3 surprise gouldian babies!

[MariusStegmann]

The dead chicks looks like they were not fed. Maybe they died in the nest and were then thrown out.

[GouldieFledge]

Yup they are inexperienced. Age I'm not sure of, but the females are at least 1.5 years and the males are at least 9 mos. Thanks again for the advice.

[Babs _Owner]

GouldieFledge

I am so sorry you lost another chick. May I ask, what is the extra hen doing while all this is happening?

If the mother is finally in the nest again, the "less doting" daddy and her should be able to handle things alone.

This way also, if another chick is tossed afterwards you have now reduced it down to 2 possible suspects instead of 3. And if you are sure it's only one of the males tossing the chicks, then if another chick get's tossed after you separate the pairs you will then definitely know who the culprit is.

Interesting how the chick was found in the same spot.

[GouldieFledge]

Update: Lost a 3rd chick yesterday The crop looked empty, so maybe they are dying and then being tossed. And it looks the the last chick has possibly been abandoned...

Very late last night, I noticed all the birds were out of the nest completely, which was unusual for the time of night. I checked in the nest and the remaining chick had a nice, full crop, so I let it be other than pointing the heater toward the nest to try and replicate the heat. This morning, I still have not seen any birds reenter the nest and the chick is writhing around in there, crop empty. I think it's starving to death! I'm not sure what to do, should I attempt hand feeding? It's about a week old.

@Babs The other female just kinda does her own thing. She had a clutch of 7 that she tended to (by herself) very well right up until hatching time--then she completely abandoned. I think after that she was like, "okay, I tried, not for me right now" because her beak has returned to normal coloring and she shows no interest in any males' song. She's always been a bit of a loner though, but seems perfectly content otherwise.

[GouldieFledge]

I lied! Just came back into the room and heard the chick begging; parents are back in the nest. Bought a little more time for this straggler!

[Sally]

So sorry you have lost those chicks. Good news that the parents are feeding, but I'd keep a close eye on them. If you decide to attempt hand feeding, here is a link to an article that may help you. It is difficult and time-consuming, not for everyone.

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12441

With this many dead chicks, I'd say that it is probably a case of the parents not feeding and then removing the dead chicks from the nest. When birds are tossing, they usually move the baby as far away from the nest as possible. This is instinct, in the wild birds remove dead or dying babies to a distance from the nest so as not to attract the attention of predators.

[Babs _Owner]

GouldieFledge

I didnt catch this post because it didnt flag me and Im only on about 10 minutes or so a day, Im sorry.

Honey, I'm going to be honest with ya and tell ya how I would handle this situation, however, not everyone can do this since I work at home......but you can meet it halfway.

You have to learn how to handfeed if you want to save starving chicks. You dont have to remove them, you can just carefully put enough food in their crops to keep them alive a few days til they start getting noisy and the parents have a higher probability to feed them.

I've used flat head tooth picks, TINY pippets I begged for from the pharmacist (yes I seriously did this and have the smallest GLASS pippet I have ever SEEN.....and its amazing...so long it fits right past the lungs into the throat with zero effort).

The first 3-5 days, the babiess need only a few drops of food to fill the crops. If you can supply this food just 2-3 times a day their first 3 days just enough to get them to day 4, when they vocalize.

I am sooo glad they kicked in on day 4, they are finally getting it!

[GouldieFledge]

Sally Babs
Thank you for the info. I really don't want to go the route of handfeeding, but I was feeling some guilt after seeing that 3rd one at the cage floor. I know it is time consuming, I'm still new to finches, and doesn't seem realistic with my work schedule. Fortunately it looks like the baby is doing okay and is well fed currently; it's super loud, I can hear its cries from the next room. It looks like the eyes should be opening tomorrow and there's some pins showing on the wings. I did buy handfeeding mix just to have it at the ready in case.

The 1st dead chicks were literally on the complete opposite end of the cage from the nest, which is in the top left corner. The 3rd one was in the middle of the cage floor, so yeah, seems pretty intentional. The 2nd and 3rd ones I both found against the side of a rock (I have a bunch of lava stones scattered throughout the cage floor as paperweights/foot & beak trimmers).

[lovezebs]

GouldieFledge

I hope your little guy survives.

Handfeeding, although difficult, time consuming, and at times heartbreaking, can be tremendously rewarding when successful.