Baby finch questions

[Poece]

So they keep birds where my mom works. Some of the birds kept shoving babies out of the nest. People put them back but they got shoved back out. Some babies died so my mom took this one and now I need to learn how to care for him. I'm not actually 100% sure hes a finch but I think he is. Most of the birds in the cage he came from were finches. I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify what kind of bird he is (maybe its too early to tell?). He can from a cage with zebra finches, green singers, star finches, red cheek cordon blues, ribbon throats, diamond doves and silverbills (I think that was it).
How old is he?
General care tips? I have him in a tank with paper towels a heat lamp. Its 87 degrees. Can I keep using the lamp (red bulb if that makes a difference) or do I need a heat pad? I got him Kaytee Exact baby bird food. I have been feeding him every couple hours. Everything gets sanitized after each use. I have been changing his paper towels as needed. Anything else? Anything I'm doing wrong?

[Sugarplum]

i dont know... setup seems ok. I beleive it is a zebra finch. I have a flock of my own if you could send a picture of the babys open mouth then I could tell for sure

[Sheather]

You're doing great. He's a zebra finch. If the parent birds are not caring for their young it's unethical to keep any nests in their cage. They should all be pulled out, the birds will sleep on their perches and then not be able to reproduce.

[Poece]

Thanks! Its been a day and I have learned a lot and I feel more comfortable caring for him now. Hes my first bird and I was freaking out to begin with because I don't want this baby to die. He came from a nursing home where my mom works so I cant pull the nests. I can have my mom recommend they remove the nests but I don't know if they will.

[Babs _Owner]

Poece

He looks good. Make sure his formula is about 100-110 degrees. (be on the look out for hot pockets.

Keep him inside the brooder 99% of the time so his crop doesnt get cold.

Hes about 10-12 days old?

Lower the brooder temperature temp slowly down as he grows feathers.

He looks fat and happy. Let us know how it goes!

Stage of chick's development Temperature of brooder
Newly hatched 92-94°F (33.3-34.4 °C)
Older, but still unfeathered 90-92°F (32.2-33.3 °C)
Pin feathers present 85-90°F (29.4-32.2 °C)
Fully feathered 75-80°F (23.9-26.7 °C)
Weaned Room temperature Temperature of formula is always the same.

[Poece]

Thank you! I will definitely keep updating.

[Sheather]

I really hate those nursing home aviaries which are maintained by a third part company. All I've seen feature sad and very poorly cared for birds. Do not let anyone know you took a baby bird if this is a rented aviary as it's technically theft. At the one my grandma worked at the birds were all rented. I was not allowed to administer any medical care as a result, and all babies born there became property of the company and would be taken at weaning.

[Poece]

I didn't know that! Doesn't matter though because my mom would have taken him anyway. She wasn't about to sit there and watch a baby bird die.
Are we 100% sure hes a zebra finch? I want to start looking for a buddy for him. I would like to get him a buddy asap so I can start the quarantine. Do finches need to be in even numbers or could I have 3?

[wilkifam]

I would make sure he is going to survive before I went out and bought a buddy. I wish you only the best of luck, sounds like you are doing everything right. I've tried to hand feed multiple times, when parents toss or abandon, and have never gotten the bird past about 7 days of hand feeding. It is very difficult, and hard to keep them alive.

[Poece]

I will be keeping birds no matter what (I do really hope hes one of them. I will be crushed if he dies). I have been wanting birds for about a year now. But, I thought about it and I want to make sure I get a same sex pair because I don't want them to breed yet I want to give them hideys and nests. So I will be waiting until I know if hes actually a he or not.
I went out and got him a cage! Now I need to fill it but I have no idea what finches like. I got him a swing, mirror and hidey so far. I need to start looking up how to care for adult finches.
I also attached an updated pic of him. He seems to be doing pretty good so far!

[Sheather]

Finches need even pairs. Yes he is a zebra, pied mutation.
I would hold off on a companion yet. If you raise this one successfully it will be a tame bird and should come to your hand as an adult but if you introduce it to an untame adult before a certain age (about six months or so) your baby will be apt to follow the adult and become fearful of you, which would be very unfortunate! I would strongly recommend keeping the baby alone for a while to bond with it and then once it was mature and fully colored up you could add a second bird (younger the better) and you will likely then see the new bird copy your hand-fed baby and not vice versa, possibly giving you two tame finches but at the very least ensuring your first one doesn't go wild on you. Tame finches are really special.

But that's all still a hypothetical now. Hand-raising can go wrong so quickly though you seem to be doing an amazing job. My only experience is hand-rearing canaries, but I got the whole clutch to weaning from the age of a day old without losing any, it just cost me a lot of lost sleep. My incubator system was crude - a plastic fish tank wrapped in a heating pad. But they made it.

[lovezebs]

Poece

You have recieves some great advice already.

Baby Zeebie looks good so far, so you're doing a good job. I hope he makes it and grows into a wonderful little bird.

I would NOT introduce another bird into the equation at this time. Right now baby needs care from you, not companionship from an adult bird who may do him harm.

Zebras, to answer your question, do well in even numbers (pairs, or two males, two females).

Good luck.

[Poece]

My plan was to get a buddy for him now and quarantine the new guy for 6-8 weeks and introduce them when my little guy is full grown. But now I will definitely wait until hes about 6 months because I would love to have a tame finch!
Quick update since I'm here, hes doing great this morning! His little feathers are coming in more. He is always so hungry and is eating and gaining weight.

[Sugarplum]

good job

[Poece]

Its been a while since I updated (life got a bit crazy) but hes doing great! When do I start offering him solid food?