My Zebra finches laid eggs, and two hatched. Help?!

[finchly]

I’m sorry it is so much trouble! You;re doing great!

Yes - I think the lack of light messes with them, or at the least confuses them. I try to keep my lighting consistent - my lights are on timers. On the other hand, they wont’ want to breed so much, with all the darkness!

Sounds like they are protective of baby and that’s good. As far as feeding, you will have better results with the dad feeding than the mom. If he will behave, he would be tthe best choice.

OK..... egg food.... and veggies.....and pellets. Basically you can mix it all, chop it, and give it to them. I chop in the food processor, so it’s pretty small. Here’s some information, it says Gouldians but really it works for any kind of finches.

So to introduce those foods, you want to give them a few favorites and maybe offer it several times in a row. Say you mix a couple teaspoons of peas, corn, and some cooked sweet potato. Add a scrambled egg and chop it up. Give them a spoonful and store the rest in the fridge. Oh, add some moistened pellets if you wish. By day 3 or so they should be eating more and more of your mix.

 

[BirdManDan]

My wife had several finches years ago and the zebras made the best parrents. In fact a finch breeder friend of ours uses the zebra finch parents to sit on her other finch breeds eggs and rear them because they are great parents. She has a much better survival rate doing that. Enjoy them the babies are amazing to watch them grow.

 

[finchly]

^^ that is really weird Dan, as zebras are notoriously bad parents. Did you mean society finches? Theyre the ones everybody uses as foster parents.

 

[BirdManDan]

OOPS MY WIFE JUST TOLD ME THAT IT IS SOCIETY NOT ZEBRA. THAT'S WHY I'MA BIG BIRD PERSON. LOL

 

[LyricalDream]

I'm not sure what to do now. For the last few days mama finch has been screaming, ripping at her feathers. I thought she was stressed and he was plucking. She sat on baby overnight, but wouldn't feed (I have a camera set up) I moved the baby over to papa this morning. He would look, but wouldn't go in. So I put mama in the nest with baby. He fed the baby. Ten minutes later she's screaming again. I go in... And she's died. I held her while she passed. She also laid another egg seconds before she died. I feel horrible now. I was sure it was papa abusing her. I don't know if papa will continue to take care of baby, or if my messing with them ruined it. Maybe it's because I didn't give her the nutrition she needed fast enough. I don't know. She was only a year or so old. (I got her in Jan)

 

[faislaq]

I can't begin to imagine what you're going through. I wish I had some helpful advice, but all I can do is commiserate. What a horrible and confusing situation. I am so sorry.

 

[LyricalDream]

I'm hopeful that the father will take care of the baby still. In the event he doesn't, anybody know how to hand feed the baby? What signs should I be looking for (Dehydration etc?) I took mama out of the cage. I'm not going to let this new egg hatch, if it's even fertile. This is heartbreaking.

 

[finchly]

First: hand feeding is really hard, and the survival rate is low. Be prepared.

You need handfeeding formula and a syringe. Look on youtube for people hand feeding finches, they're on there. If the dad will take care that would be best. If you hand feed send me a private message, we'll get you thru it.

It sounds as if the hen was egg bound. You did not have a way of knowing that. And you don't know how they were kept before; I'd say this was not your fault. Please don't be hard on yourself.

 

[LyricalDream]

Papa has turned on the baby. He keeps ripping the feathers out. So I guess I'm off to the store for formula. He liked the baby yesterday! I wonder if it's due to the cage change.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Wishing you the best with the baby. So sorry about the loss of the mom. Too bad dad is hurting the baby.

 

[LyricalDream]

@finchly I've no idea how to PM you. Can you message me and help me figure out what supplies I'll need for hand feeding? I'm going to Petco in a few to see what they have and want to be sure I get the right stuff. I refuse to let baby die!

 

[finchly]

@finchly I've no idea how to PM you. Can you message me and help me figure out what supplies I'll need for hand feeding? I'm going to Petco in a few to see what they have and want to be sure I get the right stuff. I refuse to let baby die!

I sent you a PM. Look at the top of your screen beside your name, click "Inbox."

 

[LyricalDream]

Gonna rip my hair out!!! I spent $20 on the only baby food they had (it was my dinner money. Sigh) came home and baby wouldn't touch. Baby also has a bloody wing from where papa tore out a wing feather. Baby didn't touch for several hours. I just went in because baby was screaming, and papa was freaking out trying to meld through the bars to baby. I had some success with baby... I would put a drop on the side of his beak and he would eat it. Papa continued to freak out. I had to clean papa's cage since he spilled water all over, so I (unhappily) put him in with baby while washed his cage. my sister watched them and says she's pretty sure papa fed baby. He's also sitting on baby and attacking me if I try to move him back.

So. Now I have to tend to a bloody wing. But it looks like papa will keep it fed/warm? I have a camera on them (baby monitor) and at the very first sign of trouble he's out.

MAKE UP YO MIND DADDY!! I've been mentally getting ready for baby to die too. Now he's getting my hopes up, but I can't do that because he may turn nasty again.

 

[finchly]

If the dad wants to do it, let him.

 

[LyricalDream]

I've got a nest cam set up for overnight. Fingers crossed we catch some feeding action. Baby's crop is very tiny, so I don't know how well daddy is feeding the baby. We may end up being co-parents in a sense. Daddy snuggled up in baby's nest and wouldn't leave for several hours except to eat, so that's good! I don't have to panic about warmth. And I feel better about his chances now. Especially overnight.

As odd as it is, I'm really enjoying this experience. It's traumatic, but I won't give up. I tried to save a baby field mouse my cat brought in once. I guess it's just my nature to help little thingies.

 

[Serin]

I have never experienced such a traumatic breeding situation but have read about it and it's why I don't recommend keeping this species. Many zebras have been indiscriminately-bred, resulting in birds with overly aggressive temperaments. It is absolutely not normal for a finch to attack its mate or its babies but it happens a lot in zebras these days.

I have had a few zebras. My English exhibition types, which are huge fluffy birds, were good parents and not aggressive. But except for one, every "regular" normal sized zebra which didn't come from a selectively bred line was vicious and horrible to each other.

Society finches are such nicer pets.

 

[LyricalDream]

I didn't even know this would be such a huge problem when I got the bitty birdies. I thought they sat and looked cute like in the movies, you know?

Papa seems to have taken the baby back. He's still aggressive, so we have a nest came on him still. Baby has a fat and full crop today. His wound doesn't look infected, so I just keep it clean when I can. Taking the baby out to tend to it seems to help keep dad from attacking it and keeping him focused on guarding/feeding the baby. It's not an ideal situation, but I know the baby will have a better chance of surviving if his true parent feeds/sits on him.

My cockatiels have never had any of these issues ever, and I've had them for 15 years! My male pecks at the female sometimes, but that's it. (And that's when I haven't been home and he's lonely)


As stressful and eventful as this is, I'm enjoying watching the little baby bird grow. He's a tough little guy - he's already learned to bite me. I think I'll still keep finches, but either in a MUCH bigger cage, or two separate cages so I don't end up with chicks. It's hard. I don't see how people raise them professionally. My one little baby has required a LOT of work.

Once I'm sure it will make it, it'll have to get a name! If only because he's a survivor. And he's got beautiful white coloring on his wings. I hope it stays through his molting. Papa finch also has the white coloring.

 

[Featheredfuffs]

... And this is why I love my society’s. In my opinion they make MUCH nicer pets. They’ve been breed for thousands of years, so much so that they don’t even exist in the wild (like a dog or cat doesn’t). Soooo sweet and well, social!!!

 

[finchly]

... And this is why I love my society’s. In my opinion they make MUCH nicer pets. They’ve been breed for thousands of years, so much so that they don’t even exist in the wild (like a dog or cat doesn’t). Soooo sweet and well, social!!!

Hi, Pearl!

 

[LyricalDream]

Dropbox - IMG_20180420_170205.jpg baby won't pose for pictures. She's grumpy. (Once I put the camera away she hopped all over) that's her wounded wing, so it looks funny. It's healing.

Baby flat out refuses to stay in the nest. I'm putting her back about every hour now. It's not dad tossing her, she's doing it willingly. He's doing 100 percent of feeding again. He got mad at me for messing with baby and took over again. He isn't even attacking her!


I'm so excited!! And in love with my new baby. I'm so sad about mama (Penelope. Daddy goes by Timothy or Phillip - phil-eep. French - depending on his mood) at least she's left a beautiful baby girl behind (we assume female - no cheek patches) baby is old enough I'm going to name her she is a grumpy, nasty, mean little baby.