Abandoned nestling?

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:37 am

4 of the 6 chicks my hen is currently raising fledged within a few days of each other, leaving two "stragglers" in the nest. One of the stragglers was pretty well along in development, but another was a "runt" (same age, but very slow in development). While both babies remained in the nest, they both got fed.

However, as soon as the more well developed chick fledged, mom stopped visiting the nest--just concentrating on the now 5 fledgelings who needed her attention, and no longer visited the "runt" to feed him.

I gave him a supplemental hand feeding when his crop had been left empty for several hours after the morning lights came on. When I came home later in the day, his crop was empty again and it was clear he was not being fed. I hand fed him a second time and thought about what might be going on here.

It is not unusual to hear about 'abandonment' in the case of a single chick left in the nest. Finches will often see a lone baby as "not worth their time" according to some sources. Perhaps in this case the hen was so distracted with 5 fledgelings that the runt in the nest becamse part of the "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon. Though a complete understanding of why finches do the things they do is not really available at this point, I now had a problem to deal with, and I'm happy to say it has been resolved.

I thought I would post my solution so that any of you may run into a similar problem in the future can try this to see if it helps in your case:

I took the runt out of the nest, removed the nest from the cage completely, and placed the runt in a "clear" seed cup (lined just on the bottom with paper towels) which I fastened to the side of the cage directly adjacent to the hen's feeding station. This way the baby could see the hen when she approached, and the hen could also see him. The runt begs vigorously every time he sees the hen, and "out of sight is out of mind" is no longer an option for her--so she feeds him! The runt is funnny because sometimes he begs so vigorously he falls out of the seed cup (only a 2" drop to the floor of the cage, so he's never hurt), but he seems to get fed when he's on the ground as well. So I think the biggest solution in this case (where the chick is old enough to beg vigorously, is capable of thermoregulation, and can "hold his own" pretty well on the floor of a smaller breeding cage) is to put the chick in direct sight of the hen--by removing him from the nest and placing him close to where she eats.

The runt not only begs his mom for food, but he'll also indescriminantly beg ANY of the other fledgelings who happens by his clear "seed cup" nest. This morning I actually saw one of the older fledgelings feed him! This really amazed me, since the older "sibling" just recently figured out how to eat bits of food on its own and still begs the mom for supplemental feedings--which is to say that this chick is not yet independent. Yet here he was feeding the runt.

Winston · Post by **Winston** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 9:51 am

That last bit is amazing. What kind of finches were they?

Thanks for sharing.

alwaysfullofjoy · Post by **alwaysfullofjoy** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:47 am

Wow! I'm so glad this worked for you. I'm amazed as well about the sib feeding the runt. Too Cool!

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 2:44 pm

They are gouldian finches. The only bird I see feeding the runt right now is his older sibling. I am curious to see what sex the older sibling will turn out to be, and if any other siblings are feeding--I plan to keep a close watch and take notes. This really fascinates me.

I had heard of juvenile gouldians (which can become sexually mature as early as 2-3 months of age) breeding and raising their own clutches within the same breeding season they hatched out in (the earliest chicks of the season, and the oldest) before coloring into adult colors, but I have never heard of a gouldian juvenile who isn't even weaned yet helping raise a sibling.

JeannetteD · Post by **JeannetteD** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:06 pm

Heya Crystal,

It sounds like you have an excellent future breeder gouldian in the making if he's feeding his siblings!

Awesome!

Jeannette

Sally H · Post by **Sally H** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 6:15 pm

And how about the foster mom? She's a 'keeper', too.

*keeps her fingers crossed for the lil guy*

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:31 pm

Well the mom doesn't appear to be feeding the runt anymore (she has been decreasing feedings to all of the babies for the weaning process--and only feeds those babies who follow her around, bugging her to feed them; the runt is at a disadvantage here because he cannot fly yet), and unfortunately the siblings (there are 3 who feed the runt) do not regurgitate enough food to keep the runt well fed. I have been supplementing hand feedings (1-3 a day, depending on how often the siblings feed him).

The good news is that the runt is strong, looking good, and his feathers are finally starting to come in more completely--he has wing and body feathers (almost fully emerged), and has pin feathers on his head. It hopefully won't be too much longer until he's developed enough to "fledge" and fly about bugging mom.

I did capture a little video footage of the siblings feeding the runt. I plan to add it to my sites soon.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 5:58 pm

Thanks for keeping us posted on this lil' guy's progress. Can't wait to see the video clip!

TammieB.

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:34 pm

Sibling feeding is actually not uncommon in many finch species - it's one of nature's little tricks for ensuring all the chicks get a fair share...

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:04 am

I've heard of this behavior but never witnessed it with any of mine. I always felt the sibling probably fed to shut the little begger up. They can be quite persistent!

TammieB.

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:05 am

Mad, where did you read/learn about it?

flashbackn · Post by **flashbackn** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:51 pm

i have a pair of white zebra's, out of three eggs one egg hatched.. its been at least 2 days now, but i watch the pair sit on there perches and they dont seem to go in and feed the baby.
moma bird eats the prepared egg i put in the cage but i dont see her feeding the baby? i have another pair in another cage that have 3 babys almost ready to start eating on there own... what do you all think of putting the newborn into a nest with the other pair? is adoption a possibility?
thankyou for your time and help........

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:23 pm

Give them awhile longer. Normally they do not feed for the first 3 days as the chicks are sustained on what is left of the yolk sac. If you don't see the chick being fed by this time tomorrow then it's time to worry. The other pair might be needed, but don't get over anxious and pull the chick before giving the parents the opportunity to raise their own.

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 4:42 pm

Crystal wrote:Mad, where did you read/learn about it?

Good question.
I know i've seen or read it somewhere... I just have no idea where.
I have seen it frequently in my own avairies...

alwaysfullofjoy · Post by **alwaysfullofjoy** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:03 am

Crystal,

How are the fledges doing? Just wanted to update hubby he has been watching this thread.

Thanks,

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