Gouldians Hatching!! *Pictures!*

kiwi & mango · Post by **kiwi & mango** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:30 am

can taking them out of a nest to band them cause so much stress that it decreases their system?

How many posters find that if the mama tosses a chick and the chick is placed back in the nest by humans then it grows to be a healthy bird?

K&M

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:51 am

I don't think removing the babies to band them and put them back ASAP would make their sytems any weaker. If it did no one would band their babies. I banded my 2 gouldian babies when they were 8 days old, just took one out at a time and had them each back in the nest in less than a minute. I think if you don't keep them out too long nor let them get too cold they should be fine.

People replacing baby birds in the nest would not be detrimental to the baby's health. If you can put them back and the parents accept them - that's the best thing for the babies. They'll grow to be very healthy.

Ravyn · Post by **Ravyn** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:28 am

As of today, the eldest is fifteen days old, and the other two are fourteen days old, I believe. One of them might be fifteen days. They are very big and very dark, their skin is almost black and they look almost as large as their foster parents. This is my first clutch of goulds so I'm not sure if this is normal or not but they still seem fine. The babies that died looked very pale when I found them after they passed away.

Initially I did replace the babies that were tossed back with the parents, but she only immediately threw them out again. That's when I started slipping them in with the societies. I wasn't going to risk her throwing them out when I wasn't home to rescue them, and I figured by the fourth chick she couldn't be considered safe with them any more.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:37 am

Yes if the parents won't accept the chicks then fostering of some type may be necessary. The parents will probably be great next season. It sounds like the remaining chicks are doing well at this time.

I had to foster my 2 remaining hatchlings (came home on Christmas day to find 4 dead on the bottom of the cage and the other barely alive. They have both fledged sucessfully and seem to be eating and drinking fine. They should be fully weaned within another week or two.

One is a NB-B and the other is a BB (who has now started singing!) and just over 6 weeks old.

Fancie Flight · Post by **Fancie Flight** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:58 pm

Glad to hear they are still doing well, And YEAAA for baby coming out of the best finally.

To the question on replacing babies I have replaced them into a nest before after being tossed and mama finally gave up and raised them to adult hood.

this is sadly NOT always the case and Im quessing your female knew her 3 litle ones were sickly,

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:20 pm

Do you think finches really know when there is a problem with their chics at such an young age??

hilljack13 · Post by **hilljack13** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:26 pm

Sometimes dogs have that 'sense' about them. I don't see why a bird would be any different.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:04 am

Just that some of these abandoned finches when fostered seem to do well and therefore says there is really nothing wrong with the chick.

Also if you think about it they don't know if eggs are fertile or not and continue to incubate them even if the embryo is dead or if eggs are infertile. A bird will also take on fake eggs too. I mean really if they have a sense one would think they should know. It's this that makes me really think that perhaps it's not that something is wrong with the chick but mother nature picks the strongest to survive. SURVIVAL OF THE STRONGEST. We as humans interfere and choose to help those who are weaker to give them a better chance of survival.

Just my thought.

Chris

kiwi & mango · Post by **kiwi & mango** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:28 am

how are the little ones doing?

Ravyn · Post by **Ravyn** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 7:09 pm

They're LOUD

They're really doing great. Baby has discovered the water dish and likes to dive bomb his way into it, its really funny. The triplet little gouldians are getting more and more feathered by the day. The feathers looked black at first but as they develop more and more they're changing to that olive green. The smallest is still noticeably smaller than the biggest, but seems to be doing fine.

My two society parents seem eager however to start another clutch. I won't be surprised when the gouldians fledge if I'm tossing out eggs again.

Ravyn · Post by **Ravyn** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:21 pm

Ok, it seems like every time I say they're doing fabulous, I have to come back with a post about how they're not

I'm starting to really worry about the third chick. I've noticed that the last couple of days it hasn't seemed to develop at all. This morning I thought he was dead, so I pulled the chicks only to discover he was still alive and still fairly feisty. I shot a couple of pics so that you can see what I mean though. You can clearly see the two other chicks are far more developed than he is. He seems to have hit a wall and is just not growing. The age difference in these three chicks is not great. The biggest one you see in the front hatched first, then the other two on the same day within hours of each other. Tell me what you think:

kiwi & mango · Post by **kiwi & mango** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 4:20 pm

wow that is a big difference....

How old are they now?

hilljack13 · Post by **hilljack13** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:17 pm

Not sure what to say

, At this point I would try to handfeed the two smallest ones. They are large enough to fit a syringe in the crop. If the crop doesn't look like it's going to pop they aren't eating enough. Hope all else goes well.

Ravyn · Post by **Ravyn** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:35 pm

The littlest one died. I came home to find the second littlest had fallen out of the nest. He seemed fine, its really warm in the room so he wasn't chilled at all. As I replaced him in the nest I noticed the littlest was dead.

The biggest is extremely energetic, up on his feet and walking around inside the nest, he looks nearly as far along as Baby. But NOW I'm worried about the one that fell out of the nest. I'm not sure how long he was out but his crop was empty.

I'm going to try and give him some formula and then put him back in the nest. I can't fully hand feed him at this point but hopefully I can get him a bit perky again.

kiwi & mango · Post by **kiwi & mango** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:57 pm

so sorry to hear....

So you have two remaining out of the 7 eggs. What a shame. It is hard to see all those beautiful birds not strong enough to make it.

I lost my first tonight as well. The male tossed it out first chance he got...

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Gouldians Hatching!! Pictures!