FINCHforum

Hello,

My partner and I are moving house next weekend and I just wanted any / all advice for moving our birds.

We currently have 2 redpolls, 2 orange cheeked waxbills, 2 own finches, 2 bengalese and (did have) 8 zebra finches... Our problem is that the zebra finches have been busy breeding! We have 6 babies who are now eating on their own so I don't anticipate them being an issue as such HOWEVER at least one more egg has hatched in one nest and there are more eggs still to hatch in another nest. The plan was to remove the nest boxes before the bred anymore but that didn't happen before the earlier clutch left the nest. Hopefully that all makes sense!!

Our question is; what would be the best way to get the nestlings to the new home safely? They will only be around a week old and are currently in a large flight cage. Our initial thoughts are to remove the nest (and chicks) and put them in a smaller cage with their parents a few days before the move and move them all together in the car. Has anyone done this before? All the other birds will be going in small cardboard carrier boxes to get them there.

As I say - any help / experience would be greatly appreciated!

I've never had to move babies before, but your plan is worth a try. The parents may abandon, or they may surprise you and go right back to caring for those babies. In any case, are you prepared to hand feed if necessary? I'd have some hand feeding formula ready just in case.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier to answer locale-specific questions later on.

Your plan sounds worth a shot. My only advice would be to move the nests/eggs/parents into smaller cages as soon as possible - so the parents adjust and "get in a routine" in the smaller cage, before things get really hectic with your move.

Thank you very much for the advice. Well... We've just done it and I don't think there's anyone in the house who isn't stressed - birds and humans.

We managed to get the nests and the parents in the smaller cages but both sets of parents were very distressed.

Initial signs aren't too promising.

Nest 1 - the parents have had a look in but are just flying back and forth from a perch to actually on top of the nest box. They haven't been in to their babies yet (these are slightly older)

Nest 2 - the mum was extremely distressed but has been looking in. The dad I have seen in the box a few times.

Just got to hope and hope they go back to their nests; especially nest 1. Unfortunately we can't hand rear the babies as we are both at work full time. Very nervous time ahead but we are just keeping our fingers crossed

Good luck....it may all work out ok. I moved to a new condo in Oct (just 2 blocks from my other condo) & I was very LUCKY for the moving truck guys who agreed to take all 3 large flight cages in the moving van on the last trip. It worked like a charm & I was soooo thankful! (I did have 2 grasskeets still in the nest box, but all birds adjusted as though their cages are trucked around regularly. LOL )

Gazmine

There is an amazing thread here that shows portable brooders you can take to work if you want to save some of the smallest ones.

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12274

If they wont let you handfeed at your work, I truly hope the parents kick it into gear. If you handfeed all the babies twice while you are at home (morning & evening) it may keep the babies alive and loud enough to hopefully get the parents back in action in their new surroundings

On a positive note, it seems you have some great bonded pairs to start over in the future.

Thanks again!

It looked like we were going to lose the babies in nest 1 as the parents weren't interested in the babies at all. In one last attempt we put the parents back in the flight cage and put our two Society finches in with the nest... After a lot of cautious looking in, one of them got in and fed the babies. You can imagine how relieved we were! Hopefully they will keep this up but only time will tell.

As for the other nest the parents are going in and out so fingers crossed