Raising Baby Finches

I have a male and a female finch that both live in the same cage. They recently laid 5 eggs in their cage, but they decided to lay their eggs in their food bowl that had all their food in there. I put a new food bowl with new food in the cage.

Yesterday I found that 2 eggs were hatched, but three still need to hatch. With the parents going in and out of the food bowl, and sitting on the eggs, the food dish has poop and old pieces of cotton all on the side. I don't want to mess with the birds until all the eggs have hatched. But I want to be able to clean their area and make it more comfortable for both the parents and for the babies to grow up.

When the babies are fully hatched out if their shell, can I clean the food dish and make it cleaner? Or should I just leave it alone. I also don't want them to suffocate the babies with the old stringy cotton. Can someone help me please. Thanks. I also want some tips on food the mother and father can feed them.

By KaitlynB

Most Recent Answer

By HesterRegan 06/13/2011

You didn't mention whether or not there is a nesting basket in the cage. Did they just ignore it or was there not one in the cage?

I never had the problem you do but i would not mess with the birds or babies.
If there is no finch nesting basket in the cage, get one and line it with new nesting material. Maybe the parents will check it out. If they start using it, maybe you could put the babies in there when they start feathering. Or not. You might want to check with an avian vet.

I feed my finches raw veggies and fruit all the time along with their seed. Mine love broccoli and apple best. Oh and corn on the cob (not cooked). I also make up a small batch of rice with mixed veggies in it. They munch on this all day.

Also for breakfast I make them scrambled eggs (use water not milk) I leave in the shells (crushed) this is good calcium. Just remember not to use salt. When they have babies I also have put in a dish of baby food mixed with baby rice cereal. Sometimes they eat it and some times they don't. Might be worth a try.

Hope this helps somewhat with your problem. Please keep us posted. At one time i had 13 birds of various varieties large and small. They are a joy (work yes, but worth it).

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I have a male and female zebra finch. In the cage there are 2 open half shell-shaped nests and one enclosed peep-hole type nest. Usually every other day I remove the eggs, but recently I couldn't get to the ones in the enclosed nest. Then I noticed they were each in that nest more often, together at night, and usually at least one was always there during the day.

I stuck my finger in the opening to check for eggs, it had been a couple of weeks and felt a live baby bird, to my surprise. I called the pet store and they basically said to leave it alone, the parents will care for it. I can see it moving in the nest and I can hear it's attempt at "trumpeting". I'm guessing it is a male. I can see grey fluff, but it hasn't come out yet.

What are the stages of egg laying to hatching and the stages of development and growth for these birds? (How old do you think it is and how does it grow week by week?) I've read both to separate and not to separate them "at the right time", please explain. What can you tell me that I would not think to ask? I've had 2 pairs (in separate cages) for 8 months now, but I am still new at this. I really do not want any more babies.

By Kim