Father Bird picking on baby

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yourcharmedlife
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Father Bird picking on baby

Post by yourcharmedlife » Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:40 pm

Not sure what to do, I now have 4 fledgings
Some are starting to eat on own, pecking at the millet seeds
Mother still feeds them, they beg very loudly.
However papa bird is picking at a few of them, flying around chasing them.
Why would he do this?
I think its still too early to separate fully.
The nest is out of the cage.
Thoughts?
Babies are not drinking on own yet

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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by debbie276 » Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:42 pm

What species are you talking about?
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by wilkifam » Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:45 pm

Take Dad out
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yourcharmedlife
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by yourcharmedlife » Wed Jan 13, 2016 4:59 pm

They are Zebra finches
I am actually purchasing a flight larger cage very soon, I don't have a extra cage around for the daddy to go atm

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Sally
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by Sally » Wed Jan 13, 2016 5:59 pm

yourcharmedlife wrote: They are Zebra finches
I am actually purchasing a flight larger cage very soon, I don't have a extra cage around for the daddy to go atm
In the meantime, you could pick up a small cage for Dad temporarily. It can serve later on as a hospital cage, always good to have a small extra cage on hand.
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by lovezebs » Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:26 pm

yourcharmedlife

Agree with the advice you have been given.

I would definitely pull the Dad out of there. He probably wants to breed again, so he's trying to get rid of the chicks. If he becomes really aggressive, he could seriously injure them.

You could pick up a second hand cage on kijiji or Craig's list for a very reasonable price.

Good luck
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by tt101 » Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:50 pm

lovezebs wrote: yourcharmedlife

Agree with the advice you have been given.

I would definitely pull the Dad out of there. He probably wants to breed again, so he's trying to get rid of the chicks. If he becomes really aggressive, he could seriously injure them.

You could pick up a second hand cage on kijiji or Craig's list for a very reasonable price.

Good luck
They could even go and buy a small cage of like $20 from the petstore. It is only temporary so its ok if it is small.

OP don't wait till all your babies die and then regret it. These things rarely calm down and usually only escalate!

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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by Spreckles » Wed Jan 13, 2016 11:56 pm

Amazon has some good deals right now on caves.

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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by ac12 » Thu Jan 14, 2016 2:04 am

GET A CAGE NOW !!!

I had a zebra that would start to pluck; the chicks and his mate.
And he would PLUCK.
He plucked his mate's back, side and rump completely bald, and was seriously plucking the chicks. He started plucking before they fledged, so I could not see the damage until the chicks fledged.
Once I saw what was going on, I immediately pulled him out.
Luckily mom was able to take care of the clutch, even though she was BADLY PLUCKED.

And the next time that I bred him, I watched him. As soon as I saw him plucking, OUT HE CAME.

BTW, I've had a couple other birds die from being BADLY PLUCKED, when they were ganged up on.
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by tt101 » Thu Jan 14, 2016 2:11 am

Spreckles wrote: Amazon has some good deals right now on caves.
Hmm you don't say. I would like a cave!

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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by Kathycorvette » Thu Jan 14, 2016 3:59 pm

I have 3 babies that are starting to eat and drink on their own. The dad is chasing them around so I'll be taking him out of the cage. Mom & dad are already mating again so I want to take the nest out but the babies sleep in it at night. Should I take it out and replace with something else the babies can sleep in? (I don't want any more babies for a while).
thanks

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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by Sally » Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:11 pm

If you take the Dad out, that will stop the mating, but Mom may continue laying eggs. I personally would take out Dad and leave the nest until the babies wean (I like to give the babies a safe haven for resting), and then I'd remove it. What kind of finches are these?

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. If you put your general location in your profile, it helps when answering locale-specific questions later on.
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by tt101 » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:42 pm

Sally

She mentioned that they were zebras.

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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by Sally » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:00 pm

Sorry, I should have tagged Kathycorvette, as I was trying to find out what species she had, as she didn't say.
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Re: Father Bird picking on baby

Post by Kathycorvette » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:12 pm

Yes, they are zebra finches. I just checked the nest and there's 3 eggs in it.........if I don't want another clutch before the fledglings are weaned, can I just throw them away?

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