placed in my family room, the temperature is in the 70's at night and 80's during the day. So far, the societies have not shown any interest in the nest, but it hasn't been long since I placed them in the cage.

[Ginene]

The Finch Info Link says babies with pin feathers should be kept @ 85°-90° and babies that are fully feathered should be kept @ 75°-80°. These guys are kind of in between...more than pin feathers, but not completely feathered yet.

[vienneparis]

I'll keep a heat lamp over the cage at night then. They should be fine during the day. Thanks Ginene.

[Ginene]

You're so welcome! Good luck to you and your little ones

[afinch]

Wow good thing you found that last one! Beautiful babies by the way. How do the parents look like? Any idea why they may have decided to abandon their current clutch? Think they'll do it again next time?