3 day old Owl Finch

a_gouldian · Post by **a_gouldian** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 5:01 pm

Our 8-9 month old Owl Finches had their first attempt at breeding and laid 3 eggs. 1 hatched but the day after they stopped going into the nest for the afternoon and showed no signs of feeding the chick so we removed it and are hand feeding it. The attached pics were taken yesterday and I believe it is three days old in the pics. Today, it continues to thrive and is peeping for food every time it is fed. We hope it continues to do well.

Post by **Sally** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 5:23 pm

Cute!! They are so tiny at first. You are taking on a big job, hand feeding is difficult and time-consuming, but oh so rewarding. Please keep us posted.

Stuart whiting · Post by **Stuart whiting** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 6:20 pm

Gosh, you've certainly taken on a task there, I know plenty of people who hand rear British finches and softbills but your bird being a bicheno ( owl ) finch is so small and fragile,

I do seriously hope that yer able to get the tiny bird to take some food, if he / she does take some this I think will be a big start

Barbara · Post by **Barbara** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 6:42 pm

In the first picture he/she sure has a full crop,what a cutie and what a good job you are doing

a_gouldian · Post by **a_gouldian** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 7:01 pm

Stuart whiting wrote: Gosh, you've certainly taken on a task there, I know plenty of people who hand rear British finches and softbills but your bird being a bicheno ( owl ) finch is so small and fragile,

I do seriously hope that yer able to get the tiny bird to take some food, if he / she does take some this I think will be a big start

So far the little chick is eating a lot. Seems to be a little fighter with lots of energy when it's time for feeding. When it hears the cover of the brooder being opened it starts peeping away. Some baby applesauce is mixed in with the formula and when the bird is fed the crop is first checked to make sure it has emptied. Right now a toothpick with a square end is being used to feed, and the chick sometimes grabs onto it and does not want to let go

Stuart whiting · Post by **Stuart whiting** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 2:40 am

a_gouldian wrote:
Stuart whiting wrote: Gosh, you've certainly taken on a task there, I know plenty of people who hand rear British finches and softbills but your bird being a bicheno ( owl ) finch is so small and fragile,

I do seriously hope that yer able to get the tiny bird to take some food, if he / she does take some this I think will be a big start
So far the little chick is eating a lot. Seems to be a little fighter with lots of energy when it's time for feeding. When it hears the cover of the brooder being opened it starts peeping away. Some baby applesauce is mixed in with the formula and when the bird is fed the crop is first checked to make sure it has emptied. Right now a toothpick with a square end is being used to feed, and the chick sometimes grabs onto it and does not want to let go

Oh happy days

That sounds brilliant, if he's taking food I'd say that it now definitely looks promising,

It truly is great to hand rear because the finished result is that you have perfectly tame birds but the only down side of it all if there is one is that it can be very time consuming

Hope the littlen does ok

a_gouldian · Post by **a_gouldian** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 2:55 pm

We have our fingers crossed that the chick continues to thrive. Here are a few pics from today, 5 days old. It is being fed from the squared off end of a toothpick.

Stuart whiting · Post by **Stuart whiting** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:31 am

a_gouldian wrote: We have our fingers crossed that the chick continues to thrive. Here are a few pics from today, 5 days old. It is being fed from the squared off end of a toothpick.

Truly fantastic, well done

a_gouldian · Post by **a_gouldian** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 11:17 am

Our Owl chick is 8 days old and doing well. Started using the crop tool for feeding the other day and it is much easier. Thinking it could open it's eyes any day now.

Stuart whiting · Post by **Stuart whiting** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:27 pm

Keep up the good work, yer doing brilliantly well

Barbara · Post by **Barbara** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:44 pm

a_gouldian how adorable he /she is sooooo cute went to the bird supply NH over week-end hubby bought me a pair of owls they are on sale for $200 old price $250 ,they are adorable .I love there sound .your little one is sooooo cute and what a "GREAT"job you are doing for your little baby.keep us up dated love the pictures

a_gouldian · Post by **a_gouldian** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:22 pm

Barbara wrote: a_gouldian how adorable he /she is sooooo cute went to the bird supply NH over week-end hubby bought me a pair of owls they are on sale for $200 old price $250 ,they are adorable .I love there sound .your little one is sooooo cute and what a "GREAT"job you are doing for your little baby.keep us up dated love the pictures

Barbara, I saw those Owl Finches at the NH Bird Supply. They looked very nice. We got our pair from a breeder in San Diego before NH Bird Supply had them. Our pair has started laying eggs again, 2 so far. I am not sure if they are ready to settle down to raise chicks though. We will find out soon enough. We will not be able to hand feed the new chicks if the pair doesn't settle down, so they are on their own for this clutch. Our Society pair just started fostering 5 Gouldian chicks so they are not available to help out either.

Barbara · Post by **Barbara** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 8:59 am

a_gouldian they have had them for quite a while they did get them at the same time they got the red cheeked,goldbreast,lavenders I think you bought a pair of them at the same time I bought a pair of the red cheeked wanted the owl but $250 was just too much,now they have a bunch of gouldian babies that they got in because a lady was sick and had too sell them they have been out front for a few weeks now,so a few of them are getting some color they are $225 a pair,would like a pair of them too but am afraid of them being so young and having to quartine a pair alone, with there eating and stressing them out they are awfully cute,I cannot stay away from that place

The owls are doing great and it does seem like I have a pair really not wanting too breed at least not now,how is your little owl baby doing?he/she is adorable and I hope he is getting stronger

a_gouldian · Post by **a_gouldian** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:14 am

Barbara, The Owl chick is doing very good. This pic was taken yesterday, 9 days old. It is starting to grow wing and tail feathers.

Barbara · Post by **Barbara** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 3:09 pm

How adorable.what a "GREAT"job you are doing he looks so healthy.I am going to have to get your tips if mine ever have babies not sure I am ready to take on that job I use to breed lovebirds and took them and hand fed them but they were fed with a bent spoon was actually pretty easy ,those tiny finches with a toothpick yikes have you had to do this often with other finches ?

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