One baby out, too soon? *Picture added

[yourcharmedlife]

Zebra finch, 15 days old
Parents have been pushing on the babies in the nest to come out and one fell out.
It has been hopping around the bottom of the cage, mama is feeding it.
Is all well?
Look ok?
I worry...They are our babies too!

[Sally]

I would say that 15 days is a bit early to be leaving the nest. Are the parents pushing the babies out, or did this baby simply fall out. Sometimes, when the babies get to this stage, they will go to the entrance to the nest and start looking out. If one of the parents decides to leave the nest at this time, they could accidentally knock the baby out. Or, babies sometimes do fall out on their own. Since mama is feeding it, that is a good sign.

Personally, I put early-out babies back in the nest. Usually, that will work and they stay put until normal fledging time. If they come out again, I will place them back in the nest a second time. Third time they are out, I give up and go to plan B, which may involve hand feeding. Or, if the parents continue to feed, I may make a little bed on the floor of the cage, or place a small (40w) heat lamp aimed where the little one can get some warmth, though this often doesn't work too well (they don't stay in place). This little one is fully feathered, so is probably within days of fledging, he just needs a little more finishing.

I'll delete your other post, the one without a photo, since it is a duplicate.

[lovezebs]

yourcharmedlife

As Sally already mentioned, he needs to be placed back in tbe nest. He looks too young to be out on his own.

[debbie276]

I would also put him back in the nest
Good luck

[yourcharmedlife]

Since then there are now 3 babies at the bottom of the cage and one in the nest, parents are kicking them out and laying more eggs!! Not sure what to do, I have been hand feeding 3 of the 4

[lovezebs]

yourcharmedlife

The way I see it:

-You could remove the new eggs, and place the chicks back in the nest, with the hope that the parents will feed.

-Or you could simply remove the nest, and make a little bed for the chicks on the flight floor, with the hope that the parents will feed them.

-Or you can hand raise the kids (if they'll accept food from you) , and allow the parents to start another clutch.

[yourcharmedlife]

That's what Im leaning towards, letting them stay at the bottom. I have been removing all eggs. There is one little one still to young to come out of nest and he is the one that I am focused on hand feeding. The others are being very stubborn and not wanting to take food from me, why is that?

[Sally]

Usually, it is quite easy to get babies to accept hand feeding when they are still very young, but once they get close to fledging age, they will start refusing food from us, even though they will still want to be fed by their parents. It's probably because now they have their eyes open, they are maturing a little bit, and they see us more as predators than as potential parents. Sometimes, once you can get them to accept a little food, they get over that fear of us, but it can be a struggle.

[lovezebs]

yourcharmedlife

Just what Sally said.
Handfeeding older chicks, can be a bit of a nightmare......

Personally, I would take out all the new eggs.

Are the parents feeding at all ?????

Place some slices of cucumber and spray millet very close to the chicks on the ground. They may attempt to peck at these a bit (although they are still too young to feed themselves...)

[yourcharmedlife]

So here is a update, two of the chics are flying up to branches!!! They are pecking at food like mom and dad. Two others are not there yet and the runt, smallest I am not sure will make it. I try feeding it several times a day and just cant fill its little crop. Its not moving much and sleeps a lot. It wont open its mouth for me and have to coax him by pressing on the side of its beak to open up. He licks his beak but no open mouth any tips on how to get him to eat?? Mom and dad are feeding but not much because he dosent even beg

[lovezebs]

yourcharmedlife

Time and endless patience, is the only advice I can recommend.

Prying his little beak open and popping a tiny bit of formula into his mouth with the flat end of a toothpick, endless times, until you see a bit of food in the crop. I wouldn't aim at filling his crop at this stage, just enough to keep him alive and hopefully give him enough strength to start begging again.

If the parents are feeding (even a little bit) that's good.

Keeping my fingers crossed for your bird babies.

[yourcharmedlife]

Thank you the little one is slowly getting stronger it seems every day

[lovezebs]

yourcharmedlife

That is good news !
It's amazing how a just a little bit of food can make all the difference in the world. Keep up the good work

Are the parents still feeding the kids (even if only a bit) ?

[yourcharmedlife]

The parents are feeding not as much as I would like too see, their crops are all low but they just wont take from me. Its getting tricky to find their crops all covered in feathers

[debbie276]

As the chick's get older their crops become less and less noticable. Maybe they are getting enough from the parents.
Offering soft food like hard boiled eggs and easy to eat seeds like millet would help them learn to eat on their own.
Good luck