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My first baby birds (sad update #6)

fluff86

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This morning when I went to feed my finches I noticed that 5 of the eggs have hatched and 5 baby birds in the nest. This is the first time I have seen them but they have probably been there for a few days but I didn't notice them until this morning when the parents were away from the nest. Its so exciting to see them. They are my first lot of baby Zebra finches that I've breed. I don't want to disturb them so photos will have to wait until I get an opportunity when the parents are away from the nest.
 

Tyrion

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:congrats5:
 

Icey

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:dance4: Congratulations! :dance2:
 

Xoetix

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Congrats!! How exciting!!
 

fluff86

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I have some bad news and some good news.

The bad news is... when I went to feed and change there water I found that the baby birds were on the aviary floor two of them are still alive so I've put them back in the nest hoping the mother will look after them. I think its time to build some better nest boxes for them. I think there may have been a squabble and the baby birds got knocked out of the nest.

The good news is... I have discovered another nest with babies I'm unsure of how many babies because the mother is sitting on them.

I'm really hoping those two baby birds make it.
 

fluff86

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Unfortunately all babies are dead. The two I put back in the nest yesterday were back on the aviary floor dead and all other nests were empty. I kinda expected it this morning. Oh well time to try again. I really need some more timber to build some more nest boxes.
 

fluff86

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I'm starting to think that maybe there nests were to exposed. I'm going to build them some new bird boxes and remove all the old ones. Its so disappointing but typical at the same time. I got really excited about it on Friday when I saw I had baby birds. I guess its happens. I'm going on a hunt for some timber later to build them some new secure nest boxes maybe they will do better in those.
 

Kiwi's Dad

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Unfortunately all babies are dead. The two I put back in the nest yesterday were back on the aviary floor dead and all other nests were empty. I kinda expected it this morning. Oh well time to try again. I really need some more timber to build some more nest boxes.
I'm sorry for your loss :sorrow:
 

fluff86

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Its very sad whats happened but I won't let it put me off. Apparently its common for Zebra finches to push there young out of the nest or kill there young when things are not quite right and it can be the most simplest things like food being low or the female isn't getting attention from the male from what I have read.

I could not find any timber so I've looked through my wood scraps and found some bits but its not enough to build the bird boxes I need so I have ordered a 12 pack of bird boxes from ebay instead. The next thing I need to do is make sure this doesn't happen again by giving them some more food bowls and extra seed and meal worms and crushed boiled egg making sure they have it all the time. Some days I get a bit lazy like at weekends when I want to lay in and I don't check on the finches until 11 or 12 O clock where as in the week they get there food changed around 8:00am sometimes earlier if I have to work away from my usual location I'd get up at 4:00am and sort the birds food and water then before leaving.

The next issue is nesting material. Zebra finches are notorious nest builders and will often build nests on top of existing nests and on top of eggs. This is tricky because I would put enough nesting material in each nesting area and what they do is take the nesting material from one nest and put it in the other nest until all the other nests are empty other than the few being occupied. I need to figure out a solution to that problem.
 

fluff86

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Another thing that could have affected the finches is that it gets dark early now. My livingroom is dark by 3:30PM. Although Zebra Finches don't have a particular breeding season "as far as I know" it might have put them them off breeding and they decided to abandon there young. I will need to sort out some lighting although nothing to strong as I will need to be mindful of my electricity bill. A couple of lamps with a 6500k 7Watt bulb might keep them happy if I turn it on at 3PM and switch it off at 6PM.
 
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fluff86

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Nope... I had three chicks they left the nest, the parents were feeding them and then shortly after becoming independent two of the fledglings got ill then more of the birds have got ill. I'm losing them all. Its just been total misery.

Unfortunately I can't keep birds anymore because they don't thrive in my home and end up dying. It could be neighboring toxins from other apartments I don't really know It will remain a mystery.
 

Zara

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I´m sorry to hear that :(

It is in your own interests to find out what it was, especially if it is something in the air, as toxins that can kill birds can´t be good for human health, so they could make you sick.
 

fluff86

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I´m sorry to hear that :(

It is in your own interests to find out what it was, especially if it is something in the air, as toxins that can kill birds can´t be good for human health, so they could make you sick.
I agree but how would I go about it? its hard enough as it is with trying to get things done. I must admit I have woken up a few times in the night being very short of breath or sometimes get severe chest pains but that could be totally unrelated to the issues with birds failing to thrive in my home. The only thing I can do is call the gas board and to see if I have any carbon monoxide leakage but I think its unlikely. Other than that I'm on my own with the issue. I can't see a way how I could get such a thing investigated.
 

Pixiebeak

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im sorry for the loss of your flock..
But without veterinarian care, and signs of infection. I dont think its accurate to blame neighbors toxins
 

fluff86

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im sorry for the loss of your flock..
But without veterinarian care, and signs of infection. I dont think its accurate to blame neighbors toxins
I understand and you'd be correct. Unfortunately there are not many avian vets around here and the ones that are, are very pricey. They would want me to bring in all the birds and I can't catch them in a big aviary. It would just result in more stress for the birds, I could of course bring in a dead one but its not cheap. I have spent enough already and adding further costs "thousands" on an avian vet to what could be a hopeless issue I'm just not willing to go that far over some Zebra finches that cost a fiver each. I know that this may sound cold me saying that but I've got to draw the line somewhere otherwise it just becomes a huge money pit.
 

Pixiebeak

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I understand and you'd be correct. Unfortunately there are not many avian vets around here and the ones that are, are very pricey. They would want me to bring in all the birds and I can't catch them in a big aviary. It would just result in more stress for the birds, I could of course bring in a dead one but its not cheap. I have spent enough already and adding further costs "thousands" on an avian vet to what could be a hopeless issue I'm just not willing to go that far over some Zebra finches that cost a fiver each. I know that this may sound cold me saying that but I've got to draw the line somewhere otherwise it just becomes a huge money pit.
Lots of people read these threads so accuracy is important, so others may seek treatment for the sick flock. Rather than thinking oh nothing i can do it must just be neighbors toxins.

We have different feelings on value of life . But I do understand limits in what one can do.
 

tka

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I am also leaning to some kind of air issue. I wouldn't be quick to blame your neighbours without testing your air first. Furniture and flooring can offgas chemicals including formaldehyde. There could be mould, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, radon, insecticides, fumigants... basically a whole host of things.

I'm sorry that your experience has been such a sad one.
 

fluff86

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Lots of people read these threads so accuracy is important, so others may seek treatment for the sick flock. Rather than thinking oh nothing i can do it must just be neighbors toxins.

We have different feelings on value of life . But I do understand limits in what one can do.
Sometimes it can take a lot of time before finding what is accurate in complex situations, but yes accuracy is important. My rule of thumb is always start with the simple things like what could be causing the birds sickness so I would first look at diet, drinking water, cleanliness of food and drinking bowls, the cleanliness of the aviary which I had covered early on but the issue remained. I looked into parasites as its a common problem and the birds were itching, this would naturally point to a parasite issue, so I treated them with some S76 that contains Ivermectin and is well known in the UK among bird owners that treats a wide range of bird parasite issues including worms but after treatment, there was no change and birds were still itching and dying. Its not parasites. Diatomaceous earth was also tried but had no effect.

I then did some further digging about in google. Somebody told me that worms are very common in zebra finches and that not all wormers are the same, most wormers on the market don't cover all worms and that I'd need to find a wormer that covers tape worms. As this is a common problem in zebra finches I thought it can't hurt to try it so I ordered some wormer that covers tape worms.

The next common thing is, and most credible are toxins in the air. I guess it can't hurt to find a way to test the air quality. I will look more into this later on today.
 
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