Please help! Bugs in nest and newly hatched chicks!

[finchescb]

My Lady Gouldian's nest has tiny little red bugs in it. I'm so excited there are two newly hatched chicks!!!! I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I sprayed avian insect liquidator in the nest. Is there anything else I need to do. The eggs are still hatching.

Also any advice for helping with the new chicks would be appreciated!

[Babs _Owner]

finchescb

S76 is safe for parents and chicks. It is added to the water, the parents feed it to the chicks, therefore the mites die when they bite the chick. Mites on newborns is a big concern so I would get your hands on some ASAP as they will suck the babies blood and could swarm on them I dont know if that spray is safe for newborns.

You didnt spray it directly on the chicks I hope.

Heres an article and measurements for dosage in their water.

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/product_s76.php

Use for 2 days, then you have to use it again in a week for 2 days......then a 3rd time after the 3rd week has passed to make sure the remaining eggs that hatch dont re-infest the cage.

This is why it is very important to sanitize grasses, sticks and branches from outside before you introduce them to your flights. Use raw vinegar and soak anything you bring in and let it dry before it goes in. Sanitize your hands after handling anything from outside. All these things can bring in mites

The parents are going to need fresh mashed boiled eggs and lots of millet to keep the baby's crops filled.

Spray the cage down with your spray in a way that causes the least amount of disruption to the parents, or they may panic and toss/abandon the kids. I suggest spraying it into a cloth and wiping things down so to the parents you appear to just be doing a "routine cleaning" rather than shooting spray all over the place with the scarey spray bottle.

Work quickly, but smoothly and calmly in a way that keeps your parents busy munching on eggs and treats while you stealthily get the job done.

Let us know how the babies are.

[finchescb]

Thank you for all your help and suggestions. It was very helpful!

The website for the avian insect liquidator says it is safe even for newly hatched chicks. I didn't spray it directly on the chicks just to be sure. As you mentioned the parent birds did toss out a chick but haven't thrown him back out since he was put back in the nest.

I wiped down the cage last night and put the S76 medicine in the water, put more millet in the cage, and gave them egg today. How long do I keep giving the egg to the birds. Is it once a day until fledging? I think the parent birds are feeding the chicks (do Lady Gouldians start feeding their chicks earlier then other finch species?). I saw one chick moving around today! I'm so excited!

[ac12]

Feed egg food as long as they will eat it.
As the chicks grow, the parents will eat more and more egg food. As they scarf up the egg faster, I increase the number of feedings. I have had to increase the egg food feeding up to 4 or 5x a day as the chicks grow and the parents eat more egg. I'm home, so I can feed them 4x a day. I also don't leave out a LARGE dish of egg food.

If you work, then you do the best you can, in the morning and when you come home, will have to do.

At a certain point, after fledging, my birds will shift from primarily egg food to primarily seeds, eating and feeding less egg to the chicks. So I have to watch for that change, and adjust down accordingly.

[Babs _Owner]

finchescb

I give them boiled egg til the day they wean because they need to learn to eat it, as you will give it to them when they molt as adults and later when they breed.

I also maintain boiled egg in their diet 2-3x a week when they are juveniles.

How is the mite situation looking today? Did they accept the hatchling back into the nest?

[Fraza]

I give them 2 boulders eggs mashed up with a tea spoon of sugar if u are busy like us you can also freeze this and give them a slice in the morning I feed them this about every two days about a week before the eggs hatch and keep feeding it them until the chicks come out and eat it themselves once they learn how to eat it I get rid.

The other days I drop abit of salad fruit or cabbage in the cage

[Sally]

Boiled eggs are great for finches, but sugar is not. Refined sugar can cause health problems in our finches--illness, digestive problems, etc. Birds do not eat refined sugar in the wild, so their bodies have difficulty processing it. Natural sugars, as in fruit/berries, is what they eat in the wild, and those items can be good for them.

[Fraza]

Okay a breeder of 40 years told me this though strange maybe u are right

[Sally]

Okay a breeder of 40 years told me this though strange maybe u are right

Sometimes the old ways were because they didn't have all the good supplements that are available to us today. We know so much more now, with lots of research being done all the time. The only birds on my property that get sugar are the hummingbirds, and that sugar is boiled down until it is completely dissolved.

[Fraza]

Okay nice to know

[finchescb]

ac12

Ok! Sounds good! It sounds like I'll be busy adding egg!

[finchescb]

Babs

Ok! I'll up the egg amount. The parent birds did accept the hatchling back in! They haven't tossed him out since.
I gave them the second dose of S76 this morning. I looked in the nest and did not see any mites!
There are four chicks. The chicks are now 3 days old and I'm still not able to hear them chirp even when I'm right next to the cage. Is this normal for Lady Gouldians? I could hear some of my other species' chicks (Java finches, Society finches, and Cordon Bleu) chirping at this age so I just wanted to check if this is ok.

[Babs _Owner]

finchescb

That is fantastic news! Glad they accepted the chick back...that doesnt always happen

If they are 3 days old , by the end of the day or tomorrow, you will be hearing them cheep ever so softly.

In a few days it will be LOUD! Hahaha Sounds like you did a great job !

Don't let the lack of mites lull you into a false sense of security. You have to followup with weekly treatments for two more weeks, and wipe down the cage every few days. I've read on the forum those red mites are tenacious.

Make sure their fresh boiled egg is available first thing in the morning. My gouldians wont even start feeding their chicks until I bring them their mashed egg. So I put it in the cage before the lights come on to prevent the parents becoming frustrated and tossing the kids.

[cindy]

was going to say AIL but it was mentioned above... You need to treat the areas around the cage, in between the cage sides, nest, nooks and crannies...feather mites crawl off the birds at night, bury themselves in small spaces like the ends of perches...under nesting material. mite will drain babies of blood fast, cause them to go anemic. Babies that are anemic will look withered, pale, feet will be white. Get some AIL and treat...wiping the cage down will not get rid of the issue. Spray the areas mentioned. Even under the cage... your wood work

Absolutely no sugar... as Sally said they do not need it plus sugars (even honey) will cause yeast in birds...baby birds will be the first to succumb to this because their immune system is nill.

Boiled egg changed out every 2 hours to avoid bacteria, fungal growth, if you can change it out often leave dried egg food down 24/7

[finchescb]

Babs and cindy
I wiped the area around the cage and followed the instructions for S76 (thanks Babs) and I haven't seen any mites lately so I'm hoping they're gone. I'm keeping an eye on them just in case. Thanks so much!

Thank you for your help with the food too! The chicks are doing well. One died (it was the smallest and had empty crops) but the other three are growing big and chirping loudly. They're so cute! They're supposed to fledge this coming week. I can't wait! These are the first Gouldian chicks I've had reach the nestling stage.

I actually have five Lady Gouldian chicks from a different pair being raised by society finches. So far, those are doing well too! From what I read, I should move these chicks with other Gouldians when they're weaned to avoid imprinting, right? Could I put them with the three chicks to avoid the problem?

I mentioned under the health thread, though, a problem with the mom Lady Gouldian (the mom of the three which I've been writing about). I'd love to hear if you have any suggestions for that. Thanks again!