Newbie

[lenny.]

Hello everyone my name is Lenny and i have just joined Finch Forum and can i just say already i am really liking the site. I have been thinking for a while now about going into Finches ever since i bought my wife a pair of Zebs in January.Apparently the birds were born in 2014 i dont know in which month. They are a beautiful pair and very healthy.We give them a wide variety of foods and they seem to enjoy all of them.We put a nesting box in the cage about 3 weeks after we got the birds and lo and behold we had our first egg on the 6th of March followed by a second the next day and then a third.Unfortunately 2 of the eggs did not hatch but im glad to say we are the proud owners of a beautiful baby finch who was born on the 21st March and is thriving well. Both parents take turn to feed the baby and we can see her getting bigger every time we look. Over the last week we have noticed that the father has been sleeping outside the nest and we have put this down to not enough room inside the nest when mother and baby are in there, could there be any other reason for this. Its been approx 17 days since birth and i know the baby will hopefully start feeding for itself so we just let them get on with it. Would the parents reject the baby if we were to handle it over any length of time not that we want to but we would like to see if we could tame the young bird. It doesnt really matter either way as long as they are all happy. Any advice from forum members would be gratefully appreciated.

[Sally]

Congrats on the baby Zebra finch! If it is 17 days old, then it is just days away from fledging. Once it has fledged, it will start sampling food and drink, but it will take a good three weeks before it will be old enough to be independent. You'll need to keep an eye on the parents once this baby has fledged, as they might want to start another clutch immediately. If there is not enough nesting material available, sometimes parents will pluck feathers from their babies to use. As far as the male staying out of the nest, that is perfectly normal. Most parents will start staying out of the nest once the babies start getting feathers. I recommend that you offer some kind of egg food, if you aren't already doing so, as growing babies need lots of protein.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on housing, feeding, breeding, and especially the Zebra finch.

[lenny.]

We currently have 2 feeding bowls with egg food in them, one is dry and the other is slightly moist. We also feed them plenty of greens along with seed and the odd bit of fruit and millet. Thank you for your comments.

[lovezebs]

lenny.

Welcome to the Forum, and congratulations on your new baby.
Regarding taming, usually that works best if you start hand feeding earlier (with hand rearing formula) , or at least supplemental feedings and handling the baby. Usually once it fledges and subsequently weans, it becomes a little more difficult, but some members have had success.

Good luck and enjoy your birdlings.

~Elana~

[Ginene]

Welcome to the forum! And congrats on your baby

[delray]

lenny. Welcome!

[debbie276]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations!
Spending time with the birds talking softly and no startling movements will get them used to you and much more friendly.
good luck

[Jen]

lenni.
Welcome to the forum! Lots of great information and friendly people here. Congrats on the new baby.....we love to pictures too!!!

[Jen]

lenni.
Welcome to the forum! Lots of great information and friendly people here. Congrats on the new baby.....we love to pictures too!!!

[lnlovesorange]

lenny. Welcome to the forum!! You have come to the right place. Congrats on the baby. I recently had a clutch, they are all weaned eating drinking on their own (my oldest was born on Feb 23) however, my babies hatched, fledged, and weaned the earlier side of the spectrum... VERY early. Anyway, I noticed that the babies once fledged were ok with me, not too scared, so i tried to handle them as much as I could (like when the parent were on free fly time, so they didn't notice/care as much) but once the babies start getting a little older they copy EVERYTING the parents do... so if your parent birds show the fledge to be scared of you, then they will. for instance, my female had to be caught (long story) and now she FREAKS out when I reach in the cage, and she has taught ALL 4 fledglings this... it is something that can be .... I don't want to say "fixed" per se, but it can be alleviated slightly. I just have to earn that trust back... it is time consuming....but if you are willing to take the time I've heard it's very rewarding. check out MiaCarter website petfinchfacts.com she is on this forum and very knowledgeable and she has a link on her site about taming birds. There are also MANY people on here that can give you tips and pointers. This is a great place to be!! Good luck with your birds, and again Welcome... to the last place you will ever have to go for your finches. The people here are knowledgeable, and WONDERFUL!

[lenny.]

Once again thank you all for your comments, i have taken on board all advice given. I will try and get some pics up as soon as i can.

[Nicci_M]

lenny.
Congratulations on your new baby! I'm a newbie as well and the folks here are really very knowledgeable, friendly & willing to help!
Good luck & I hope you enjoy your journey with your "little jewels" as much as I am!