No formula. Baby might die. What to feed it?

[Sketysh]

I had 1 pair of finches that made babies. 2 babies died. the mother escaped and i couldnt get her back into the cage. The father doesnt warm the baby anymore and doesn't go into the hut. Im not sure if he's feeding but i know that he isn't sitting on the baby.

im going to my friends to borrow a baby wipes warmer and try that method.

how can i feed the baby until tomorrow when i have proper formula?

thanks for your help!

[DanteD716]

Maybe some cornmeal if you have it on hand? Boil water and mix in the meal...

Check if their crops are full. Where is the mother? Outside?

[Sketysh]

Yeah unfortunately i was transitioning from one house to another. my girlfriend was moving the cage but a bath covering an entrance fell off and thats when the mother flew away. she stuck around for a bit in some trees and i waited outside in my car for an hour to see if she would fly down or around the cage but eventually her chirping was too distant for me to hear.

[DanteD716]

I am so sorry

[Tiffany]

Good luck. I hope the chick makes it keep us updated.

[Sketysh]

i opened up a bag of bird seed and as i was mashing it with water to boil it, i heard the baby crying. then the dad went in and fed him!

[Sketysh]

actually... i think he's feeding. the dad's in the nest and might be feeding the baby as its cries stop every 5 seconds which is probably the feeding that's going on. is it hard to see if the crop is full without touching the baby?

[DanteD716]

No, you should see the seed on te sides of his neck. And mashing the seed wont work as they hull is still mixed in there

[Sketysh]

yeah i thought about that so i ditched the seed thing

[Rispa]

Maybe making some egg food and putting it in the cage will encourage daddy to feed better. Alternatively boiled egg might be a good basis for a formula. When moving birds in the future I suggest zip tieing everythign closed and together (including the roof and wire part of the cage to the plastic base) that way there's no chance of birds flying the coop. I did that when moving our birds a few months ago and everything went well.

[debbie276]

So sorry to hear this. You could try hard boiled egg yolk till you get formula. Hopefully the male will continue to feed for you. If your going to breed it's a good idea to have a small container of formula on hand, it keeps well in the freezer.
Best of luck, keep us posted

[lovemyfinch]

If you are hearing the babies cries stop and go when dad is in the nest, it does sound as though he is feeding
I would still get some handfeeding formula in case you need it in the future, like Debbie said, it keeps very well in the freezer and is wonderful to have when in a pinch.
So sorry you lost the momma, and goodluck with the daddy and babe

[cindy]

Dad should continue to feed it, give him boiled grated eggfood to feed to the baby. If the begging stops shortly after he goes in then it sounds like he is giving it what it needs. If the begging is loud and continues then the baby is not being fed and you may need to step in.

If these were zebras the mom usually stays in the nest early on with the young and comes out when the young are getting feathers. Dad during that time does most the work in feeding. If you can do boiled egg go to the pet store like PetSupermarket and get dried eggfood, some zupreem finch pellets...this will give him something other than plain seed to feed the young, it will also supply the babies with some of what they need to grow. The boiled, grated egg changed out a few time a day will aid in giving them protein.